After getting walked off the night before, the Auburn Trojans silenced the Auburn Riverside Ravens in a 3-0 win on April 21.

The win ended a dry spell at the plate for the Trojans. “We went 20 innings without scoring a run this week. So it was nice to get some runs,” said Auburn Head Coach Gordon Elliott. “We’re a good hitting team and kind of all went into a slump at the same time this week.”

Senior right-hand pitcher and outfielder Amari Goodfellow was sensational for the Trojans. On the mound, Goodfellow threw Auburn’s first seven-inning complete game shutout by a starting pitcher this season.

Goodfellow said it was one of his best performances on a baseball field, “I was super juiced for sure because of the losing streak. I didn’t want to lose this game, so I wanted to contribute as much as I could and help my teammates,” Goodfellow said.

He also got it done at the plate going 2-3 and scoring two of the three Trojan runs. “Amari does it all, he’s our leading hitter and he’s one of our best outfielders. He’s a guy we can count on to come out and have these kinds of performances,” Elliott said.

Goodfellow had thrown one previous shutout earlier this season in a five-inning win over Kent Meridian. Freddy Frias threw the other shutout against Thomas Jefferson in five innings without allowing a hit.

“They’ve kept us in games, and that’s important,” Elliott said on his starters.

Not only did Goodfellow throw seven innings without allowing a run, but he also gave up one hit throughout the entirety of the game. Goodfellow struck out six Ravens while only walking two. But importantly he got his defense involved and they rose to the occasion.

“We played really good defense. In high school baseball if you make the routine plays you’ll be OK… We did a good job tonight of making the routine plays and our outfield played super,” Elliott said.

Auburn ended its three-game losing streak that spanned getting swept by Kentlake and a loss on April 20 to the Ravens.

The Trojans got started in the bottom half of the first inning. With two outs in the inning, Auburn recorded three hits in a row. Amari Goodfellow started and was followed by Frias. Senior Buddy Olson cashed those runs in with a single to left field and both Frias and Goodfellow came around to score. Giving the Trojans an early 2-0 lead.

“I just get on base, the rest of my team just drives me in. They’re really good at that, so I have to give props to the people behind me,” Goodfellow said.

In the bottom of the fifth, the Trojans got an insurance run. Goodfellow was in the middle of things once more. He singled and scored on a wild pitch.

The one Raven hit came in the top of the fourth. He then retired nine out of 10 until he hit a batter in the top of the seventh. In the seventh, the Ravens got a base runner but then hit into a double play.

It was also the Trojans’ Senior Night, and to play a game like this against their rivals is special, Goodfellow said. “It’s definitely one of the best feelings I’ve had in a while. To come out and play like how we did is just amazing,” Goodfellow said.

All three runs came across with two out in the inning. “Tonight we came out and our guys focused on having good approaches. One of our big goals this season was to score with two outs and we did that very well,” Elliott said post-game.

Goodfellow threw 87 pitches in the win over Riverside, 57 of those were strikes. In games where he threw more than 25 pitches, it was his third-best strike percentage of the season.

The win put Auburn right back into the playoff hunt. The Trojans and Ravens are tied for third in the standings. Kentlake and Auburn Mountainview are the top two seeds in the league.

Four make the postseason, the Ravens have a two-game lead on the fifth-seeded Thomas Jefferson. With a win or Thomas Jefferson loss, both Auburn schools will clinch postseason spots.

“We shot ourselves in the foot and put ourselves out of a chance for the league championship again. But now we’re fighting for playoffs, you want to get to districts. We’re excited about being in this position where at least we have a chance to get in and that’s where you want to be at this time of year,” said Coach Elliott.