The News-Press Athlete of the Week for April 14-19: Island Coast baseball's Logan Hawkins – The News-Press

The News-Press selects athletes that stood out the week before based on a combination of coach reports and school nominations sent to sports@news-press.com and our coverage. Those athletes are put in a poll each Monday on news-press.com and you, our readers, vote on who you think did it best. The winners of The News-Press Athlete of the Week poll receive a T-shirt from BSN Sports and a tote bag from the USA Today High School Sports Awards. To get to know our winners better, The News-Press will have a question-and-answer session with each athlete.
The News-Press Athlete of the Week winner for April 14-19 with 45% of the votes was Island Coast baseball player Logan Hawkins. The junior drove in the game-winning run with a single in the bottom of the seventh as the Gators came back from a 6-1 deficit for a 7-6 win against Lemon Bay in the Class 4A-11 championship game.
Question: You drove in the winning run for the district title. What was in your head when you were at bat, and what was it like seeing your teammate cross the plate?
Hawkins: It was kind of crazy, especially in the moment when I hit the ball. I hit it hard. I knew I hit it hard, but it was like, if this kid makes this play, it’s an amazing play he just made. And if he doesn’t, I mean, that’s game. So as soon as he dove, and I saw it hit his glove and bounce off, I was like, ‘That’s game. I just, we won.’ It was kind of crazy coming back from that deficit, 6-1. Like, it was crazy. The moment was just, I didn’t even know what to think.
Island Coast baseball has a history of never saying die. Do you ever feel like you’re out of a game, or how do you have that mindset going into games?
Hawkins: I mean, there’s definitely like a factor in we always need to think that we’re better, even because, I mean, it’s baseball, everybody’s human, like, everybody can have a bad game, even if that other team is ranked higher than us, have better players, hitting better, doesn’t matter, because they can have a bad game, we could have a good game. And so we always just got to think we’re better. Even when we’re down, of course everybody gets in their heads, like, oh, we’re losing this and that, but at the end of it, our dugout, like, we always get up, everybody gets everybody in a good mood, positive mood. Everybody’s cheering and just get something going. So in that last inning, once again, down 6-1, I mean, in my mind, I thought the game was over, and then we just started going. Everybody started getting hyped. Everything just started working out perfectly.
I know it’s only been one series, but what do you think of the best-of-three regional format?
Hawkins: It’s definitely interesting. It’s better of a chance and worse of a chance. I like it and I don’t at the same time, because there’s teams where, like, once again, they’re really good in the nation, top 10 in the nation, and we have to play them. So like last year when we played Jesuit and lost the Jesuit, we went up 3-0 on them, and they ended up coming back and winning. We could have won that, and now if we do that and beat them, we gotta go play them again. But I mean, I like it. I think it brings more excitement, I guess, because you never know what’s going to happen.
What are your plans for the future?
Hawkins: Definitely, I’m going to go to college for baseball, that’s the goal. I don’t know what college yet. I’m still a junior, so I still got time, but definitely, definitely college after high school, for sure.
What do you think you need to work on this summer to get ready for next year? You’ll be a senior, and everybody’s gonna be looking up to you.
Hawkins: This summer is just gonna be baseball, working out, getting stronger, getting bigger, hopefully, and just getting better at the game. I mean, I’m playing baseball all summer long, so travel ball. I’m in Georgia, West Palm, all those places. And just work on having a better mindset over that time too, definitely while playing, because I struggle with just getting in my head a lot. So I just got to realize that it’s a game, and I got to just have fun.

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