By KEVIN ECKLEBERRY

Daily News

Former LaGrange Granger Jake Howard will be spending his summer in Savannah once again.

Howard, who recently competed his red-shirt junior season at the University of North Georgia, has signed on to play for the Savannah Bananas for a third consecutive year.

The Bananas, who play their games at Historic Grayson Stadium, are a part of the Coastal Plain League, which features 16 baseball teams from Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia.

Tyler Gillum, Savannah’s head coach, is happy to have Howard back in the fold.

“We are excited to have Jake back for his third season,” Gillum said. “He has played an important role for us each summer. He’s tough, willing to do anything, a great teammate and awesome human. Jake knows everything we do with the Bananas so he’ll be a great leader for all the new faces on the team.”

Howard, who played nearly every position on the field during his time at LaGrange, has been at North Georgia since the 2017 season.

Howard was red-shirted in 2017, and he’s been a key player the past two years, and he hit .308 with 15 runs scored this season.

Savannah opens with a home game against Macon on Thursday, and the season goes through August.