Gulliver Prep’s Lombard brothers enjoying ride as they aim for state titles in two sports

Hoisting a state championship trophy is the dream of any high school athlete. Having the chance to do it twice in the same year in two different sports is something rarely accomplished.

On top of that, having the opportunity to be a multi-sport state champion as brothers is the stuff of storybooks.

It’s also the reality for George and Jacob Lombard at Gulliver Prep.

The brothers were standout defenders on the Raiders’ state soccer championship team a few months ago. Now, they anchor the left side of the infield on the baseball team, which faces North Broward Prep at 1 p.m. on Friday in the Class 3A state baseball semifinals in Fort Myers.

“It’s pretty special,” George said. “Obviously, how our soccer season finished was just how I wanted it to. It was a good year. We were able to capitalize at the end, which was cool. Now it’s time to do it again. We’re going to give it everything we’ve got these next few days, and hopefully we bring another one home. It would be a pretty good year.”

George Lombard, a Vanderbilt commit, is one of the top prep baseball players in the country. The shortstop is the focus of scouts, and he might be taken high in the MLB Draft. Still, the senior also is savoring every second of his high school career.

“Living in the moment and focusing on the present,” George said. “There’s a lot of outside noise going on. Our team has faced a lot of adversity, different things like that. We’ve been able to fight through it and really hunker down on ourselves, and playing for each other, and just living in the present. If we can do that, I think we’ll have a pretty good chance at winning these last two games.”

Jacob, a freshman third baseman, already is attracting plenty of attention from colleges, and the MLB scouts have him on their radar as well.

“We’re both super excited,” Jacob said. “We were super lucky to do this, and for our coach letting us play soccer, and not worrying about Fall baseball. Making sure we’re athletes, and letting us do what we’ve always done.”

Dealing with high expectations is nothing new for the Lombard brothers. The sons of Detroit Tigers bench coach George Lombard, George Jr. and Jacob were raised around the game.

“It’s amazing how he’s embraced it,” Gulliver Prep interim coach Isaac Tijerino said. “For me personally, when I was getting the text messages and the phone calls for [scouts asking], ‘Are you guys having BP before the game? Hey, when is this? When is that?’ At first, I felt bad for him, because all of these scouts would be there. I felt that he was going to feel all this pressure that he had to perform.”

If the increased attention has bothered him, George didn’t let on, because all he’s doing is producing. For the season, he’s hitting .483 with 14 doubles, one triple and six home runs.

As a team, the road for Gulliver Prep (19-10) to the Class 3A state semifinals was far from a smooth one.

Underdogs in the regionals, the Raiders knocked off Westminster Christian, 4-2, and advanced to state with a 2-0 victory at Calvary Christian Academy.

“We’ve definitely seen flashes of it all year,” George said. “We had a little lack of depth in some areas, so it’s been a little tough to be consistent with it. We’ve done everything we could to even that out as much as we can. You can see, when we put it all together, we can be a pretty dangerous team.”

As his brother garnered more notice from scouts, Jacob emerged into one of the top freshmen in the country.

“He’s pushed me every day to be the best version of myself,” Jacob said. “Definitely, he’s been a big role player in helping me get to the position I’m at. Pushing me in soccer. Pushing me in baseball.”

The younger Lombard batted .329 with six doubles, two home runs and 20 RBI.

“It’s amazing to see their relationship,” Tijerino said. “I know George gets on his little brother, but not in a demeaning way, because he’s such a humble kid. He wants to make sure his brother is up to par with what’s going on with the team. He’s hard on him, but you couldn’t tell. The way he does it is amazing. And you have Jacob, who doesn’t want to let his big brother down. Their dynamic is amazing, watching them play together.”

Gulliver Prep and North Broward Prep are no strangers to each other. They actually faced each other twice in the regular season, and split the two games.

On March 18, Gulliver traveled to North Broward Prep and ran up a 17-6 victory. A couple of weeks later, on April 4, at home, the Eagles prevailed, 6-5, over the Raiders.

“Now, here we go,” Tijerino said. “Let’s see how we break the tie.”

On Friday, Gulliver Prep plans on starting its most reliable pitcher, senior Brixton Lofgren, who has a 2.20 ERA.

Senior leadership has been a big part of the Raiders’ success. Along with George Lombard, the team has received big seasons from seniors like Luca Mendez and leadoff hitter, AJ Argudin, and Jason Marcos.

Argudin is hitting .341 and Marcos is batting .308 with 24 RBIs. Aiden Aparicio and Mendez each have five homers.

“This team is resilient,” Tijerino said. “The games that we lost were close games.”