Zack Godley’s winning debut!

A Pendleton man was in the stands last week to see the Major League Baseball debut of his first cousin. It was a proud and exciting moment for Bit McMillan, a technican for Crenshaw TV and Appliance, and other members of the family of Arizona Diamondbacks right-handed pitcher Zack Godley. “It was an unreal experience,” McMillan told us. Godley pitched the D’Backs to a win last Thursday night at home against the Milwaukee Brewers. In that game, Godley set a modern record for a rookie pitcher by pitching six scoreless innings and striking out at least seven batters. On Tuesday night this week he pitched well enough to beat the Mariners in Seattle. Godley came to the big leagues from the South Carolina baseball hotbed of Bamberg-Ehrhardt High School, whose baseball alumni include Mookie and Preston Wilson. He pitched for the University of Tennessee, signed with the Chicago Cubs, but was traded last winter to Arizona in a deal that brought catcher Miguel Montero to Chicago. The pedigree of 25-year old Zack Godley likely bodes well for a good career, as evidenced by the confidence he displayed only hours before his first start last week.