Goodwin's goodbye?

No one has put more foot impressions in the third-base coach’s box at Buck Gehring Field then Elton Goodwin.

Goodwin made one last impression as his South Kitsap High School baseball team pounded out 16 hits in an 11-1 rout against Central Kitsap Wednesday afternoon.

However, Goodwin and the Wolves may be back home for one or two home games next week.

The Wolves wrapped up the regular season Friday at Shelton and don’t play their crossover game until next Saturday.

Federal Way and Bethel, both of the South Puget Sound League, were scheduled to play at South Kitsap at the start of the season, but rain spoiled those games.

Schedule permitting, Goodwin said there is hope SK can have one or two tune-ups before its district seeding game against a Narrows League Bay Division team.

“We don’t play until (May 10) so I am going to try next week (to schedule a game),” Goodwin said. “The SPSL is so weird (with its schedule) but I want to get those games. Who knows, maybe I’ll be back (home) for a couple more games.”

On a sour note, Goodwin watched his team squander a chance of staying atop the Bridge Division standings after suffering a 6-4 defeat at Olympic Monday.

Although SK rebounded with 10-run wins against North Kitsap and CK, the loss at Olympic dropped SK (11-2 Bridge Division,14-3 overall) one game behind first-place Port Angeles, who may have won out if it defeated Gig Harbor yesterday.

While the loss was devastating to the team’s hopes of winning a second straight league title, Goodwin said it’s how the team performs in the playoffs that counts the most.

At the same time, he argues his club has yet to be beaten even though the Wolves have three losses this season.

“We’ve lost three games by giving the ball game away,” Goodwin said. “We have not been beaten yet this year. That’s sickening to know that you could be undefeated.”

Goodwin liked the way his club responded against North Kitsap—which was fighting SK for second place—and CK.

“The kids knew they blew it (against Olympic) but they knew they needed to beat North Kitsap,” he said. “The kids played well against (CK) and (Tuesday against NK) was unbelievable. We just hit ball hard.”

While a shoddy defense has led to all three SK losses, Goodwin said he has been continually pleased with the strength of his pitching staff.

The schedule is set up so he can go with his ace, senior Brian Cox, for the crossover game against a Bay Division team and a district game.

With Cox taking the mound, seniors Evan Brumfield and Adam Siler will be ready to come in for relief.

Junior Josh Fullington will sit behind Cox as the No.2 starter.

It’s having a strong bullpen that is key to the team’s success in the post-season, Goodwin said.

“Adam Siler has thrown so well for me all year long, and so has Evan Brumfield,” Goodwin said. “I don’t think (Brumfield) is necessarily a starter but he can come in and gun you out. All I know is you gotta have a bullpen and you gotta have guys who throw strikes.”

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