For the first time in 21 years, the George Jenkins Eagles are headed to the state Final Four as they defeated the visiting Hagerty Huskies by a score of 8-1. 2019 LHP Daniel Batcher (George Jenkins HS, FL) went the distance, throwing a complete game while 2018 3B Brandon Howlett (George Jenkins HS, FL) powered the Eagles offense with two home runs.

The first of Howlett’s home runs came in the bottom of the third when he drove a pitch over the right-center field wall for a two-run home run, giving the Eagles a 2-0 lead.

The Huskies cut the deficit to one in the top of the fourth on a sac fly by 2019 OF Trey Bradley (Hagerty HS, FL) which made it 2-1, but that’s all the runs Hagerty would score as Batcher shut them down for the rest of the night. Batcher worked at a quick pace, mostly sitting 83-85 mph, touching 86 along with 67-69 mph curveball with depth, throwing it for strikes and a 79-80 mph changeup that he threw occasionally. The West Virginia recruit finished his impressive outing with six strikeouts, allowed only two hits, and one run.

In his very next at-bat, Howlett delivered again as he homered again over the right-center field wall for a solo shot, giving the Eagles a 3-1 lead.

 

2019 C Jake Herbert (George Jenkins HS, FL) extended their lead to 4-1 as he singled up the middle in the bottom of the fifth. The Eagles then took advantage of a couple errors along with some misplays in the field, pushing across three more runs and giving them a commanding 7-1 lead.

2018 IF Austin Blair (George Jenkins HS, FL) added another run to the board for the Eagles in the bottom of the sixth as he laced a ball to left field for an RBI single, extending their lead to 8-1. Batcher then shut down the Hagerty lineup one more time in the top of the seventh, striking out the last batter of the game for the 8-1 victory.

The George Jenkins Eagles are scheduled to play at 1pm next Friday, June 1^st in the Class 8A semi-final.