Hines Furniture Athlete of the Week: Lakewood's Love pitches Gators to two wins over Manning

The Lakewood High School baseball team opened region play with a pair of games against Manning last week. Mason Love originally thought he would have the night off on Tuesday as he prepared to make his scheduled start on Friday.

As the pitcher's duel continued into the night, head coach Bill Delavan shifted gears and turned to his former reliever to close out an eventual win over the Monarchs. Love then turned around and pitched the Gators to another victory over Manning on Friday. That two-win performance was also enough for the Gator righty to earn the Hines Furniture Athlete of the Week.

"It means everything to me," Love said. "It means a whole lot to know I have family behind my back here at Lakewood."

Going into the two-game series, Love was focused on doing whatever was needed of him to help lead Lakewood to a 2-0 record in region play.

"Just getting the job done," Love said. "I look at it as a job, and every time I go out there, I make sure the job is complete at the end."

Love wasn't expecting to pitch on Tuesday, but Delavan knew he could turn to his former closer if he needed a trustworthy arm late. Landon Delavan started for the Gators and pitched five strong innings. He exited the game with the score locked at two runs apiece, handing the ball off to Love.

"I thought I had the day off," Love said. "It just reminded me of last season when I mostly closed. There's nothing new with closing; I love closing. It's way better than starting, in my opinion, just having that pressure on you and getting it done."

Delavan wasn't necessarily planning on pitching Love on Tuesday, but he knew he would be able to turn to the experienced righty if needed. Tuesday is Love's scheduled day to throw a bullpen, so in Bill's eyes, he was just throwing his bullpen live in a game.

"It worked out nice for us to be able to use that bullpen in a game," Delavan said. "If it's a leverage situation, he's been so good in those moments for us that we're going to go to him. That determines wins and losses, so if we're going to lose, we're going to do it with our best guys out there."

Love came in and worked his way through the sixth and seventh, but the game was still tied 2-2, so Lakewood and Manning were headed into extra innings. That's when the Gator offense woke up to the tune of three runs. Love came back out and got the first two outs before reaching his pitch count. He would give the ball to Payton Frye for the final out.

With a pitch count on the front of his mind as the game stretched into extras, Love said he made sure to trust his defense.

"I just had to go out there and pitch to contact and let my defense do the work," Love said. "I know if I do that, I'll generate less pitches."

After earning the win on Tuesday, Love turned around and earned another victory on Friday. He pitched four innings, allowing two runs on two hits, striking out three batters in the process.

"Closing that game gave me an idea of how the Manning hitters would be Friday," Love said. "I just went out there with my approach of just making sure my defense did the work behind me and pitch to contact."

Love was glad to play a big role in Lakewood starting region play on the right foot.

"It means a lot," Love said. "We're working hard to win the region again to prove to people that it wasn't a fluke last year and that we're here to stay on top."

Lakewood came into the season with some questions around its pitching staff. After Landon Delavan, the Gators were relatively thin on experienced pitchers. Coach Delavan is glad Love has stepped up nicely in the role of No. 2 starter.

"It's huge. With our depth being thin and knowing we were probably going to have to bump Mason into a starter's role, for him to step into that role and do what he's done with it is a testament to his work ethic," said the Gator head coach. "The great thing about Mason is his mentality. He's free-spirited. It's a great mentality to have because he'll get out there and he'll just say he's going to throw the ball across the plate, keep the ball down and let the defense play, and if they hit it, they hit it. That's what he does, and that's why he's so successful."