MAYO — Hyatt Richardson ended his senior season the same way he ended his sophomore campaign: in the quiet guts of Fort Myers’ Hammond Stadium, wondering what else he could’ve done on the mound in a state championship loss.
What he won’t have to wonder about is the legacy he leaves behind at Lafayette: a trio of trips to the state tournament along with years of video game-like stats that cement him as the next great baseball player out of Mayo.
He’ll also move forward knowing he ended his career as the Lake City Reporter’s Baseball Player of the Year.
“Simplest way to put it is, it was fun,” Richardson said of his senior year. “You battle, you fight, and everyone wants to win. And if everyone wants to win, then you’re gonna win.”
While Richardson got rocked for nine runs in a 10-1 loss to Chipley in the 2023 championship game, the outing served as a jumping-off point for the burgeoning pitcher. It also became the catalyst for a pair of offseasons worth of growth.
Fast forward two years and about 40-50 pounds gained later, and Richardson was ready to take the mound in Fort Myers once again with a title on the line. He followed through on the years of preparation, allowing just two runs in 6 2/3 innings to perennial contender Holmes County.
If he’d allowed one fewer run in 1/3 more of an inning, the two sides might still be playing to a near-endless draw. Instead, Blue Devils right fielder Lyndan Flanary hit a walk-off, championship-clinching RBI single in the seventh inning, ending Lafayette’s season in Fort Myers for the third straight year.
While the disappointment has come and gone for Richardson, his growth throughout his time in Mayo remains with him.
“I know everyone was proud of the season and everyone wanted us to win, and we all wanted to win,” Richardson said. “I know the fans and coaches were proud of us. We were proud of the season.”
Richardson’s stats reflect his deserving right to the title of best baseball player in the area. The right-hander managed an 8-2 record for the Hornets in his senior season, compiling a 0.94 ERA through 67 innings pitched. He racked up 110 strikeouts while allowing just 39 hits and 33 walks, holding opponents to a mere .132 batting average.
Richardson’s defense didn’t suffer while playing in the field either, putting together a .988 fielding percentage while playing at second base, committing just three errors on the year.
Richardson’s offense was nearly as good as his defense. He hit .457 in the box while knocking in 30 RBIs to go with seven doubles and three home runs.
It’s the type of versatility that head coach Tim Hanson looked to develop in his three years leading Richardson, who Hanson said has garnered interest from a handful of Major League Baseball scouts already ahead of his debut next season at Florida Gulf Coast University.
“I think they’ll (FGCU) get a kid that’ll work at it. He’s not going to accept mediocrity,” Hanson said. “He’s going to do everything in his power to be successful. He’s a team guy. He does what he has to for his team to win.”
Hanson credited offseason workout regimens for Richardson’s development from young upstart to undeniable ace, even with the addition of former Taylor County southpaw Ethan Tuten, a dominant pitcher in his own right, to the rotation.
“He bought into working out, getting stronger,” Hanson said. “When he first came to me as a 10th grader, he was a pretty lanky kid…I think the other thing about Hyatt is he does a lot of work on his own too, not just at practice.”
Well, maybe not exactly “on his own.” Richardson happily admits he’s had help from one of his first confidants on the team he made back when he was a sophomore, Dawson Mock, who currently plays at the University of South Florida.
Richardson said the friendship has paid off in many ways but most noticeably in his pitching. It helped transform him physically, going from 130 pounds at the beginning of his sophomore season to a beefier 170-180 pounds by the end of this year.
Richardson’s weight gain was evident to all. He said he worked a lot on lower body strength and balance.
“Heavy squatting three times a week,” he said of the routine. “Just doing everything I can to get bigger.
“Pretty much every day, I was just at it. My days consisted of waking up, going to school, going to practice, and then I’d work out and then go to the cages every single day. Nothing changed. At first I focused on just putting on weight and just getting stronger, and then once I got to a point where I thought it was pretty good, I started doing more specific training, like single-leg stuff.”
Hanson said it dramatically impacted Richardson’s presence and dominance on the mound.
“He’s really bought into the weight room, and it’s definitely shown, obviously with his velocity,” Hanson said. “…I feel like that’s been the biggest advantage for him.”
Topping off the weight training, Richardson decided to add a new pitch, a slider, to his repertoire ahead of his senior season. After dropping his season debut against Suwannee in a 6-0 shutout loss despite striking out 11 in four innings of scoreless pitching, Richardson flourished with his full arsenal. He led his team to wins in 11 of his next 12 appearances, notching double-digit strikeouts in five of those outings.
Richardson pointed to that stretch — everything between the first and last games of his season — all as his personal highlight.
“I’d say definitely just the way our season went on the whole,” Richardson said when asked about his proudest moments of the year. “Winning all those (games), it felt like every game we were going to win. I’m proud of that, just going into every single game, just knowing my teammates have my back and we’re going to win this game. There was no other thought. There was no other way the game was going to go.”
Except for that last outing anyway. Though Richardson had plenty of reason to believe he and his teammates would prevail through that too.
After working out of a jam in the first inning, Richardson kept the pressure on Holmes County, allowing just one more hit through the next five innings while his team tied the game at one apiece in the fourth.
After allowing the walk-off single to end the Hornets’ season in heartbreak, there wasn’t a whole lot to say. Richardson was gracious inside Hammond Field’s innards, crediting his teammates and coaching staff for a terrific three years. It’s part of what made Richardson the pitcher, player and person he’s become, according to Hanson.
“I don’t think anything really fazes him,” Hanson said. “And if it does, he does not show it. I’m sure he probably has some internal things, but to me, with him, there’s not a time where anything’s too big. He could be having a bad day, you’d never know it. If he’s having a great day, you’d never know it.
“He’s the same all the time, and I just really think that’s a very positive thing, being a pitcher.”
Richardson will hope to continue that same mentality at the next level. He’s set to join the baseball team at FGCU in the same city his last three seasons have ended. The irony isn’t lost on Richardson, though he doesn’t think much about it.
“I’m really excited to see what else they (the FGCU pitching staff) would have me do,” Richardson said. “My whole career so far, everything’s just been whatever I’ve felt was best. I don’t know everything. I’m excited to see what a good college coach will have me do and how much better it’ll make me.”
ALL-AREA TEAM
P: Hyatt Richardson
Lafayette, senior
The LCR’s Player of the Year posted a 0.94 ERA with an area-best 110 strikeouts in 67 innings for the Class Rural state runner-up Hornets, who went 25-3. The Florida Gulf Coast signee also led the area with a .457 batting average and a .514 on-base percentage, had a team-high 30 RBIs while tying for a team-high 24 runs, three home runs to go with seven doubles, and a .988 fielding percentage.
P: Grayson Greene
Suwannee, sophomore
The ace of the Region 1-3A finalist Bulldogs, who finished 23-10, had a 2.14 ERA and 71 strikeouts in 59 innings.
C: Jackson Skinner
Branford, junior
Led the 21-9 Buccaneers to the playoffs with a .430 batting average and .529 on-base percentage, finishing the season with 30 RBIs, 28 runs, 22 stolen bases, eight doubles and three home runs; also posted a 1.87 ERA with 61 strikeouts in 30 innings and had a .986 fielding percentage.
1B: Jace Moran
Suwannee, sophomore
Led the Bulldogs with a .333 batting average and a .488 on-base percentage, finishing the season with 23 RBIs, 33 runs, 14 stolen bases, seven doubles, three triples and a home run; also posted a 1.31 ERA and 26 strikeouts in 26 2/3 innings.
2B: Noah Lopez
Suwannee, junior
Led the area with 36 runs and had 17 stolen bases while hitting .320 with a .481 on-base percentage that included 20 RBIs, nine doubles, two triples and a home run; also had a .975 fielding percentage.
SS: Trevor Byrd
Lafayette, sophomore
Hit .308 and had a .446 on-base percentage with 15 RBIs, 21 runs, a team-high 13 stolen bases, seven doubles and two home runs; posted a .926 fielding percentage.
3B: Garrett Taylor
Lafayette, junior
Tied for a team-high 24 runs scored while hitting .349 with a .477 on-base percentage that included 20 RBIs, six stolen bases, a team-high 11 doubles and two home runs; also posted a 0.23 ERA with 32 strikeouts in 30 innings.
OF: Bynton Edge
Columbia, senior
The Savannah State signee scored a team-high 25 runs and stole a team-most 18 bases for the 17-12 Tigers while hitting .321 with a .466 on-base percentage, including 10 RBIs and three doubles; also posted a 1.88 ERA with 56 strikeouts in 52 innings to help CHS reach the Region 1-5A semifinals.
OF: Troy Roberts
Branford, senior
Hit .329 and had a .495 on-base percentage with 16 RBIs, 33 runs, 29 stolen bases and two doubles; posted a .913 fielding percentage.
OF: Colton Rogers
Suwannee, sophomore
Hit .290 with a .457 on-base percentage, including 11 RBIs, 21 runs, two doubles and one home run; also posted a .902 fielding percentage and had a 2.47 ERA with 35 strikeouts in 39 2/3 innings.
DH: Ethan Tuten
Lafayette, junior
Tied for the team lead with three home runs while hitting .292 with a .461 on-base percentage, including 24 RBIs, nine doubles and a triple; also posted a .950 fielding percentage and had a 0.88 ERA with 69 strikeouts and only five walks in 39 2/3 innings.
UTIL: Ayden Phillips
Columbia, senior
The Jacksonville signee led the Tigers with a .372 batting average, a .490 on-base percentage, 20 RBIs and three home runs while also scoring 17 runs, stealing 14 bases and hitting six doubles; also posted a 2.06 ERA with a team-high 70 strikeouts in 51 innings.
UTIL: Trayce McKenzie
Columbia, senior
The Eastern Florida State College signee had a .352 batting average with a .378 on-base percentage, including 15 RBIs, 15 runs, 12 stolen bases and a team-high eight doubles; also posted a 1.64 ERA with 28 strikeouts in 21 1/3 innings.
COACH OF THE YEAR
Tim Hanson, Lafayette
Led the Hornets to an area-best 25-3 record, a third straight district title, a third straight regional title and their second state runner-up finish in the last three seasons. Lafayette reached the program’s fifth Final Four appearance following sweeps over Aucilla Christian and Union County in regionals. The Hornets defeated Trenton 5-1 in the Class Rural state semifinals but came up just short in the state championship, falling to Holmes County 2-1.