CHS Softball History
History provided by Sandy Smith, 1984 Co-Captian and long time Crimson Tide Softball statistician and supporter.
Andrea Bourn founded the Concord High softball program in 1975 and coached the team for its first 24 years. The team went 5-4 that first season and the Tide struggled through four straight losing seasons before returning to the winning side by going 11-9 in 1980.
Concord qualified for its first postseason appearance in 1982, going 13-5 to finish fifth in the league before losing to Milford in the first round. Concord went 12-6 the following season, tying Manchester Central for the final playoff spot. Central, however, earned the bid on qualifying criteria.
The following year, with Sandy Smith and Holly Suojanen as captains, Concord earned its first trip to the state title game. The Tide went 12-6 in the regular season, earned the No. 7 seed in the tournament and proceded to knock off Winnacunnet and Nashua to reach the title game under the lights at Memorial Field. Concord saw West score with two outs in the final inning of a 2-1 championship loss.
Concord was a perennial tournament contender the next eight years, but didn't make a return trip to the title game until 1993. Behind pitcher Lisa Petell, Concord finished runner-up to Salem in 1993, then ended the Blue Devils' title run the following year, bringing the Tide its first softball state title, 11-0. The next year, 1995, Concord posted the most dominant season in its history, going 22-0 to repeat as champions. The Tide made it three straight titles in 1996 before seeing its streak end with a championship loss to West in 1997.
Bourn stepped down after the 1998 season and Sharon Nicosia, a longtime Tide JV coach, took over in 1999. She was head coach for two seasons before current coach Duke Sawyer took over in 2001.
Concord has made the tournament in every season but one since 1983.
Here's a year-by-year look at how Concord finished:
| 1975 - 5-4 1976 - 4-8 1977 - 5-15 1978 - 3-17 1979 - 3-14 1980 - 11-9 1981 - 9-9 1982 - 13-6, lost in first round 1983 - 12-6 1984 - 14-7, state runner-up 1985 - 14-6, lost in semifinals 1986 - 16-3, lost in quarterfinals 1987 - 13-6, lost in quarterfinals 1988 - 9-11, lost in quarterfinals 1989 - 11-9, lost in quarterfinals 1990 - 14-5, lost in quarterfinals 1991 - 13-7, lost in quarterfinals 1992 - 17-3, lost in semifinals 1993 - 17-4, state runner-up 1994 - 19-2, state champions 1995 - 22-0, state champions |
1996- 18-3, state champions |