DeLavan's left arm carries Lakewood to crucial region win

When the Lakewood baseball team needs a win, Gators head coach Bill DeLavan knows exactly who to hand the ball to. His son.

Landon DeLavan took the mound last week in a crucial region matchup with Camden. While the Gators' bats took a while to get going, the senior southpaw kept the team in the game with a masterful performance on the mound. DeLavan eventually got enough run support to earn the win. He would go on to repeat that performance a week later against Lake City.

DeLavan's dominance on the mound also allowed him to win the vote for the Hines Furniture Athlete of the Week.

"I don't pay attention to too much social media-wise because that can get in your head a little bit, but I'm excited that I won, and I appreciate everyone that did vote for me," he said.

The Gators needed the win Tuesday, as Camden is likely to be one of the top teams competing to wrestle the region title away from Lakewood. DeLavan welcomed the pressure.

"I love pitching in big moments, so that doesn't get to me," DeLavan said. "Before the game, I just do what I need to do to get my arm right. It's really not pressure to me. I just wanted to go out there and give my team a chance to win the ballgame."

The first five innings were scoreless on Tuesday, and DeLavan was dealing. He didn't walk a batter all night and finished with 11 strikeouts. With the added pressure of a scoreless game, DeLavan just tried to stay focused and sharp.

"I take a lot of deep breaths, and I feel like that helps a lot. I know walks can hurt you. Walks turn into runs," DeLavan said. "I know if I give my defense a chance to play and I hit my spots, we'll be fine.

"I just told my guys in the dugout that I've got them and if we can scratch one hit here and one hit there and we can take advantage of those opportunities, we can win the ballgame."

The Gators gave DeLavan some much-needed run support in the sixth, scoring twice. Camden managed to push a run across in the seventh, but DeLavan was able to recover and finish off the complete game.

"I missed my spot, and that's what should happen when you miss your spot," DeLavan said of the run he allowed in the seventh. "I had to just tell myself to finish and give it all I have, all the gas in the tank. Good pitching beats good hitting, so I just had to hit my spots."

DeLavan was proud to help lead his team to the win because he knows the stakes that come with playing a good region foe like Camden.

"I feel like it sets us up well," DeLavan said. "We have to keep playing really well and keep having that mindset that we're far away from (a region title) happening. Just taking it one game at a time and not looking too far into the future."

Coach DeLavan knows he can trust his son on the mound, which proved to be the case again a week later. DeLavan pitched the Gators to yet another 2-1 win on Tuesday against Lake City with the offense not providing any run support until late. Even when the offense struggles, the Lakewood head coach knows Landon will keep them in the game.

"I know what we're going to get out of No. 9 when he totes the rubber. I know we're going to get his best, and I know we're going to get a guy that goes out and competes and give his team a chance to win," the coach and father said. "Even the nights he doesn't have his best stuff, he's going to give us a chance. He's going to miss barrels, and he's going to do a great job of controlling the running game, and he's going to be composed in right situations. All the things that a really good pitcher does."