Second-Chance Crusade

Twenty years from now, the high school softball career of Jamie Goss probably won't be worthy of a Hollywood script. It will, however, make for a nice story. Goss, the starting third baseman for the defending Class 2A state champion Scecina Crusaders, is living proof of how heartbreak and disappointment can, in time, pry open doors leading to brighter things. During the winter months of the 2004-05 school year, Goss, then a freshman, was honing her skills by playing indoor softball when a slide into second base flipped her aspirations upside-down. "I broke my (right) ankle and leg. I was playing really hard because I wanted to start varsity as a freshman," said Goss, who wound up not playing at all and was relegated to spectator. "I didn't want to come to a lot of stuff that season because I felt like I had let my team down." Goss did play as a sophomore and played well. The injury continued to impact her, though some of her statistics were among the best in Central Indiana. The breakthrough came during a junior campaign in which Goss hit .446 (45 of 101) with 29 RBI, 26 runs scored, 14 doubles and five home runs to help guide Scecina to softball's mountaintop for the first time in the program's history. "Her sophomore year, I don't think Jamie had totally recovered from her injury, but now she has. She's running well and she's hitting well," said Scecina coach Tom Moorman. "Jamie is a tough out and probably has only struck out a total of nine times in the last two years. If the game was on the line, I would want the bat in her hands, no doubt about it." Chances are Goss will get that chance as the Crusaders attempt to defend their title. The No. 3 hitter in Scecina's lineup in 2007, Goss, who has signed to play collegiately at Western Illinois University, makes the switch to the cleanup spot this season. As for where she'll line up defensively, much depends on the opponent and if it's her turn to pitch. Lacking a totally dominant pitcher now that Emily Wethington has graduated - she of the 1-hit, 13-strikeout performance in Scecina's 5-0 victory over North Posey in the 2A title game - Moorman is left with four very good ones. Goss is the lone senior of the bunch. She is joined in the rotation by juniors Hannah Zimmerman and Amy Tamer and sophomore Ty Bremer. A team tri-captain along with Zimmerman and outfielder Jesse Wilson, Goss is one of six starters returning for Moorman. The coach is of the thinking that with some breaks, Scecina could again be in the hunt in early June. "If Jamie is hitting the ball, we can be right there," he said. That would be just fine with Goss, who would like to bat .500 or over this season knowing darned well that opposing pitchers know her reputation and aren't going to make many deliveries into her wheelhouse. "I've got to just go in there and know that if I get a hit off of this pitcher then I'm doing my job," she says. Goss has some work to do to reach and maintain a .500-plus batting average, though betting against her would be a mistake given how far she's come.