North Pike baseball coach George Lott still remembers his Jaguars’ playoff series last season against Magee.
Lott remembers how the Jaguars battled throughout a close series before being eliminated in consecutive losses.
“I remember one game was a pitchers’ dual,” he said. “The next game, (Magee) hit the ball and we didn’t. A lot of that had to do with their pitching.”
The Jaguars (21-5) will likely face that level of pitching beginning at 7 p.m. Friday when they open the best-of-three series at Magee (24-2) in the first round of the Class 5A state baseball playoffs.
The scene will then switch to North Pike on Saturday for at least one and possibly two games beginning at 6 p.m.
This season marks the first in several years that the Jaguars don’t enter the postseason as district champions. North Pike finished third in Region 7-4A behind Columbia and Lawrence County.
One thing in common to last season is the fact that North Pike enters the postseason with the offense hitting on all cylinders.
The switch-hitting Kendrick Hodges leads the Jaguars with a .585 batting average, six home runs and 32 RBIs. The senior has struck out just three times this entire season.
“We’re hitting the ball extremely well,” Lott said. “Kendrick has hit the ball well consistently all year.”
Revis Butler also enters the series on a hot streak. He sports a .412 average with five home runs and 28 RBIs, while Jake Martin is hitting .377 with five homers and 30 RBI, and Michael Robinson is hitting .375 with four homers and 29 RBIs.
Even the bench has been solid for the Jaguars, led by freshman Dusty Brock’s .400 average with three doubles and four RBIs in limited playing time.
Another area in which Lott feels confident about is the North Pike pitching. Lott said his choice for series starter on the mound has come down to Hodges, Butler ot Jacob Fleming.
According to Lott, Hodges remains a candidate for Game 1 starter despite straining his left hamstring while batting last Saturday against Northeast Lauderdale.
“He’s been doing strengthening exercises and he started to run on it Wednesday,” Lott said. “I’m leaning toward Kendrick. He throws strikes consistently, he throws the ball hard and he doesn’t mind pitching on the road at all.”
One worrying factor for the North Pike coach has been his team’s defense. The Jaguars committed eight errors in last week’s Game 1 loss to Northeast Lauderdale in the teams’ doubleheader.
To counter their defensive lapses, the Jaguars took part in a seven-inning, error-free scrimmage on Tuesday. Lott said he planned a second scrimmage today.
“They took a lot of ground balls and we put them in game situations,” Lott said. “The errors we’ve been making are more mental, and I can’t put my finger on why we’re making them.
“For the kids, this is a big concern,” Lott added. “Everyone we’re playing now is good. We can’t afford to give anyone free outs.”
Still, the Jaguars coach believes his players will come through this weekend.
“I have a good group of kids,” he said. “I believe in them. They’ll come through for me.”
