Dixon’s Dakota Emmons struck out 10 Crocker Lions en route to a 11-0 five-inning no-hitter Wednesday night in Dixon.
“We were glad to get him back out there,” Dixon head coach Alex Shelton said of Emmons’ superb game on the mound. “He was a little rocky in his first outing but it’s nice to see him get back in the groove.”
The junior righty stymied the Crocker bats throughout. Only a few made contact and the only baserunners were the result of two walks and two Dixon fielding errors.
The Lions (0-3) were playing their second game in a row but still looked a but rusty at the plate.
“We haven’t seen anyone throw that hard yet this season,” Crocker coach Tim Hardesty said of Emmons. “He’s very good.”
Crocker has allowed 11 runs in each of the three games they’ve played this season.
Josh Newcomb started for the Lions and struck out four. But Dixon (3-0) managed to hit him 10 times, and had at least one baserunner in each of the five innings.
Catcher Eli Bowers went 3-for-3 for the Bulldogs, hitting a single, double and triple and scoring two runs and knocking in one.
The Bulldogs jumped out to a quick 2-0 lead with two runs in the first inning.
They would add five runs in the second with a big two-out rally. Tyler Palmer hit a two-run double, Bowers scored Palmer with his double then senior shortstop Dustin Doyle scored Bowers with a long two-run homer to left-center field.
“That killed us,” Hardesty said. “If we’d have been able to get that last out we would have made the score a little closer.”
Indeed, the Lions were able to hold the Bulldogs in the next two innings. Newcomb only gave up a hit apiece in the third and fourth innings but no runs crossed the plate.
The Bulldogs were able to end the game in the fifth with four runs off four hits, including a long walk-off two-run double that ended the game.
Doyle finished the game 1-for-3 with the home run, while left fielder Nathan Gilbert went 2-for-3. Jared Weider, Ty Kelley and Jacob Bertoni had a hit each.
The Lions will host Licking today, their third game in as many days. The home opener will begin at 4:30 p.m.
The Bulldogs play at Viburnum next Tuesday, April 4.
