Five home runs in doubleheader propel William Jewell College baseball player to national spotlight

William Jewell College first baseman Dylan Christie ended batting practice before last Sunday’s doubleheader in Liberty with a bad feeling.

“I had a horrible batting practice,” said Christie, a 2012 graduate of Shawnee Mission South High School. “I thought, ‘Well, this might be a long day.’”

He couldn’t have been more wrong.

Christie hit five home runs in five at-bats as the Cardinals split two baseball games with Missouri S&T.

“I would definitely say I was in a zone,” said Christie, a left-handed batter. “The ball looked like a beach ball coming at me. I was just locked in. I felt like anything I was going to swing at I was going to hit hard.”

If that’s not impressive enough, Christie’s five homers on Sunday followed a Saturday game, where he hit a grand slam. He finished the weekend four-game series going eight-for-14 at the plate, with six home runs, 10 RBIs, a double and 10 runs scored.

“I think I hit four home runs in a weekend in junior college before, but I’ve done nothing like this,” Christie said. “I’ve never tried to hit a home run. I’m just trying to put a good swing on it, put it in play and let the game of baseball take over.”

Christie, a junior at Jewell, said he entered Sunday’s doubleheader focused — note on himself — but on the team aspect of the game.

“The only thing I wanted to do Sunday was win two baseball games,” he said.

In his first at-bat, Christie expected a fastball. He got one and hit it over the scoreboard in right field.

His second home run cleared the wall in right-center, as the Missouri S&T right fielder just turned and watched.

“We lost the first game Sunday as a team, so it was bittersweet,” Christie said. “I wanted my performance from the first game to carry over and hopefully get a win in the second game.”

Christie, in his third at-bat, battled back from an 0-2 count and hit a 3-2 pitch over the left-field wall.

“Everybody in the dugout was giving me a hard time after that one, so it was fun,” he said. “I had a thought at that point that it could be a special day.”

Christie entered his fourth at-bat telling himself to stay focused. He did just that and launched the baseball over the wall in straight-away center.

“When I’m running around the bases after that, it’s all kind of a blur,” Christie said. “I looked at my third-base coach and he was laughing, and I couldn’t help but laugh. It was unreal.”

Christie’s fifth at-bat on Sunday came with Jewell trying to hold on to a 9-7 lead. All he wanted to do was get on base. After being thrown fastballs the entire series, the Missouri S&T pitcher started him off with two sliders.

“The third pitch, I’m thinking he’s going to throw me another slider. He does. I hit it over the center-field wall,” Christie said. “When I got back to the dugout, I was just sitting there on the bench saying to a teammate of mine, ‘Dude what is going on?’ It was incredible.”

Christie’s long-ball highlights earned him the No. 4 spot on ESPN’s SportsCenter Top 10 on Monday night.

“I have definitely got a lot of feedback from friends and old coaches,” he said.

This story was originally published April 28, 2016 at 4:50 PM with the headline "Five home runs in doubleheader propel William Jewell College baseball player to national spotlight."