Lakewood's Mitchell rides hot bat to Hines Furniture Athlete of the Week

There's something to be said about players getting hot at the right time.

It's great to have a nice regular season, but it doesn't make much of a difference if you fizzle out at the end of the year.

Lakewood's Jarae Mitchell is proving to be a fine example of peaking at the right time.

Mitchell won the Hines Furniture Athlete of the Week after leading the Gator offense to three wins in the Mingo Bay Classic over spring break.

It's a different baseball environment, as the Gators rent out a house for the week of games at the beach, but Mitchell was just focused on staying within himself and playing his best ball.

"Nothing different, just trying to go out there and have fun," Mitchell said of his approach last week. "I'm just trying to do my job, that's really it."

Mitchell certainly did his job. The freshman infielder drove in a total of eight runs as the Gators went 3-0. He was 3-7 in the three games, walking an additional four times, while scoring three runs. Head coach Bill DeLavan appreciated seeing his young hitter stay within himself.

"He's just growing. As a freshman, he's really grown into a more prominent role for us this year," DeLavan said. "He's understanding his approach and how to attack pitchers and not trying to do too much.

"Sometimes kids want to get outside of what they do best and he's starting to figure that out. He just needs to be who he is, that's good enough. He's maturing as a hitter."

Mitchell started the week going 2-4 with three RBIs and two runs scored in a 13-7 win over Man High School. He then drove in four runs, reached base twice and scored once in a 15-0 win over Saranac. In the final game, he didn't have an official at bat, but walked twice and drove in a run in a 5-4 win over Andrews.

"I was just out there trying to have fun and playing relaxed," Mitchell said. "I was trying not to play too tight and trying not to do too much."

The timing of that performance was crucial. Lakewood played for the Region VI-3A championship on Wednesday with a matchup against Marlboro County. That's their final regular season game before the playoffs begin next week, so it was the perfect tune-up for the young infielder.

"It was a big tune-up," Mitchell said. "It helps us get ready for Marlboro and the playoffs. I feel like we're at a good point right now."

Mitchell isn't the only Gator hitting his offensive stride at the right time. DeLavan said the team is starting to get into a groove as the regular season comes to an end.

"The timing couldn't be better," DeLavan said. "We've got three or four guys that probably fall into that category. It's a lot of guys that hadn't had a lot of varsity at bats starting to mature into those roles and figure things out. We went through a large portion of this season just scrambling to get a run across, but recently we've been able have multiple-run innings and take some pressure off the pitching and defense a little bit."