Sam Godbout of Dream Chasers pitched four strong innings in the Super 13 World Series.
By Luis Torres
It was a little bit of luck and a little bit of skill for what Sam Godbout did.
In the bottom of the third inning and with a comfortable lead, Godbout just happened to stick out his glove after a comebacker was hit right toward him on the mound.
He was trying to get out of the inning after allowing his lone run of the contest, so Godbout induced a lineout right back to him.
The ball went right into his glove for the final out of the frame.
“I think I caught it. It was weak contact. Just saying,” Godbout said while laughing. “I really didn’t see it coming. I just stuck out (my glove) and hoped for the best.”
The best is what happened for Godbout and Dream Chasers Academy on Wednesday. Behind four innings from Godbout and some early offense, Dream Chasers Academy defeated Pro Tech, 11-1, in five innings in Super 13 World Series play at Diamond Nation in Flemington.
Godbout wasn’t overpowering in his four innings of work. He struck out just three batters, two coming in the aforementioned third inning. He pitched to contact, letting his defense behind him make routine plays look easy all over the diamond.
“I was very relaxed on the mound,” Godbout said. “I didn’t care if I let up a hit. It was pretty easy with a big lead, so it didn’t really matter if I let up a hit or a run. I was really relaxed. I always try to attack hitters and pitch to contact as much as possible.”
Godbout’s fastball topped out at about 71 mph, according to the scoreboard radar gun at Diamond Nation, but used his offspeed pitches to keep hitters off balance. What made his performance arguably more impressive is that he hurt his back a few days ago. He was limited to only throwing, but he got the job done.
“It was a big-time performance,” Dream Chaser’s coach Danny Corona said. “He’s hurt. He slid into second base about two days ago. It’s his last tournament with the team. He’s moving to Florida, and he wasn’t going without participating in this tournament.”
Mateo Lopez opened the scoring by smacking an RBI triple in the bottom of the first inning. He ended the game by going 2-for-3 with two RBI and a walk. Juju Martinez extended the lead to 2-0 with a sacrifice fly. He also had a two-RBI day, with some bruises in-between, as he was hit by two pitches.
In total, eight different players ended up scoring at least one run for Dream Chasers Academy, which picked up a much-needed win in Super 13 World Series play to stay in playoff contention heading into its game against Main Line Baseball at 8:30 p.m. on Thursday.
Corona praised Godbout for taking the bump in a must-win game to try and keep pace with the rest of the teams playing in the tournament.
“If we advance to the playoffs it’s because he contributed without having to, and that’s clutch and his teammates love him and respect him for that,” Corona said. “He shoved, man. It was a great team win.”