It’s a long, difficult road to make it to a championship game.It’s even more difficult when you come up short in that game.Concord knows that feeling all too well after it played its way into the 2021 Division I state championship only to fall early.
Talented lineup returns for girls’ high school softball season
The John Stark softball team piles on top of starter Izabella Nelson after claiming the 2019 D-II championship. JAY McAREE / Monitor file
John Stark’s Izabella Nelson delivers a pitch during the 2019 Division II championship game against Merrimack Valley at Plymouth State’s Chase Field. Nelson and the Generals won, 3-1, claiming their second straight title. Stark returns four starters from that team - Nelson, Brooke Patnode, Lillian Stogner and Kacie Weston - for the 2021 campaign, which the Generals begin on Monday against Bishop Brady. JAY McAREE / Monitor staff
JAY McAREE / Monitor staffHopkinton’s Megan Kimball-Rhines delivers a pitch during the 2019 Division III softball championship game at Plymouth State’s Chase Field. Kimball-Rhines tossed a complete game and the Hawks defeated Campbell, 2-0. Hopkinton opens the 2021 season on Monday with six starters back from that title team, including Kimball-Rhi