Coshocton wins 1st ECOL title since 1996

COSHOCTON - The last time a Coshocton softball team won a East Central Ohio League division championship was 1996.

The seniors and juniors, who make up a large majority of the current team, weren't yet born. When they stepped into the program their freshman year, however, everybody believed at some point they could pull off what no other team has done in 20 years.

They won seven games that year. Throw in some added experience and a few talented underclassmen and now, two years later, after a 5-2 win Monday against Claymont, they've clinched that elusive ECOL Gray Division title outright.

"This feels good because we worked hard to get where we are now," pitcher Peighton Gore said. "From freshman year to looking at where we are now, it's a drastic change and I'm really proud of this team. I knew we could win this."

They did it the same way most of their 15 regular season wins came, with a strong defensive team effort and timely hitting. Riley Conkle and Courtney Guthrie led with two hits, while Amia Woods, Kelsey Crown and Peighton Gore added one a piece.

Conkle hit a home run for her one run batted in, while Woods, Gore, Crown and Guthrie doubled for their RBIs.

It's that type of hitting that made coach Dani Duhamell believe coming into the season this outcome was a realistic possibility.

"Their first day freshman year an ECOL title was their goal, but this year I knew it was a reality," Duhamell said. "We are solid one through nine, both in the field and the batting order. Without a doubt, I thought this was a possibility."

While the junior and senior class were the ones who came in and helped turn the program around, it was a freshman who helped turned Monday's game around for Coshocton.

The Redskins were trailing 1-0 after a throw to the pitcher, Gore went over her head. At that point, Duhamell said she was a bit nervous.

"We started a little bit slow with the error in the first inning," she said.

Luckily for Coshocton, neither Conkle or Gore were.

"Every time (Conkle) comes up, I have faith she is going to get on," Gore said. "I felt it. I knew somebody was going to get a home run."

Conkle sent the ball far over the left-field fence, getting Coshocton on the scoreboard and calming Duhamell a bit.

"Once we came in to hit, I could see we were OK," Duhamell said. "Once (Conkle) got her home run, I knew everything would be OK. As the game went on, I felt confident."

Gore, who admitted feeling some pressure with it being her senior day and the ECOL title being on the line, clamped down after the first inning, striking out four of the next six batters. She would finish the game with seven strikeouts, while giving up five hits.

"I felt more pressure to get it done for my team tonight. I felt like we needed to get it done." Gore said. "When I went back out there, I felt like the pressure was taken off. I knew my team was behind me, so I just pitched. If it got hit, I knew somebody was going to be there."

Even after Gore's strikeout run seemed to take Claymont out of rhythm, Coshocton still only led by one run on a Kelsey Crown second-inning double.

But then, three straight doubles by Conkle, Gore and Guthrie pushed the lead to 4-1 in the bottom of the third. Claymont would get a run back in the top of the fourth, but two juniors sealed the deal in the bottom of the fourth.

Cassidy Cantrell drew a walk to begin the inning. Two consecutive outs followed, but then lead-off hitter Woods doubled to deep center field, scoring Cantrell.

Two juniors pushed the lead to 5-2, all but sealing the milestone. Just like the junior class, including Gore who is graduating early, have pushed the Coshocton softball team to heights it hasn't seen since 1996.

"This is a huge payoff for the girls that have been here since day one," Duhamell said. "Since they were freshmen, it's been their goal to win an ECOL title outright. This was huge for them."

The season isn't over, though. They will travel to Claymont on Tuesday and will begin their postseason run Monday at Sandy Valley.

"We worked hard from freshman year to now, and I just feel like we aren't done yet," Gore said.

Duhamell said: "On our best day, we can play and hang with anyone."

cteaguerob@gannett.com

740-295-3442

Twitter: @cj_teague