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Tony Goodall waited until the district championship game of his senior season to throw his first no-hitter on any level.
At Old Forge, players are used to performing better in the district and state playoffs than they do in the regular season.
It is all part of the master plan for the Blue Devils.
Old Forge teams consistently choose to play their regular seasons in divisions against larger schools. School officials prefer having the Blue Devils play neighbors rather than picking on someone their own size.
When the playoffs start and teams are grouped against opponents of their same enrollment classification, Old Forge is more prepared.
Goodall, a senior pitcher enjoying a 7-0 season, becomes even tougher to hit.
“Playing in our (division), there’s a lot of tough teams,” Goodall said. “It really helps us for districts.”
In the case of Tuesday’s District 2 Class A championship game, Goodall threw a no-hitter with two walks and four strikeouts in a 1-0 victory over Lackawanna Trail.
“The game should be a lesson to young kids,” said Old Forge coach Rich Beviglia, giving more credit to Goodall’s approach on the mound than the opponents he faced all season. “If you can throw strikes with multiple pitches and do that whenever you want to, you’re able to get a lot of people out.
“He’s a good example of the fact that you don’t have to strike everybody out to be effective.”
Goodall was getting more confident in that approach as the postseason neared and the Blue Devils got a chance to show just how strong a Class A team has to be to go 10-4 and finish second in a division where the opponents are seven Class AA and AAA schools.
“That’s how I normally try to pitch,” Goodall said. “Every game this year, I’ve been pretty consistent around the strike zone.
“I don’t give up many walks.”
Tuesday, he didn’t give up any hits.
It’s that time of the year for the Blue Devils.
Goodall has three gold medals from basketball season when the same routine holds true. He has been in the baseball program, first on the junior varsity level and now on the varsity, through his four years of high school in which the Blue Devils have won the title every time.
Last year’s team was just 6-8 and tied for fifth in the division before catching fire in the playoffs.
While the Old Forge softball team was going to the state championship game – when Jess Armillay’s already effective pitching became even more difficult to handle with back-to-back perfect games in the state quarterfinals and semifinals – the baseball team came within one step by going to the state semifinals.
“That really helps us,” said Goodall, who leads Old Forge into the state tournament Monday. “Last year was really a great ride.
“It was exciting. It made us more confident for this year and made us want to do it again.”
The winter and spring postseasons have become an exciting time for Old Forge sports teams. Goodall’s no-hitter brought the school within one win of sweeping the District 2 Class A boys’ basketball, girls’ basketball, baseball and softball titles for the fourth straight season.