DIXON — A strong start was all the Hubs varsity baseball team needed to defeat the Dixon Dukes on Tuesday.

Scoring 10 runs over the first three innings of play, the Rochelle offense proved too much for the Dukes to handle, and the Hubs held off a late Dixon rally to win by a score of 13-9 and finish the regular season with a record of 12-12-1.

Rochelle totaled 14 hits in the victory, with senior Cristian Burciaga going 3-for-4 with a double, two singles and two runs scored. Seniors Kyle Seebach and Landon Griffith combined for four hits including three singles and a double while scoring three runs.

Seebach’s RBI single in the first inning plated Burciaga to give the Hubs a 1-0 lead, and Rochelle scored four more in the top of the second before adding on five runs in the third inning to jump ahead 10-0. Five players crossed home plate in the third including junior Brendon Danekas, who drove Griffith home on an RBI single. Senior Sam Christensen also singled and scored in the frame.

Dixon earned one run back in the third and fourth innings, but Rochelle sophomore Johnny Beck was in control for most of the game, tossing five innings and striking our five batters while surrendering four hits. Junior Noah Mershon’s sacrifice fly in the top of the sixth inning gave the Hubs an 11-3 lead, and despite conceding four runs to the Dukes in the bottom of the sixth, Rochelle bounced back for two more in the top of the seventh behind a walk by Burciaga and a double by Seebach.

The Hubs will have just over a week off before they host the Sterling Golden Warriors in the IHSA Class 3A Regional Semifinals on Thursday. May 25 at 4:30 p.m.