RICHMOND HILL -- Fair or not Leighton Finley has always had to play in the shadow of his older brother Jackson.
The Finley brothers, separated by three years, are two of the best to ever play baseball at Richmond Hill as evidenced by Jackson’s signing with Georgia Tech three years ago and Leighton signing with Georgia on Wednesday.
Leighton could easily have become a Yellow Jacket, too, and it would have been understandable because the brothers are extremely close.
They had one year together with the Wildcats. Jackson started at shortstop and pitcher while Leighton played centerfield his freshman season for Coach Stacy Bennett who is an administrator at RHHS.
As a sophomore and with Jackson now at Tech moved to shortstop and pitcher where he excelled for former coach Scott Strickland.
So, why Georgia where he will be playing for the Yellow Jackets’ arch-rival? Leighton had a perfect explanation: he wants to step out on his own.
“I want to follow my own footsteps,” Finley said. “The rivalry will come but it won’t become between us.”
Finley was one of six Wildcats signing letters of intent in the school’s East café as he was joined by baseball teammates Luke Boone and Evan Cowan along with volleyball’s Abby LeVines, soccer’s Sarah Hungerford and track standout Jasai Taylor.
Boone signed with Georgia State, Cowan with Georgia College, LeVines with Augusta University, Hungerford with Columbus State University and Taylor with Troy University.
Hungerford and Taylor were unable to attend the formal signing ceremony held at 3 p.m., but they did get their signed NLI’s back to their respective schools.
Boone, who had other offers, was captivated by the love shown him by Georgia State coaches, saying, “they didn’t make me feel like a number but as someone who could be an asset.
“Georgia State felt like a fit and I had to go with my heart,” Boone said. “They’re building a new baseball stadium and they have the academic programs I want to follow.”
Finley hit .362 last year and drove in 25 runs and struck out 67 and walked only five with a 1.52 ERA as he was Region 2-6A’s Player of the Year.
Boone led the Wildcats with a .378 average despite getting off to a slow start that saw him hitting only .150 after 15 games. He batted at .560 clip the last 18 games, led the team in home runs with four and had 20 RBI.
While Finley and Boone struggled at the plate early Cowan was solid from the get go.
The sterling defensive centerfielder was the team’s most consistent hitter as he compiled a .340 average with a team high seven doubles.
Cowan credited Strickland with his getting recruited by Georgia College which is one of the top programs in the Peach Belt Conference.
“Coach Strickland is good friends with their coach (Nolan Belcher) and he talked to them about me,” Cowan said. “Other teams were looking at me but their campus blew me away. It’s amazing. Beautiful.”
LeVines started playing volleyball in the seventh grade and set a goal of playing in college. While several schools were interested in her Augusta had the inside track.
“My sister Alex is in dental school at Augusta. That was the deciding factor,” LeVines said. “I’ve worked so hard since I started playing. I play club volleyball and only take two to three weeks off a year.”
LeVines was a four-year starter for the Wildcats who were 103-49 in that span which included two Elite Eight appearances and reaching the second round two other times including this past season when they were 26-15.
The last two years Richmond Hill has been eliminated by Buford which went on to the win the state championship.
Taylor is a hurdler and finished second in the 300 meters in the state meet last year while setting a school record time of 37.65 seconds. Hungerford played a major role for the Wildcats’ success on the pitch as they are 31-13-7 for her three years on the varsity including a 13-4 record last spring.