With some small adjustments, Goffstown High’s softball team has made big strides.

The Grizzlies boast a 6-4 record in Class L, and their longtime head coach, Wake Stillman, said this group is beginning to learn how to win.

“What they’ve found is that if you’ve got the lead, you’ve got to pad the lead. If you go up by two runs instead of one in the seventh, you can play your defense better,” said Stillman after GHS did just that in handing Central a 5-2 setback on April 20. “Even though you have the lead, the little things add up.”

Coming into the contest with Central, Goffstown had already absorbed last-inning losses to Bedford and Memorial.

GHS was 1-2 and faced a possible repeat of last season’s six-win total. Instead, Stillman saw his charges take charge in every facet of the game against the Little Green.

First, sophomore pitcher Kaitlyn Johnson, in her 2009 debut, was consistently tough and occasionally nasty. After Central’s leadoff hitter reached second base to open the third inning, Johnson fanned three straight to escape the jam. She then stranded a runner on third with one out the following inning, again using the strikeout.

Second, GHS hitters produced key hits throughout the lineup. Senior Sarah Chabot, who shares pitching chores with Johnson, belted three hits against Central as the designated hitter and cleanup batter, while Maria Girardin plated two runners with two outs in the top of the fifth, then added her third RBI in the top of the seventh to extend the lead. Freshman leadoff hitter Gabriella Risman-Jones scored twice, once in the first and again in the seventh.

Third, though the Grizzlies made one harmless fielding error early, they were flawless late, including strong up-themiddle defense from shortstop Ashley Gregory, who shares team captaincy with Julie Clark, and second baseman Michelle Beaulieu.

“Little mistakes or doing little things right are the difference – in Class L it’s pretty good softball – but they’re the difference between winning and losing,” said Stillman. “Closing out a game is extremely hard because it just adds that much more pressure to the pitcher and everyone out in the field.”

Since climbing back to .500, Goffstown has posted four shutout wins against Alvirne, Timberlane, Nashua South and, on May 4, Trinity. Johnson, who throws to fellow sophomore Brittany Neuman, twirled a no-hitter in the 11-0 victory against Timberlane on April 27.

GHS faces two strong foes next week at home, two-loss Dover on Monday, May 11, and one-loss Spaulding on Wednesday, May 13.