3-year starter Ashton Henkel rejoins dominant Byron baseball team after delaying surgery
Matt Trowbridge
Ashton Henkel was late to Byronôôֱs latest championship season.
But he is back now. And his return has coincided with Byron making a charge to win its first Big Northern Conference baseball title in a decade.
Byron opened a two-game lead in the BNC over four-time defending champion Dixon with a 10-0 victory Thursday, highlighted by Henkelôôֱs full-length, across his body diving catch with two outs and the bases loaded to end Dixonôôֱs only threat.
Byron coach Dale Hartman called that catch ôôֱone of the best Iôôֱve seen.ôôֱ
ôôֱThat was a tough ball. Itôôֱs diving away from him and heôôֱs got to lay out at an angle. It was tremendous,ôôֱ Hartman said.
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Itôôֱs a catch Henkel could not have made for almost a year until late last month.
ôôֱAnd if I tried, I probably wouldnôôֱt have got up,ôôֱ Henkel said. ôôֱIt would have been tough.ôôֱ
Not as tough as sitting out the first half of the season after having surgery on December 27 to fix a sports hernia.
ôôֱIt sucked. You want to be playing with a team as great as these guys,ôôֱ Henkel said. ôôֱItôôֱs exciting to get back and go with them on the ride.ôôֱ
Henkel isnôôֱt just along for the ride. He is one of the (many) driving forces on a loaded Byron team that is primed to win its first league title since it took second in the state in Class 2A in 2014. Byron (22-3-1) has won 10 games in a row ôôֱ nine of them with Henkel back in the starting lineup.
ôôֱHeôôֱs an incredible athlete,ôôֱ Hartman said. ôôֱHe is one of our emotional leaders. Heôôֱs got power. Heôôֱs got speed. You saw the kind of defense he plays. Heôôֱs been huge for us.ôôֱ
ôôֱHeôôֱs back,ôôֱ star freshman shortstop Andrew Talbert said. ôôֱHeôôֱs hot right now. Itôôֱs awesome.ôôֱ
Henkel, a three-year starter, got hurt in last yearôôֱs playoff opener. But he stayed in the lineup as Byron advanced all the way to supersectionals, winning its first sectional title since that special 2014 season. He also was a starter for Byronôôֱs state championship football team that outscored opponents by a record 823-94 margin, including 69-7 in the 3A state finals. All the while dealing with that sports hernia while playing tailback and safety.
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ôôֱIt hurt a lot, but I played through it,ôôֱ Henkel said.
How?
ôôֱIbuprofin and you just suck it up.ôôֱ
That doesnôôֱt mean he was the old Ashton Henkel.
ôôֱIt definitely slowed me down,ôôֱ Henkel said. ôôֱCoaches made sure to let me hear I was slow. But I played through it and everything worked out.ôôֱ
He thought of having surgery over the summer. But only briefly.
ôôֱThere was so much stuff going on,ôôֱ he said. ôôֱYou donôôֱt want to miss any of it. I was playing travel baseball and going to football camp, so I just played through it.ôôֱ
Now he is part of another incredible Byron season. A season that got more special after Stillman Valley swept Dixon with a pair of one-run victories last week. Dixon (15-5, 11-3 BNC) has now lost three games in a row. Before that stretch, the Dukes had been 72-5 in the conference the last five years.
Now, Byron can all but wrap up the conference title if it can either beat Dixon on the road Monday or Stillman Valley at home on Wednesday. The Tigers have a two-game lead and their other three remaining games are against teams that are a combined 2-22 in the BNC.
ôôֱIf we keep playing like this with the energy we had today, we can make it far,ôôֱ Talbert said.
It helps to have Henkel back in left field.
ôôֱI have been playing with him half my life,ôôֱ said Braylon Kilduff, who threw a two-hit shutout in the five-inning, 10-run victory. ôôֱHaving him back on the field with me having my back makes me feel good.ôôֱ
Henkel also sent everyone home early in the bottom of the fifth. His deep drive to center did not fall for a hit, but when Dixon dropped it for an error, two Byron runners scored to invoke the 10-run rule.
ôôֱIôôֱll take it,ôôֱ Henkel said. ôôֱWe get to go home early. Iôôֱll take it.
ôôֱThis season could be really special,ôôֱ he added, ôôֱWe showed it today with a statement win, holding Dixon to zero runs.ôôֱ
Contact: mtrowbridge@rrstar.com, @matttrowbridge or 815-987-1383. Matt Trowbridge has covered sports for the Rockford Register Star for over 30 years, after previous stints in North Dakota, Delaware, Vermont and Iowa City.