Gold Standard pitcher Payton Goldsworthy rocks and fires from the circle during a game Monday against Northern Wishes at the Boneyard in Lake Linden. (Eddie O’Neill/For the Gazette)

LAKE LINDEN — There is a reason that Gold Standard has not lost a game yet this season (4-0), and it is a simple one. They play good, solid fundamental softball.

It showed on Monday night while at home at the Boneyard as they beat Northern Wishes, 6-1. According to their coach, Curt Kinnunen, it was nothing fancy but rather good heads-up softball at the plate and in the field.

“We had some good at bats, ran the bases well and played the field well,” he said. “Pitching was good too.”

That pitching he mentioned was done by Payton Goldsworthy. She went the distance and posted 16 strikeouts along the way. The hard-throwing right-hander struck out the side in the second, sixth and seventh inning.

Neither team scored in the opening frame. Gold Standard changed that in the second with a Abby Derkos crossing home after reaching second with a leadoff double.

The ladies in white added another run in the third. It was Taylor Goldsworthy who hit her own double and scored a batter later. It was a 2-0 Gold Standard lead after three.

That is the way it stood until the fifth when Gold Standard added two. This included an inside-the-park home run by Derkos.

They added two more in the sixth thanks to hard-hit balls by Maria Chizek and Ashlyn Steves. Gold Standard led 6-0 with just three outs to go in the top of the seventh.

Northern Wishes avoided the shutout with a walk to Meg Ruohonen in the seventh. She touched home on a Naomi Frahm double. But that is the best the ladies in teal could do as the game ended three batters later without another run scored.

In other Copper Country Women’s Fastpitch action, Figaro’s Pizza and Moyle/Finnish Coat did not play.

Up next

Wednesday, four teams will be in action. Figaro’s Pizza will face Gold Standard at the Boneyard at 7 p.m. Moyle/Finnish Coat will take on Superior Service at the same time in Chassell.