Baseball: Harrison, Dixon too much for Rock Falls

ROCK FALLS – After the Rock Falls Rockets took the lead Tuesday, the Dixon Dukes battled back – and then Alex Harrison got into a groove.

The Dixon junior didn’t allow a baserunner in the final five innings, and pitched the Dukes to a 10-2 victory over their Big Northern Conference rivals.

[ Photos from Dixon vs. Rock Falls baseball ]

Harrison struck out seven and walked two in 6 1/3 innings, giving up two earned runs and four hits – but those all came in the first two innings. He retired the final 14 batters he faced, then Hunter Vacek came on and set down the final two hitters.

“Once I got through the lineup, I knew what they struggled with and where their weaknesses were, and I just kind of targeted those spots,” Harrison said. “I got in my groove; I like getting in that rhythm and just pitching, and that’s kind of what I did.

“I literally pitch to contact and let our guys make plays. I know our defense is good, so I can pitch to contact and let them make the plays. If you get a strikeout, you get a strikeout, but that’s not what the focus is.”

Once the offense got Harrison the lead, the Dukes (7-4, 6-1 BNC) were in business.

Bryce Feit was 3 for 4 with two doubles and three runs scored, Max Clark and Quade Richards each had two hits and two RBIs, and Harrison and James Leslie each had two hits and a run scored. Clark and Quentin Seggebruch each scored twice, and Richards also scored a run.

Feit, Clark and Seggebruch were each on base four times in the top four spots in the order, and Richards and Leslie were both on base three times as Dixon put pressure on the Rockets with runners on the basepaths all game long.

“It was a big momentum boost. When we get on at the top of the order, it’s a good day for everyone,” Feit said. “Just battling through the counts and not giving up, even if you’re down 0-2, that’s the key. Just battling, that’s what our team is about.”

Feit and Harrison singled to start the game, then Feit scored on Clark’s fielder’s choice. But Rock Falls starter Gavin Sands limited the damage in that inning, then worked around two hit batsman to open the second inning by getting a double play grounder and flyout to keep the score 1-0 Dixon.

Isaiah Kobbeman smashed the first pitch of the bottom of the second for a home run to left field, then Victor Rivera singled and Aaron Meenen walked with one out. Harrison got a strikeout, but Sands helped his own cause with a two-out RBI single to center to drive in Rivera for a 2-1 lead for the Rockets (5-10, 1-4 BNC).

“I think we had some momentum there,” Kobbeman said. “I think our bats have been hot the last couple games, especially for the heart of our lineup. But the next inning was a tough one, and I think that hurt us the most. But we’re just going to come back, clean it up a little bit, and we’ll be all right.”

The top of the third turned the game around for the Dukes. Feit led off with a double and went to third on Harrison’s single. After Harrison took second without a throw, they both scored when Clark’s grounder skipped past the first baseman and into the outfield. Seggebruch was hit by a pitch, then Richards singled to center to drive in Clark.

Leslie singled to center, then Aiden Wiseman hit a deep fly ball to center field for a sacrifice fly to plate Seggebruch. But the throw came into home plate, and Richards wisely took third, then scored when the throw to third went into left field. Leslie took second on the play, then went to third and scored on consecutive wild pitches for a 7-2 lead.

“It was big to get that first run, then they came back and put two up, and then we came right back,” Feit said. “We always come back and answer, and that’s a big thing for us.”

“That’s baseball. We make a couple of mistakes, and they take advantage,” Rock Falls coach Donnie Chappell said. “I don’t think they hit the ball any harder than we did, but their balls just found holes and ours were right at them. But you can’t make the mistakes we made, and we made a couple big mistakes and the inning gets away from you.”

After that, it was all Harrison. He worked 1-2-3 innings in the third, fourth, fifth and sixth, and struck out his final hitter on his 99th pitch to start the seventh. Vacek came on and got a strikeout and groundout to end it.

Efficiency was the key for Harrison in the later innings. He threw 34 pitches in the second inning alone, and had 52 pitches through the first two frames. But he threw just 42 pitches over the next four innings, earning him the chance to go back out for the seventh.

“Alex did a great job. He was probably the biggest difference in the game. He just did a good job on the mound. He mixed his pitches up well and got some strikes,” Chappell said of the opposing pitcher.

Dixon tacked on three runs in the sixth after Kuitim Heald relieved Sands. Feit walked, went to second on a passed ball, took third on Clark’s base hit, then scored on the first of three wild pitches during Seggebruch’s plate appearance. Clark moved all the way around the bases to score on those three wild pitches, after which Seggebruch walked, stole second, and scored on Richards’ two-out RBI single to left.

“I think it really helps us if we get on them early and then keep going, because we struggled to catch some energy for a few innings after that,” Harrison said. “Getting on them early is what’s really big for us.”

Brady Richards had a first-inning double to go with the homer by Kobbeman and the singles from Rivera and Sands in the second. Sands took the loss, allowing seven runs (four earned) and nine hits in five innings, with one strikeout and three hit batsmen. Heald gave up three earned runs and three hits in two innings, striking out two and walking two.

But with Dixon putting pressure on the Rock Falls defense with baserunners, and the Rockets unable to match that, it was an uphill battle.

“Their top two hitters both hit the ball well, Harrison and Feit both hit the ball really well. I think other than that, their first two guys were on base all the time, and we probably got lucky to get out of the first couple innings up 2-1 … then the third inning kind of got away from us,” Chappell said. “That’s just how it is for us right now – but we’re getting better, I don’t think there’s any doubt about that.

“Our goal is to win a regional, and that’s within reach if we can do what we’re doing. We’ve come a long way, and this game was one inning that got us; other than that, we competed, hit the ball well. That’s baseball, and we’ll try again tomorrow.”

The Rockets visit the Dukes on Wednesday at Veterans Memorial Field in a makeup game from Monday to close their season series.