You could spend an hour diving deep into all the numbers as proof, but it doesn’t take too much number crunching to realize how special the 2018 baseball and softball seasons in Johnson County have been. The most jaw-dropping number I’ll share with you as proof is this: 83 wins, one loss, one tie. That was the combined regular-season record of Cleburne baseball, Godley baseball and Grandview softball. That’s a combined winning percentage of 97.65 — like I said, jaw-dropping. Now, obviously seasons are ultimately judged by playoff success. And with the amount of success and history of all three of those programs, I’m sure they each feel like anything short of a state championship, or at least a state tournament appearance, will be a disappointment. But I’m here to brag on Johnson County baseball and softball as a whole for all of its accomplishments in the regular season. We’ll let the postseason play out and revisit things when it’s all said and done. Cleburne baseball went 30-1-1 in the regular season, clinching the District 9-5A title with a 14-0 record. The Jackets were ranked No. 1 in Class 5A for the majority of the season. Cleburne out-scored opponents by an average of 9.1 to 2.3 runs per game. The Jackets’ only loss to date came in the season-opening weekend on Feb. 24, their fifth game in three days. In that defeat, Cleburne led Crowley, 9-3, before the Jackets ran out of pitchers due to the UIL’s pitch count limit. Crowley then scored 14 runs in one inning for a 17-9 win. Since then, it’s been dominance from Cleburne, winning closely contested, low-scoring games or blowing opponents out. The Jackets have proven they can win in a variety of ways. Behind the strength of outstanding starting pitching by Willie Rangel and Landon Cody, Cleburne has recorded 12 shutouts. And the Jackets have allowed three runs or less in 26 of their 32 games. Offensively, the Jackets have been stout as well with Slayton Day, Javier Torres and Marcos Guereca leading the way. Cleburne failed to score less than four runs in only one game — a 3-0 win against Brewer. As you can see, it’s been a memorable season for Cleburne, but as Coach Ross Taylor said earlier this week: “There’s still bigger things left out there that we want to accomplish.” Anything can happen in the playoffs. Especially when an opponent wins a flip for a one-game series instead of a best-of-three. The Jackets will certainly be tested and challenged in the postseason, with everyone gunning to knock off the No. 1-ranked team. But if Cleburne plays its brand of baseball and avoids the mental slip-ups, it’s going to take an equally special team to knock out these Jackets. Cleburne and Mansfield Lake Ridge are scheduled for a 7:30 p.m. first pitch Friday at Lake Ridge in their one-game bidistrict series. If Lake Ridge’s field is deemed unplayable due to rain, it will move to Cleburne. And if the game is postponed because of weather today, it will be moved to noon Saturday in Cleburne. Godley baseball started the season 15-0 before dropping a 6-4 decision against district rival Midlothian Heritage on April 3. The Wildcats, currently ranked No. 3 in Class 4A, avenged that loss with a 9-4 win in the regular-season finale to clinch the District 8-4A title for a third consecutive season. The Wildcats carried a 21-1 overall record into their playoff opener against Mineral Wells, set for 4:30 p.m. Thursday in Brock. Godley’s senior class has been a special group. The majority of this group started their freshmen seasons and have been the driving force behind back-to-back runs to the regional finals. Now in their final hurrah, it’s Austin or bust for the Wildcats. Godley won 18 of its 22 games by at least five runs. Aside from their only loss, the Wildcats’ closest games were a 2-1 win over Krum and a 4-0 win over Waxahachie Life. Godley senior and Texas A&M signee Brett Brown carries a .526 batting average on the season with an .842 slugging percentage. Pitching-wise, junior and University of Texas commit Chase Lummus is 4-0 with 44 strikeouts against only three earned runs allowed for a 0.71 ERA. Also, Lummus has yet to lose a game in his three-year high school career. Brown leads Godley with 42 innings pitched as he’s struck out 59 with nine earned runs allowed for a 1.5 ERA. There might not be a more seasoned and playoff-tested group in all of Texas high school baseball than this Godley squad. All season they’ve been driven to finish the job after finishing one round shy of state the past two seasons. As for Grandview softball, I wrote extensively about the dominance of the Lady Zebras’ regular season last week. After a bidistrict sweep with wins of 21-0 and 11-0, Grandview enters game 1 of its area series against defending state champ Little River Academy on Thursday. What’s just as impressive as the dominance of Cleburne baseball, Godley baseball and Grandview softball is that the success of Johnson County baseball and softball doesn’t stop with those three teams. Alvarado softball claimed its first-ever district championship and the Lady Indians dominated their bidistrict series. Grandview baseball finished the season strong and has high postseason hopes. Burleson Centennial softball advanced to the second round of the Class 5A playoffs. Rio Vista softball ended a 12-year playoff drought. Joshua baseball made the playoffs for the first time in a few seasons. In my six years as the Times-Review’s sports editor, I can’t think of any sport in a single season having so much overall success as baseball and softball experienced this year. With all of that said, congrats on great regular seasons and good luck to each team in their playoff journeys. I’m sure at least one or two teams will keep me busy all the way through June. And I look forward to it.