Gaither High School junior center fielder Drew Doty smashed a tape-measure home run Tuesday night in his first at-bat against Chamberlain, giving him four homers in four consecutive plate appearances.
Doty's power surge began against King on Monday night, when he hit three solo homers. And in his first at-bat, he missed another homer by a few feet, clubbing a triple that one-hopped off the left-field wall.
"It has been awesome,'' said Doty, who accounted for 19 total bases in less than 24 hours. "One of the best feelings I've had in baseball. But I'm not trying to hit homers. I just want to hit it hard. It has just been getting out of here. You get in a zone, I guess.''
Soon, Doty may be in a zone of his own.
Last season, he didn't have any homers for Gaither – not one.
Doty's four-homer splurge has allowed him to tie Gaither's single-season school record (nine by Julian Colson in 1996). He has a few chances to break the mark – Friday at home on Senior Night against Leto or Monday at Countryside High in the Class 6A-District 7 tournament opener against St. Petersburg High.
"The biggest thing is for us to keep winning,'' said Doty, who has added 15 pounds to his frame since last season. "It would be great to hit a few more homers, but I can't think about it like that. It just has to happen.''
So far, so good
Should Gaither defeat St. Pete, they may very well be facing Mitchel's and Patrick Schuster in his bid for 5 consecutive no hitters.
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