Hunter Dykes was almost at a loss for words. Overcoming adversity in reaching a goal can do that to you.
“When I was four years old, I found out I had cancer, and I lost a kidney,” Dykes said. “I just battled back.”
Surrounded by friends and family, Dykes signed a baseball scholarship with Jones County Junior College on Thursday morning.
“It’s been my life-long goal and finally to reach it, it’s made me realize how much I’ve overcome in my life.”
“Now I have to just set new goals.”
Dykes was one of Petal’s top pitchers last season as a junior. He finished 4-3 with a 2.78 earned run average, striking out a team-leading 52 batters along the way. With a bat in his hand, he hit .329 and drove in 17 runs.
“Hunter will be a good fit for them, because they’re getting a two-way player,” Petal baseball coach Larry Watkins said. “He’s a pitcher and an outstanding second baseman for us.”
“I think he’ll do well there. I really do.”
Dykes will join former Petal teammate Taylor Gatwood at JCJC. That and several other factors made the decision a no-brainer.
“Campus life, education and just the atmosphere around sports, I couldn’t deny it,” Dykes said. “It’s just amazing.”
