How Chester County’s Dean, Lane Estes are following in their father’s baseball footsteps
HENDERSON — Dean and Lane Estes have gotten pretty used to Freed-Hardeman's Five Wells Field at this point in their lives.
Dean Estes was 2 years old when the Estes family moved from St. Louis to Henderson. Lane was a newborn.
Some 15 years later, Dean, now a junior, and Lane, a freshman, are playing some high-level baseball for Chester County.
"We just push each other," Lane Estes said. "We want to be better than each other, so we're just pushing each other day in and day out. It's who does the best in the (batting) cage, who puts up more weight in the weight room, who fields better ground balls? It's just everyday competition."
The Eagles (26-6) celebrated a District 12-3A championship on Monday after beating Hardin County, 11-3, at Five Wells Field.
The teams played two games Monday. Hardin County won the first game, 10-2, to force a winner-take-all game for the district title. Lane Estes had two RBIs and a triple in the win, and Dean walked three times and scored twice.
Lane Estes pitched the final inning of the district title victory. He struck out two batters.
Both brothers have been stellar pitchers this season. Lane Estes has a 0.61 ERA in 45⅔ innings pitched with 69 strikeouts. Dean Estes has a 7-1 record with a 1.15 ERA.
"I mean, I'm happy for him," Dean Estes said with a wry smile. "If he does better than me and I do good, that's fine with me."
The brothers’ success isn’t exactly by accident.
"Of course, their dad giving them the genes to be able to play like that," said Chester County coach Mike Goff. "Momma (Ashley) Estes does the same thing. You've got to give her some credit."
Jonathan Estes, the boys’ father, played high school baseball in St. Louis. He ended up playing at Freed-Hardeman University before being drafted by his hometown team, the St. Louis Cardinals, in the 41st round of the 2002 MLB Amateur Draft.
He spent three years in the minors before returning to FHU to coach in 2009 and became the athletic director in 2022.
Jonathan Estes knows the dynamic with which his boys play. He had the same dynamic with his brother, Dave, back in their high school days in St. Louis. It's virtually the same: Jonathan is two years older than Dave, just as Dean is two years older than Lane.
As a brother, it's cool for Jonathan to see the dynamic play out for his sons. As a dad, he's thrilled to see his boys play baseball together.
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"It's important to just have a good perspective," Jonathan said. "We want to strive for championships, but we're just concentrating on the process and talking about enjoying that ride. ... A lot of people like to play the, 'What if' game and get ahead of themselves. It's important to have the perspective of, 'Hey, I'm watching my kids play baseball.'"
Dean has one more full season while Lane has three. They're hoping this season is the one the Eagles return to the state tournament for the first time since 2016. Goff is just happy these guys are at Chester County.
"They're just so good," Goff said. "I don't think your phone can record that much good things I have to say about them."
Austin Chastain is a high school sports writer covering West Tennessee. Reach him by email at achastain@gannett.com or on X, formerly known as Twitter, at @ChastainAJ.
This article originally appeared on Jackson Sun: Chester County baseball’s Dean, Lane Estes follow in dad’s footsteps
