LADY EAGLES WORKING HARD

STORY BY JOSH BOUTWELL

The Goshen Lady Eagles headed into 2023 with a solid group of veteran and young players, but early season injuries have brought some adversity to the team.

In the offseason, Goshen’s softball team worked hard with the school’s new strength and conditioning coaches but have been stricken with a rash of injuries.

“We have some new conditioning coaches that came in and we really focused on speed and lifting and that went really well for our girls,” Goshen coach Amy Warrick said. “We had some unexpected injuries to some key girls earlier, so we’re trying to get people in the right places and focusing on hitting and being as error-free as possible for our pitchers.”

While Goshen returned its top two pitchers this season, Kaci Wilkes and JC Rushing, an injury to Rushing will cause some younger players to join the pitching staff.

“(Wilkes) is the only veteran pitcher,” Warrick said. “Alyssa Pippins can help on the varsity level but she’s not quite ready yet. I also have some younger (pitchers) at the junior varsity level that aren’t quite ready yet, either. We’re in a situation that we have to play good defense for our pitchers, so we make sure our pitcher doesn’t have to work any harder than she already is.”

In 2022, Wilkes earned a .400 batting average with three home runs, 12 runs and 16 RBIs. She also pitched 63 innings and mowed down 53 batters, while she earned a 4.29 ERA.

“Kaci is a big player for us,” Warrick said. “She always steps up and leads for us, but she’s had to step up even more for us this year because she also has to be a leader. She is pretty relaxed at-bat and likes to hit and is seeing the ball really well right now, too.”

Crenshaw Christian transfer freshman Macie McAliley and sophomore Lucie Hill have also provided some help for the Lady Eagles.

“Macie plays middle infield for me and she’s really helped us,” Warrick said. “Lucie plays outfield and has really helped there, too. I have a big junior class stepping up that is going to be big for us. We’re young in certain spots, our catcher and third basemen are ninth graders, but we have some veterans out there, too.”

With a number of injuries plaguing Goshen early in the season, health is a big focus for Warrick’s staff.

“We have a lot of new people out there right now because of injuries,” she said. “We’re trying to get healthy right now, that’s the biggest thing. If we can get our best players in the right position we can make a run at Area. If we can get our No. 1 players healthy, health is the big thing, I think we will be okay.”

Class: 2A

Area: 4

Field: Goshen Softball Field

Colors: Purple and Gold