Growing up, Nate Lemmons never had to go too far for a game.
His family is filled with athletes.
“We were super competitive as kids,” Lemmons said. “We’d play stickball in the backyard, and it either ended because of darkness or because someone was in a fight. But it was always a lot of fun.”
Those childhood games were the foundation for a baseball career that will take Lemmons from Morgan Township to Dubuque. And he’s not alone in his athletic endeavors for the Cherokees.
Lemmons, who also plays basketball and averaged 7.0 points, 3.4 rebounds and 2.4 assists last season, is the middle of five children. His younger sister Maria is a Morgan Township junior who plays basketball too.
Their cousins Madi and Josie, who are freshmen, and Greyson and Klaire, who are seniors, are multisport athletes at Morgan Township as well.
Pick any sport, and the Lemmons kids probably played it together when they were younger.
“The rivalries were pretty good,” Nate Lemmons said. “Every day after school, we always had some fun for sure.”
But as they have grown, he said their relationships have evolved from combative to supportive.
“We’ll still talk about the past,” he said. “Normally when we brag, it’s more about what we did in the backyard than anything else. But if one of the family members has a game or a meet, we’re always there in support.”
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Those childhood rivalries seem to have benefited him, Morgan Township baseball coach John Smith said.
“That drive to get better and compete probably started at a young age with all of the siblings and cousins playing together,” Smith said. “It’s not just one sport. They all seem to be playing two or three at the school.”
Lemmons has given his family plenty of reasons to cheer this season. Through Thursday, he had a .410 batting average, which ranked second on the team, with 17 runs scored, nine RBIs, three doubles and a triple.
Lemmons said he’s feeling a sense of urgency this season, given that it marks the end of his Morgan Township career.
“It’s definitely changed my energy and how badly I want to win every game,” he said.
There’s been a healthy dose of winning so far. Morgan Township (9-5, 4-2) was in third place in the Porter County Conference after a 9-0 win against rival Washington Township on Wednesday.
But those regular-season wins won’t sustain Lemmons for long. He pointed to a deep postseason run as the team’s ultimate goal and said he wants to be a key part of that.
“Just getting better every day, every chance I get,” he said. “That’s about it.”
Once his Morgan Township career ends, there will be another athlete from the Lemmons family on the way. And then another. And then another one after that.
“There’s still quite a few,” Lemmons said with a laugh.
Dave Melton is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.