Skyline baseball: Devin Gomez feature

On Feb. 13, I wrote an article about former Skyline High School baseball player Devin Gomez, who is now the College of Eastern Utah. Gomez played for Skyline's 2011 baseball team. This article is to appear in the Eagles' 2011 baseball yearbook.

Devin Gomez:

Lineup change energized the offense
and gave him a big confidence boost

By Bruce Smith
Matchup

For Devin Gomez, it’s amazing the difference a year can make.

Gomez started playing baseball at age 4, he said. Hrew up in West Jordan, but transferred from Copper Hills High School to Skyline just before his junior year. He always earned good grades, and wanted to take advantage of Skyline’s education emphasis.

It turned out there was another good side to being an Eagle.

“When I came here, I was small,” he said. “I was like 5-foot-2 and skinny and I didn’t start one game my junior year. Some of the older guys (Michael Kaelin, Trey Nielsen, J.D. Peacock and Austin Butler) took me under their wing, though, and I went into the weight room and starting drinking protein shakes.

“Coach (Erik Hansen) told me later that I would start playing varsity my senior year. It was a great season.”

Not surprisingly, the contributions Gomez made coincided with Skyline’s success. At the start of the year, he was the starting second baseman, but ninth in the batting order. In a doubleheader at Salt Lake Community College, Gomez had two of Skyline’s five hits in a 9-1 loss to Brighton.

“Coach said he was making some changes in the lineup and moving someone up, but I didn’t think it would be me,” Gomez recalled. “It was exciting. I was really happy.”

Skyline then beat Pleasant Grove 10-9, its best offensive performance in five games, and the start of a seven-game winning streak. Gomez stayed at No. 2 the rest of the season.

“He was our leading hitter,” Hansen said.

“He worked on the things we were trying to teach him and had a great senior year. He hit in clutch situations and was a great asset to the team.”

Gomez had a unique ability. A right-hander, he was often able to hit to the opposite field. With leadoff hitters like Jordan Hall and Bryce Barr often on base, he helped score runs. That effort was noticed by many people.

For his efforts, Gomez earned the team’s “Hard Hat” award, which was given by Hansen at the team’s post-season banquet. Gomez also attracted the attention of local colleges and, with Hansen’s assistance, earned a baseball scholarship at the College of Eastern Utah.

He was injured during fall baseball at CEU, and redshirted his freshman season, where he played with West’s Chance Abrath. Gomez said he hoped to play the next year and then continue on at a school closer to Salt Lake City.

“I’d like to be closer to home,” he said. “When I was at Skyline, my family came to a lot of my games. My dad (Sergio Gomez) never missed one. It was always nice to have them there.”

Devin said he appreciated his time at Skyline, and left with a lot of great memories, like:

* - Being the Region 2 champions. “When it happened, it wasn’t a big deal because we knew we were going to win. We didn’t want to get caught up in the moment, but it was big to the school. Skyline hadn’t done it in seven years, so I know they were proud.”
* - Sweeping the two games against rival Cottonwood.
* - Playing against his old team, Copper Hills. “Going 3-4 (at the plate) against them was great.”
* - Going to the 5A state tournament. “We went my junior year, but I didn’t play. I had three hits in our first game against Riverton.”

Gomez also relished the camaraderie playing in Skyline’s infield. He said his closest friends were shortstop/pitcher Sam Trout, as well as Ashton Sponaugle, Carter Allen, Lars Lofgren, Michael Staes and Clint Berhow. He continued to stay in touch with them after graduation.