He was supposed to bunt.

Instead, Austin Uzzle drilled a three-run home run into the woods behind the 315-foot left field fence at New Kent to give the home team Trojans the insurance runs they needed to secure a convincing 12-5 victory over Goochland in the Class 3 baseball quarterfinals Tuesday afternoon.

“There were runners on first and second,” said Uzzle, a junior rightfielder, whose dinger scored Jakub Bowen and Drew Staskiel, both of whom had walked. “I missed the bunt. It was a foul ball. Thank God I missed that bunt.

“The second pitch was a ball. Then, I caught the fastball that he gave me. Hit it halfway up the trees. 

“It was amazing. Just hitting a home run in a state playoff game is great, but after I was supposed to bunt, it was awesome.”

The Trojans (23-2) exploded for six runs in the first inning and appeared headed for an easy, mercy-rule victory.

Staskiel led off with a single to center and advanced to second on Uzzle’s bunt single.

Dylan Bowman’s single to center scored Staskiel. After Bowman stole second, Keegan Branch stroked a sharp single to left scoring Uzzle and Bowman while Branch advanced to second on the throw to the cutoff.

Jonathan Hochman then drilled a sharp single to left scoring Branch.

Lane Boyette landed on first after being hit by a pitch, and a balk enabled Dayton Meekins, a courtesy runner for Hochman, and Boyette to advance a base. 

Jaxon Foreman’s sacrifice fly to right scored Meekins.

New Kent’s final run of its monster first came when Jakub Bowen reached on error sending Boyette across the plate.

“Something lit a fire under us today,” Uzzle said. “We were hitting really well. I love my teammates. They push me to get better every day. We have a great team.”

Fast starts haven’t been part of New Kent’s modus operandi this season.

“Our kids came out swinging the bat,” said New Kent coach Trevor Ronan. “We didn’t stop from there. We never start off that hot, but with all the work the kids have put in, I think that translated into the game.

“We kept communicating with them, telling them not to let up, keep on putting up runs, and try to end the game early.”

The Trojans added three more runs in the second, but the Bulldogs (19-6) responded with five in the top of the fourth to cut their deficit to 9-5 and give them a glimmer of hope.

The big blow that inning came from catcher Will Johns, whose grand slam scored Reece Smith (pinch runner for Chase Hicks, who singled) as well as Bohdan Pisko and Kinyon Ross, who walked.

Boyette, a senior righthander, pitched 3.2 innings, allowed three hits and four runs, and struck out six.

The fastball, he said, was his money pitch.

“The coaches told me that their first four batters were lefties,” he said. “I wanted to stay on the outside corner. I threw my two-seam and let that thing ride right on the corner. The umpire was giving me a ball off the plate, and I made sure I took advantage of that.”

As he did with his early six-, then nine-run cushion.

“That was definitely a huge relief,” he said. “This was a big game. I was confident about (the team’s fortunes). I was a little nervous for myself. 

“My teammates popped off in the first inning. They got me some runs. They got me feeling a lot more confident on the mound. That helped me a lot.”

Tucker Powell, a junior lefthander, closed the game out for the Trojans, allowing no hits or runs in the final three innings while striking out five.

“Lane pitched so well,” Powell said. “I knew I had to come in and throw strikes because I had a great defense behind me.

“I needed to go in there and pound the zone. That’s what I did, and I knew I had good bats behind me.”

Next up for the Trojans is a state semifinal matchup with Spotswood at 10 a.m. Friday at Abingdon High School.

“To be honest,” Boyette said, “this feels familiar. This isn’t the first time we’ve been here. It won’t be the last. We’re coming for it all.”