Godley starts 2-0 with Coach Brent Lewis reaching 100-win mark
Feb. 24—GODLEY — The Godley Wildcats opened the 2023 season Thursday with a pair of shutout wins over Fort Worth Trimble Tech and Lubbock, the latter of which was the 100th win in Coach Brent Lewis' career.
Competing in Everman's Gary T. Balch Tournament as a co-host, Godley took down Trimble Tech, 13-0, in four innings to start the season off 1-0 before notching a 10-0 win in four innings over Lubbock High that gave Lewis a milestone 100th head coaching victory.
"One hundred wins means I have a lot of help behind me," said Lewis, in his fourth season as Godley's head coach and eighth overall. "It means I've got good assistant coaches, it means I've got good players, it means I've got a good wife and the support of family.
"I don't get those wins without assistant coaches like Ben Ogle and Nick Manshack. My wife, Karie, and my two daughters, Kaysten and Brylie, are my biggest help. I don't get to see them that much during this time of the year but they are my lifeline. And, of course, it's all due to the players as well as head coaches I worked for previously to help me get to this point."
In the 13-0 win over Trimble Tech, Owen Roever struck out seven with three hits and one walk allowed in a complete-game shutout. Lucas Ponce went 1-for-2 with a triple and three RBIs while Jason Carrell, Chris Sinku and Tate Grimsley each collected two base hits.
In the 10-0 victory over Lubbock, Kole Allen struck out seven with two hits and two walks allowed in a complete-game shutout. Roever was 2-for-3 with three RBIs, two runs and a homer, while Byron McClure and Ponce each went 2-for-2 with two runs. Crosby Carmicheal went 1-for-2 with two RBIs and a run.
"We're real happy with our first day," Lewis said. "Owen threw the ball real well and got a shutout. Kole pitched the second game and threw a lot of strikes and got a shutout. Our guys hit the baseball hard. We played sound baseball and it was fun to see. We're really happy with our guys right now, we've just got to keep working."
The Wildcats enter the 2023 season with seven returners from last year's 23-win team, with Allen and Roever leading the way. In 2022, Allen was the All-Johnson County defensive player of the year while Roever was a first-team pitcher on the All-Johnson County team.
"Kole and Owen are our leaders on the field," Lewis said. "They're our captains, the guys we look to on the mound. They do a great job and I could say that about all of our guys. But they're our two captains. They set the tone in practice. They've been with me and Coach Ogle for four years. They're our leaders and they set the tone for practice and the games. They're doing a really good job of leading right now."
Other returners include Grimsley, who was a first-team all-district selection last season, along with Ponce and Carrell, who were second-team all-district selections a year ago.
Godley lost an accomplished and experienced senior class from last season — Landry McKittrick, Ryan BlockHunter Lewis, Peyton Thomas, Isacc Paniagua and Colin Workman — so there will be key positions and roles needing to be filled, but Lewis said he likes the depth of this year's team with the returners they bring back combined with some newcomers.
"We really have about four to five more guys that will fill in and help out at times," Lewis said. "Sophomore Jaydon Spurlock is really helping out. Crosby Carmicheal is a freshman who's playing a role for us. We have Chris Sinku in the mix. We have a deep bench and that's a blessing. Anybody on our team at any point in time can fill a huge role and we feel good about it."
Lewis said he likes the makeup of his defense and pitching staff going into the season.
"I think our team strengths are defense and pitching," he said. "We strive on being good on the mound and behind the plate. The biggest thing is being a team. Our motto this year is 'family.' We just want to play together and be a true team."
Lewis believes the key for Godley having a successful season is marrying their strong pitching and defense with timely hitting on offense.
"Being consistent at the plate is the biggest thing," he said. "We want to be consistent and get timely hits when we can. Not being up and down, we want to be even keel every day: not too high and not too low."
Godley is coming off a 23-9-2 season a year ago where the Wildcats finished tied for first place in district play with Alvarado before losing to Kennedale in the 10th inning of game 3 in the Class 4A area playoffs.
And going into this season, the Wildcats have lofty expectations.
"Our goal every year is to be in Austin," Lewis said. "That's our goal every year for Godley baseball is to play for a state championship. If we can go 1-0 every day, we'll have a chance to do that. Our goal every day is to fight to get to Austin. That's where we want to be."
The Wildcats are scheduled to play Cedar Hill and Fort Worth Paschal on Friday. Godley will wrap up play in the Gary T. Balch Tournament at 10 a.m. Saturday vs. North Side.
The Wildcats will then host the Zane Gregg Memorial Tournament next week.
