St. Viator's Dickey eager to be back in the running

The Roadrunner will be slowed for a few weeks. But once St. Viator's Ben Dickey recovers from his strained hamstring, he will be beep-beeping his way around the basepaths once again.

Dickey, who stole 51 bases a year ago for the Lions, strained his hamstring last week in practice. But the Northwestern-bound base stealer won't let that slow him down.

"I can't run right now," Dickey said. "But I am hoping to play next Friday, when we are in Georgia."

Dickey, a senior, had not missed a game since he was promoted to the varsity team his sophomore year. A fixture in center field, he has stolen 63 bases in the last two seasons and one of the main reasons the Lions have won 42 games during that span, along with a regional title.

"He is a tremendous athlete and has been a starter here for three years in football and baseball," St. Viator coach Mike Manno said. "He has a great personality and unbelievable leadership skills. He is a likeable kid on and off the field, yet he has a playful side to him."

Just like the Roadrunner, Dickey was caught only once. That's when he defied the baseball gods and talked about his streak in the team van on his way to Carmel.

"We were driving to Carmel and talking about stealing bases and I spoke up and said I never had been caught," said Dickey, who had not been caught in 42 attempts up to that point. "Coach Manno said not to challenge fate, and sure enough, I did."

Manno said as soon as Dickey mentioned his streak, he knew the end was coming. And in the first inning of that game, Dickey got on. He attempted to run but was caught in a very close play at second.

"You just can't challenge the baseball gods," Manno said. "I looked at him as he came back to the dugout and he said 'I know. I know.' "

But by getting caught, it made Dickey even more determined never to be snared again.

"I have gotten better at timing my jumps," said Dickey, who has been clocked a sizzling 6.63 seconds in the 60-yard run. "My reaction time is a lot better. I study pitchers from the dugout, which makes it much better. I can tell when a pitcher is nonchalant when a guy is on."

That kind of play had Northwestern interested in him a year ago. He attended three games, and at the third one Northwestern made him an offer. Dickey accepted on the spot.

"In a matter of minutes I told them I would accept," Dickey said. "It was a great weight off my shoulders even though it was early. I had always hoped to use my athletics to get into a school that it would be tough to get into just academically."

Dickey was a huge threat on the football field as well for the Lions. He led the area with 70 receptions for 1,263 yards and 7 touchdowns as he helped lead St. Viator back into the playoffs.

First, Dickey has other goals on his mind for baseball. He wants to lead the Lions to their first sectional title and in the process steal 50 bases which would put him over 100 for his career.

"I love to run," Dickey said. "I just love what it does to the opposing pitcher and the other team."