When Cara Goodwin heads to the mound, the question is rarely whether she is going to win. Rather, it’s whether she’ll even allow a run.
Goodwin, a Cullman (Al.) Good Hope High senior and University of Alabama-Birmingham signee, is currently 21-4 in her final campaign. More impressively, nine of those wins have come on no-hitters, with Good Hope’s 11 most recent wins all shutouts pitched by Goodwin.
Clearly, Goodwin is hitting her stride at precisely the right time, just as her squad heads toward the state playoffs. Perhaps more impressively, according to the Cullman Times, Goodwin’s two most recent starts have both featured victories that came within two at-bats of a perfect game.
In a victory against Cold Springs (Al.) High she gave up her only walk with two outs in the seventh inning and Goodwin unintentionally struck two batters with pitches during the team’s rout of Falkville (Al.) High.
Goodwin's dominance is nothing new for the state of Alabama, with the teen previously setting single season state records for most strikeouts (525), innings pitched (318) and shutouts (19) in a single season. All of those marks may be under threat again this year, as well.
The plan for the rest of Good Hope’s season is clear: Keep giving Goodwin the ball, and keep hoping that she will mow down opposing batters.
“If they don’t score, they can’t beat us,” Good Hope coach Wayne Harris told the Times. “I just hope we can keep those zeros coming for another six weeks.”
Good Hope’s opponents may not be so thrilled of those zeroes, but they’re probably plenty used to seeing them at this point.
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