Baseball: Dixon looking to take next step after back-to-back regional titles

DIXON – Winning consecutive Big Northern Conference championships and Class 3A regional titles in 2019 and 2021 has left the Dixon baseball team hungry for more.

The 2022 Dukes’ roster is loaded with seniors – many of whom contributed last year – as well as a handful of juniors and sophomores.

From last year’s team, Dixon will need to replace five seniors, including first-team all-BNC performers Eli Dever and Andrew Pollom, and BNC second-teamer Ryan Pitzer.

With a fair amount of roster turnover from last season, Dixon will need to reload at a few positions.

But through two weeks of practice, coach Jason Burgess says he’s already seen players stepping up in those roles.

“We’ve got a pretty good core coming back, and of course, we’ve got one that’s injured, so once he comes back, we’ll be pretty strong again,” he said. “Yeah, we lost some pretty good leaders when it comes to that senior class, so you’re looking at about five guys. But the juniors that played last year have a lot playing time, and they’ll be able to fill those voids. And then the other kids that are stepping in with some of the young guys we got brought up as well, they should be able to fill those voids pretty solidly.”

“We should do a lot of the same stuff as last year. We got new positions to fill, but we’ve got underclassmen stepping up and we got upperclassmen helping them, so we should be pretty good,” senior infielder/pitcher/outfielder Jacob Gaither said.

Right now, Burgess says he’s still figuring out the team’s strengths and weaknesses. At this point in the season, he’s mainly concerned with building team chemistry.

“We’re still kind of feeling out [the strengths of the team]. We’ve got a lot changes in the program. Like I said, we’ve got some new kids playing up. They’re going to have to learn the system,” he said. “We’ve got juniors turned into seniors that need to learn the team component of it, and just getting them to mesh. Once they mesh, that’s the whole process of this game. It doesn’t matter how good you are, if they don’t mesh, nothing’s going to come of it.

“So right now we’re just in the process of meshing and getting these guys to understand the team concept, and playing and picking each other up when they’re down – that type of thing – instead of being more individualized. If we can get on the right mode, which they are, they’re starting to get there. Offensively, I think we’ll be a little bit on the positive side right now. They look pretty good in the cages, but cages and live pitching are totally different. And then we’ve got some pretty solid arms on the mound, too. If we can locate the baseball and throw to certain counts, we should be fine.”

Aiding Dixon’s chances at a deep postseason run this year is the return of four all-conference performers from last season.

Catcher/infielder/pitcher Beau Evans and pitcher/outfielder/first baseman Gage Burdick were 2021 second-team all-Big Northern selections, while infielder/pitcher Ethan Van Horn and infielder/pitcher/outfielder Jacob Gaither were BNC honorable mention honorees a season ago.

Comparing last year’s team to this year’s, the consensus among the Dukes seems to be that team chemistry is the area in which they’ve grown the most.

“I think we’re a close-knit team,” senior outfielder Hayden Steinmeyer said. “We get along pretty well, so I think our team bonding is what really keeps us strong. I think, if we’ve got that down, we’ll be able to do anything.”

“I think our team chemistry is improving a lot, because we were arguing at the beginning and just bickering back and forth, and now we’re just helping each other out,” Gaither said. “And our bats have improved tremendously from last year.”

“The biggest improvement for our group is team chemistry. Playing together, being able to pick each other up,” Burgess said. “When the chips are down, just being there for each other. If we can do that, this group can go as far as their talents will take them.”

Burgess expects solid competition from the BNC this year, and a tougher-than-usual non-conference slate.

“There’s going to be some very solid teams in there with Byron, Rockford Christian. Stillman’s always very good. The conference is solid. North Boone is going to be a step up from what they have been in the past. So, I mean, when it comes game for game, it’s going to be a battle no matter what,” Burgess said.

“Obviously, for the last two years, this group has won the conference, so you’re going to have somebody coming at you every day. So as far as conference is concerned, it doesn’t matter who you play; you better come to play, otherwise they’re gonna beat you. Our nonconference schedule this year is a little bit tougher than the past, which is good. Bringing in Rock Island again from last year and some of the other teams like Guilford is going to help, and hopefully get us up to that other level, so when we get to the regional, we’re kind of ready for that higher-end competition.”

Steinmeyer is excited to see how his team measures up, especially versus the tougher nonconference opponents this season.

“[Rockford] Christian’s going to be hard game, but I think we got it,” he said. “Some of our nonconference games are going to be a little tougher, which is good, but I think we can handle that

“I think we’re going to be pretty close to what we were last year. I think we’re going to make another good run, and I think we have a good chance of going far again.”

Dixon opens its season at 4:30 p.m Friday against Orion at Veterans Memorial Field.