Dixon High School Baseball Team Goes to State by Cheri Kemp
DHS Baseball Team
Payton Lawrence (Photo by Sauk Valley Media) Dentrell McGlown (Photo by Sauk Valley Media)
For the first time in its history, the Dixon Dukes Baseball team made an appearance at the state level in baseball. In fact, when they won the Regional that was also a first for the Dixon Dukes! The Dixon Dukes played 30 confer- ence games with 26 wins and only 4 losses. This advanced them to the Regionals where they won both games tak- ing the Regional Championship. This win garnered them a trip to the Sectionals taking the win and moving on to Super-Sectionals. Their winning streak continued and earned them a spot as one of the top 4 teams in the State of Illinois! If you happen to see Kyle Lawrence, Ingredient Warehouse Shipping Coordinator, ask him about his son Payton who was one of the pitchers on the Dixon Dukes baseball team. You could not help but hear the enthusiasm in Kyle’s voice when talking about the Dixon Dukes baseball team as a whole and about his son, Payton. “Payton fell in love with the game of baseball at a young age. He knew he wanted to play college baseball and was part of a travel team for many years. When he was 14 he played for the Quad City Hitmen for one year then the last three years of high school, he played for the 29ers Academy out of Chicago. This travel team played in Atlanta and Florida every year. While he was playing he got a little notoriety from colleges and has accepted an offer at Black Hawk Community College in Moline to play ball. I am kind of happy he is semi-close so I can go to games for the next couple of years. After his two years there he is planning to move on to another level. Payton ended his high school pitching career with the season record for strike-outs with 113. At the sophomore level he set the records for ERA for the season.” “This whole season was a first. Dixon had not won a conference in 20 years. When it ended Saturday (June 8 at the State game), when we got beat, the coach pulled some of the seniors after the fifth inning but left Payton and Tucker Cole in the game. He later pulled Payton and Tucker at the top of the seventh inning with two outs. Payton and Tucker left the field to a standing ovation. It was very emotional to watch. I also just learned that Payton & Tucker Cole were also named to the 3A All State Team! This means they were nominated by the Illinois Coaches Association as among one of the best of 25 players in the State of Illinois. Dixon is the only school who has more than one player nominated!” Jerry Lawrence, Packaging Division Warehouse Manager, Payton’s grandfather, might just need some help keep- ing his feet on the ground. Jerry is an avid sports fan and his grandson’s accomplishments along with that of his teammates, is what Jerry thrives on. “I went to all of the DHS baseball games to watch my grandson. We never thought they would go this far. At the beginning of the season they were playing as individuals, then they started coming together as a team when they started winning. It was nice to see the whole city (Dixon) joining in on the excitement. The team had a lot of landmarks there and the city labeled them as history makers.”
12 Crest Ink July, August & September 2019
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