Baseball: Dixon starts hot, finishes strong in season-opening win over Guilford

Dixon’s Bryce Feit fires a pitch Monday, March 20, 2023 against Rockford Guilford.

DIXON – With four first-inning runs, the Dixon Dukes jumped ahead of the Guilford Vikings. With six more runs between the third and fifth – and solid pitching throughout – they finished a 10-2 season-opening win Monday evening at Veterans Memorial Field.

The Vikings took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first after a Lyall Kehely leadoff single, stolen base and score from second on a Gannon Buckner single, but the Dukes answered right away in the bottom of the frame and never trailed again.

Bryce Feit led off with a single to left to start the rally, then stole second during Alex Harrison’s at-bat. Harrison moved Feit to third on a fielder choice, and Ari Selmani flew a single to right to bring in Feit for the game-tying run.

With two outs in the inning, Quentin Seggebruch drew a walk, and James Leslie singled to score Selmani. Seggebruch took third on an error, and Kyan Adkins plated Seggebruch and Leslie on a single to center for a 4-1 Dixon lead.

Dixon’s Kyan Adkins ropes a hit to right to drive in two Monday, March 20, 2023 against Rockford Guilford.

“It just got us some energy,” Leslie said of the big first inning. “We just kept rolling with it. We got the bats going early, so that was great.”

“We needed to get out in front, get that momentum,” Feit said. “It’s our first game, so it’s always good to come out on top.”

In the top of the second, Feit threw three strikeouts around a hit batter to preserve the three-run lead.

In the top of the third, Jacob Smith singled to center then scored on a Logan Prine two-out double, trimming the Guilford deficit to 4-2.

But Dixon soon found its counterpunch. In the bottom of the third, Quade Richards led off with a single to center, and Seggebruch followed with an infield single along the right-field line. After a wild pitch on an Aiden Wiseman at-bat, Richards stole home for a 5-2 Dixon lead.

Dixon’s James Leslie rounds third on his way to score Monday, March 20, 2023 against Rockford Guilford.

Leslie came on for Feit in the top of the fourth and worked a 1-2-3 inning with one strikeout for the Dukes.

“We were pounding the zone, throwing strikes. We’ve got a good defense behind us,” Feit said. “James [Leslie] and Alex [Harrison] both did really good. Everyone did a really good job today.”

“I think we did [well as pitchers]. We really pounded the zone well, and got on the counts early,” Leslie said. “Just putting the ball where we needed to and getting quick outs.”

In the bottom of the fourth, Dixon added four more runs. Tyler Shaner started the rally with a leadoff walk, then Feit tripled to center to bring him home. Selmani singled to third to score Feit next, then Richards flew a triple to left before coming home on a Seggebruch single to short.

Down 8-2 with one out in the inning, the Vikings made a pitching change, subbing Aidan Love for Grant Carlson.

In the next two at-bats, Leslie and Adkins both drew walks. With the bases loaded, Wiseman drew a third straight walk, scoring Seggebruch before a Love strikeout ended the inning.

“In baseball, anything can happen,” Leslie said. “One bad inning can get your energy down, and they can just roll with it. So we had to keep that energy up, just stay energized.”

In the bottom of the fifth, Feit and Harrison drew consecutive walks, prompting Guilford to make another pitching change. This time, Smith came on for Love.

During Selmani’s at-bat, Feit stole third. With a Selmani groundout, Feit scored Dixon’s 10th run.

Leslie worked another 1-2-3 inning with two strikeouts in the sixth, then Harrison pitched a scoreless seventh to finish off the win.

Feit went 2 for 3 with an RBI triple and a walk. Over three innings, he allowed four hits, two earned runs and no walks while striking out seven. Leslie tossed five strikeouts and conceded two walks over three hitless innings.

Selmani went 2 for 4 with three RBIs, Richards was 2 for 4 with one RBI and the triple, and Seggebruch went 3 for 3 with one RBI.

Prine went 1 for 3 with an RBI double, and Buckner 1 for 3 with one RBI as the leading Guilford batters.

Dan Wussow

Dan Wussow

Dan is the sports editor for Sauk Valley Media. Previously, he wrote for The Post-Crescent in his hometown of Appleton, WI.