Baseball: Dixon players lead way for BNC in all-senior all-star clash against NIC-10

ROCKFORD – Following a 24-3 season and sectional semifinal appearance, the Dixon baseball team was, unsurprisingly, well-represented at the annual Big Northern Conference vs. NIC-10 Senior All-Star Game at Rockford Rivets Stadium.

Five Dukes took part in the nine-inning exhibition game Monday night, and each reached base at least one time. Four of the five scored a run in what was otherwise a ho-hum offensive showing for the BNC side in a 12-5 loss.

“It was a good experience. There was a lot of competition on both sides,” Jake Gaither said. “Just for everyone in the BNC to come together and play on a team, and the NIC-10 to come up and just play against each other, it was a good experience.”

“It was a great time,” Gage Burdick said. “Definitely being able to get in a big group with all the guys we’ve been playing against the past two, three years, it’s awesome. I wouldn’t take it back for anything.”

“It’s an honor just being able to play here,” Trey Scheidegger said. “We got invited here, and it’s just awesome to be able to play on this nice field.”

Early on in the game, the BNC team couldn’t string any hits together – a Burdick two-out single in the bottom of the first was its only hit in the first three innings. Defensively, it didn’t fare any better, conceding 10 runs across the first four innings.

Burdick took the mound for the first two, notching five strikeouts while conceding three hits, three runs and a walk.

In the bottom of the fourth, Gaither finally got the BNC offense going. After a leadoff single, he stole second, then moved to third on a groundout and scored on a single.

Gaither also made a highlight play in center field in the top of the sixth when he jumped up to catch a fly ball at full extension for the third out of the inning. The Dixon outfielder later admitted he wasn’t sure he’d be able to make a play on it.

“I thought it was gonna burn me, and then last second I jumped at it,” Gaither said. “It helps being tall and lengthy, but I got up there.”

In the bottom of the sixth, Mikey Bivins singled to left field, then stole second and scored on a single to cut the deficit to 12-2.

In the bottom of the seventh, two more Dukes rounded the bases to pull within 12-4.

Burdick led off the three-run inning with a walk, then Beau Evans singled to right field. They both moved up a base on a wild pitch, and back-to-back singles brought both runners in. With two outs in the inning, the BNC team scored on a bases-loaded walk. That was the final run of the game for either team.

Scheidegger singled in the bottom of the ninth as the leadoff hitter, but the NIC-10 team responded with three quick outs to close the contest.

Although they would’ve liked to have played a more competitive game, the Dixon seniors still enjoyed suiting up together for one last high school baseball game.

“One last time is definitely what we all wanted. It was great,” Burdick said. “Would’ve liked to have won, but we weren’t really caring about scoring; we were just enjoying it all, soaking it in.”

“It was awesome,” Gaither said. “Our last game [in the sectional semifinal] we didn’t get to play with Mikey Bivins, so we got another chance to play with him.”

“It was awesome,” Scheidegger said. “I play Legion ball with a lot of them, so there’s going to be another game tomorrow, but it was good. One last game.”