BASEBALL, SOUTH RANGE BILLY GOODALL

South Range center fielder Billy Goodall had one thing on his mind heading into this year’s baseball season.

“Our first goal was to win the league (Inter Tri-County League),” Goodall said. “Usually, we have to go 14-0 because Springfield is always right there with us.”

Goodall, coming off an all-state season on the football field in the fall, did not disappoint on the diamond.

He hit .600 mark and drove in 60 runs, led his team to a 23-4 record with a perfect 14-0 mark in the ITCL. Goodall spent much of the offseason working on his hitting.

“I had a good summer ball season last year,” he said. “Over the winter, I just hit a lot in the cages, worked on my mechanics and it just turned over into the spring season.”

Goodall says he enjoys stepping into the batter’s box.

“Just getting a base hit, it feels good,” Goodall said. “The long balls feel good, too.”

Although the season ended for the Raiders in the district championship against Ursuline, Goodall was still proud of his team this year.

“Overall, I think we had a good season,” Goodall said.

Goodall had high hopes for his team making a run in the state tournament.

“We really thought this would be our year,” Goodall said. “We didn’t play our best game [against Ursuline].”

Goodall, a senior, will be on the diamond again next spring, this time it will be for the University of Mount Union Raiders next spring where he will major in civil or mechanical engineering.

“It’s exciting being able to play at the next level,” Goodall said. “I’m going with one of my best friends, Zack Thorpe who played for South Range, too.”

While he’s moving on to play college baseball, Goodall knows he is going to miss playing at South Range.

“It was a great four years,” Goodall said. “I wouldn’t want them any other way. I finished the way I wanted to finish.”