Baseball: Nate Nunez leads DeKalb offense in run-rule win against Dixon

DeKALB – Starting six sophomores and a freshman a day after their bats were quiet in a loss to Sandwich, the DeKalb Barbs bounced back in a big way Tuesday against Dixon.

The Barbs pounded out 11 hits in an 11-1 win over the Dukes to improve to 3-1 after winning six games all of last season.

“It feels really good to come back and do that. We didn’t hit the ball like we wanted to yesterday, but today it showed we wanted to hit the ball. And we demolished the baseball.”

—  Nate Nunez

“It feels really good to come back and do that,” said catcher Nate Nunez, one of two seniors in the batting lineup for the Barbs. “We didn’t hit the ball like we wanted to yesterday, but today it showed we wanted to hit the ball. And we demolished the baseball.”

Nunez went 2 for 3, driving in a pair of runs. He singled in Jackson Kees for the first run of the game, then courtesy runner Jack Ager scored along with Nik Nelson on a two-out single by sophomore Isaac Black.

For a while, it looked like those two extra runs were going to be important. Dixon’s Quentin Seggebruch double to start the second then scored on a two-out double by Aiden Wiseman to make the score 3-1.

The Barbs ended up tacking on solo runs in the fourth and fifth before exploding for six in the sixth to force the run rule.

DeKalb coach Josh Latimer said Black’s first-inning at-bat was a good piece of hitting.

“In that situation right there for a young kid to come up big like that, we’ve really been teaching approach to these guys,” Latimer said. “The last few games he’s been really, really hot. He’s seeing the ball really well right now ,and that showed out there today. Huge for him to come up in that situation.”

Black had the chance to be the hero in the sixth with runners at first and second with one out and the Barbs up nine. He grounded out, but Landon Simonson followed with a two-out, walk-off single.

“It’s really fun. There really isn’t any other way I can say it,” Nunez said of DeKalb’s hot start. “I’m excited for the year and what it brings for us.”

Dixon starter Alex Harrison allowed one earned run in four innings, striking out seven and walking two.

But the Dukes (1-1) made four errors and had five hits in the game.

“[We played] not very good, and it was very obvious watching the approach at the plate,” Dixon coach Jason Burgess said. “How we mentally and physically attacked the game at the plate was not our kind of baseball.”

Seggebruch had two hits for the Dukes. Kees went 3 for 4, and Nelson went 2 for 4 to join Nunez in multihit games for DeKalb.

Josh Klemm, on a pitch count ahead of a tournament for the Barbs this weekend, pitched 3 1/3 innings, allowing three hits and striking out six.

“We talked to Josh about just coming out and being a bulldog,” Latimer said. “Just coming out and grabbing the bull by the horns and just really really going after people and attacking. And today he did that.”

Burgess said the miscues on the field fed into the miscues at the plate and weighed on the pitchers. He also said he expects the team to learn and improve from the loss.

“On my end, that’s uncalled for. I have to do a better job,” Burgess said. “The players have to do a better job as well, but DeKalb is very young and they played very disciplined baseball. They played together as a team. We’ve got some injuries and some other things we’re dealing with, so we’ll be better down the road. This is one we chalk up to a learning lesson – an eye-opener, to be honest with you.”