Goshen gears up for area tourney, molding younger players for future

Pardon the Goshen softball team for not getting worked up, it’s just the fact that they have been here before.

The Lady Eagles begin another playoff push on Thursday at the area tournament in Elba, but are in a slightly different boat that years past.

Goshen, a fixture in the softball world, has just two seniors on the 2013 roster, Shelby Vinson and Ashley Tarver, but isn’t going to let that change how they play the game.

“This group is young, but the ability to play with anyone,” said Lady Eagle head coach Dee Hughes. “They will have to play confident and learn to brush off their mistakes.”

Goshen has shown that, on any given day, that it can play, and beat, any team in the state of Alabama.

Earlier this season, the Lady Eagles trounced highly-ranked Houston Academy, and has battled teams from bigger classifications all season.

AHSAA softball is structured in a such a way, that the regular season has little to no bearing on how deep a team can go in the playoffs.

It all boils down to the area, sub-region, region and state tournaments, and picking up 10 wins during those rounds.

“You have to peak at the right time,” said Hughes. “Everyone’s record is 0-0 now, and we have just as good of a shot to win it all as anyone else. Shelby has been our leader, and all the younger girls are ready to follow her for the next few weeks.

Goshen opens the area tournament against Zion Chapel in Elba on Thursday.

First pitch is set for 5 p.m.