Poway Grads Reunite on Pro Baseball Diamond

Poway High School's Alex Dickerson stepped out of the dugout and into the on-deck circle as the second batter of the eighth inning for the New York-Penn League's State College Spikes like it was just any other at-bat last Thursday.

To that point in the game against the Batavia Muckdogs, Dickerson was 1-for-3 for the Pirates' farm club, hitting his third home run of the season in the first inning. But when he looked out to the pitcher's mound, the new pitcher warming up was former high school teammate Adam Bileckyj, a left-handed reliever for the St. Louis Cardinals' Class A affiliate.

"It was kind of cool to look up on the mound and see him here," said Dickerson the next day. "I smiled a little bit and he smiled back.  He was kind of interesting to see someone you know standing out there."

The two were teammates for two seasons with the Titans' baseball team under Coach Bob Parry. Bileckyj graduated in 2007 and spent two seasons at San Diego City College, playing at the junior college level before transferring to Cal State San Marcos. In 2011, Bileckyj allowed just one home run in a team-high 79 innings for the Cougars, posting a 2.73 ERA. He went undrafted in the MLB amateur player draft and prepared to play this summer in the Northwoods League, which showcases some of the best players in the college ranks.
But the Cardinals jumped in to sign him to a free-agent contract, sending the southpaw to Batavia.

His numbers aren't impressive, posting a 1-3 record with a 5.29 ERA out of the bullpen, but he's been dominant at times. In his final outing of the year on Saturday, he struck out four batters in two innings of work.

"I've had a little bit of a rough season but it's been a fun transition from college baseball," Bileckyj said. "For next season, I've got a lot of stuff to work on. They've changed my mechanics to tighten things up, make it more simple so I can be more consistent and improve my accuracy."

Dickerson was drafted after his 2008 season at Poway High School but he decided to accept a college to the University of Indiana. After three seasons with the Hoosiers, he was drafted by the Pirates in the third-round of this year's draft and was assigned to the Spikes on July 15. The left-hander is hitting .313 heading into today's season finale, including .432 in his last 10 games, while switching from the outfield to playing first base.

"When I got to Indiana, I got a little better physically and a lot stronger and things started to pan out for me to find my way here," Dickerson said. "I'm just starting to get more comfortable. The game is starting to slow down a little bit. You matter how prepared you think you are, you hit the next level and things move really fast, especially when you are trying to focus on a new position."

So Dickerson stepped into the box against his old teammate.

"It's kind of funny. I didn't know he was playing pro ball until the beginning of the series. I looked at roster and saw Poway and thought 'Wow'," Dickerson said. "I don't think I ever faced him, even in inter-squads in high school. He was that guy who had a lot of talent and was on the verge of being a great player and it's great when you don't see a guy for four or five years and then you see he obviously figured things out."

Bileckyj delivered his first pitch for a strike. On the second pitch, the lefty's pitch broke Dickerson's bat, knocking the ball to second base for the second out of the inning.

"I actually thought he was going to get a better hold of that pitch," Bileckyj said. "It came in on him a little bit and he said it broke his bat."

After the game, the two got together for a little reminiscing and a bite to eat, with Bileckyj getting the upper hand in what both hope is the first in many showdowns of their professional baseball careers.

"I hadn't seen Alex in a long time because we went different ways to school.  I stayed home to go to school and he left. It was pretty neat to face him again," Bileckyj said. "He got picked so high and I was a free agent signing. It was pretty neat to have our paths cross here at this level. That was really cool."