Sweet feeling: Oklahoma senior baseball standout Austin Lemon living his dream with high school, future college
By Michael Kinney
OKLAHOMA CITY - Austin Lemon knew early on not only what he wanted to do, but also where he wanted to go.
Growing up in Stillwater, by the time he was in seventh grade, he already envisioned himself playing baseball at Oklahoma State University.
Even after Lemon and his family moved to Oklahoma City and he enrolled at Heritage Hall, the dream stayed alive. So when he finally signed his national letter of intent on the dotted line with OSU in November, it was everything he had imagined.
“It was always a dream of mine. I definitely had those thoughts and dreams and I'm grateful that it became reality,” Lemon said. “It was awesome. It's kind of everything that I've been working towards.
"It just kind of all clicked, so it was a great feeling.”
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Lemon verbally committed to Oklahoma State in July of 2020 and has never looked back.
“I grew up in Stillwater. I really like the coaches and just the way that they run the program,” Lemon said. “Just everything kind of clicked for me.”
Lemon (5-foot-11, 175 pounds) went on to show the Pokes they made the right decision as he helped the Chargers win a state championship in 2021. Then as a junior, he took over Heritage Hall’s single-season records for runs scored (68) and batting average (.584).
Lemon entered his final year with the opportunity to become the Chargers' leader in several career categories. They include batting average, stolen bases, runs, triples and doubles.
“My plate discipline is something I think I've improved on. I guess power stuff, too,” Lemon said. “The past couple weeks, the power has kind of really come along, so I've been happy with that.”
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Lemon, who is a switch hitter, ended the regular season batting .598. That tops his program-best .585 from last year. He also racked up 46 hits, 10 doubles, 29 RBIs, three home runs and 17 stolen bases.
“The season has been different from past years,” Lemon said. “I've been dealing with kind of an injury (hip fracture) from basketball that lingered a little bit in the beginning. So, I had to change a little bit of the way I play.
"But I’m continuing to compete. I've really enjoyed this year and it's been fun.”
What has made the year particularly fun for Lemon is watching the young players on his team step up and contribute to the success of the team.
“We graduated a decent amount of seniors last year, so we have a pretty young team,” Lemon said. “But we are 24-3 right now. I knew we had a solid group of freshmen coming in and the junior class has helped a lot. I knew what they were capable of last year.
"And then obviously the senior class, too. I needed to take more of a leadership role for this year and just help the young guys just take the next step.”
When his time at Heritage Hall comes to an end, Lemon wants his legacy to be more than just the numbers he produced.
“I want to be kind of looked at as someone that competed every day, played with a lot of heart,” Lemon said. “Mental toughness and heart are two big things for me.
"I want to make sure that even if I'm 4-for-4 or 0-for-4, that my teammates can't tell by my body language. That it's just always the best that it can be.”
Lemon’s legacy is something the shortstop/outfielder has been thinking about before he even put on a Heritage Hall uniform for the first time. But it has really crystalized for him as his prep career nears an end.
“It's always kind of been a focus of mine, but these past couple of years I’ve taken more of a leadership role,” Lemon said. “I want to be someone that people can look up to and kind of strive to be like, especially with a game like baseball.
"You can never ride the roller-coaster of the game. So that's always been something that is important for me.”
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The final draft of Lemon’s story at Heritage Hall could include another state title. The program has already earned four (1999, 2015, 2016, 2021).
The Chargers headed into their district tournament late last month with the best record in Class 3A.
Heritage Hall will be hosting a regional beginning on Thursday, as the Chargers face Community Christian in the first round. Other teams in the regional include Metro Christian and Crossings Christian.
“We're definitely headed in the right direction right now,” Lemon said. “I like the way that we're trending right now. We've got to keep the bats hot and got to throw strikes and limit any errors on defense.”
But like any great slugger, Lemon says the perfect ending would be him at the plate with a state title on the line and bashing a walk-off homer in the final at-bat of his career.
