Baseball: Batavia rolls over Glenbard West to win opener

Batavia would have been retired in order in its half of the fourth inning had it not been for a Glenbard West fielding error.

But the Bulldogs' baseball team more than made up for it in their other four at-bats.

Ben Lynam and Jared Martin had 2-run singles for Batavia in the bottom of the fifth inning to terminate the Bulldogs' season opener Saturday morning in Batavia.

Batavia starter Glen Albanese, Jr., made but one mistake - a gopher ball to the Hilltoppers' RJ Paul - in picking up the win in the Bulldogs' 14-4 victory in five innings.

"Batavia played a really solid game," Glenbard West coach Andy Schultz said of the nonconference encounter. "They were energized. They were excited about opening day at their place. We didn't match their intensity or their execution."

Batavia (1-0) wasted little time in taking a commanding 7-0 lead through the first two innings.

The Bulldogs finished with 13 hits in their five at-bats as Luke Beckman set the tone with back-to-back doubles in his opening plate appearances of the season.

Lynam, perfect on the day, and Michael Niemiec had consecutive home runs in the Bulldogs' second inning.

"I think we just noticed that their pitchers were starting with off-speed pitches," Lynam said of the Bulldogs' attack. "We waited on that and geared up to hit (fastballs)."

Batavia extended its lead over the Hilltoppers (1-2) to 10-0 with another 3-run burst in the third inning.

Jimmy Roach began the inning with a bloop double and later scored on a wild pitch.

Lynam had yet another RBI four batters later, and Albanese capped the Bulldogs' third straight inning with at least 3 runs with a sacrifice fly to center.

Glenbard West showed its mettle with a 3-run fifth inning as Matt Shoub plated DJ Ficarella and Zach Lutz with a bases-loaded single.

But Batavia showed little mercy in its half of the fifth inning. Lynam and Martin both went up the middle to score the Bulldogs' final 4 runs in the slaughter-rule contest.

"It felt great," Martin said of his final at-bat. "I was looking for a pitch to hit, got it and drilled it. We hit the ball real well and played good defense."

Albanese threw roughly 60 pitches in his four innings of work for Batavia. Ethan Krunwiede mopped up for Batavia in the fifth.

Facing a 10-0 deficit after three innings, Paul averted the shutout with a drive over the left-field fence to lead off the Hilltoppers' fourth inning.

It was the first career home run for the senior.

"Tuesday I hit the top of the fence (against Wheaton Warrenville South)," Paul said. "To get it over this time was a good feeling."