Baseball: Geneva dumps St. Charles East
The final score of Tuesday's Upstate Eight River series opener was 6-4, but the numbers that really separated the victorious Geneva baseball team from visiting St. Charles East could be found in the error column.
Geneva (8-3, 4-0) committed a lone infield miscue in the third inning, but it didn't hurt because a double play erased the runner.
Normally sure-handed St. Charles East (5-4, 1-1) wasn't so fortunate. The Saints committed more errors (6) than they managed hits (4), including three dropped pop-ups or flyballs against a cloudless sky.
"They caught flyballs," St. Charles East coach Len Asquini said of the Vikings. "We just weren't doing that. We couldn't do that. That's the way it goes."
Geneva right-hander Noah Davison earned the win despite falling behind 2-0 after half an inning. The 6-foot-1, 185-pound junior held the Saints to 4 earned runs on 4 hits and 3 walks while striking out 3 in a 94-pitch complete game.
"I was never really worried because we've got the best defense in the state, said Davison (2-0). "I knew that our offense would turn it around and get the momentum on our side."
No. 9 hitter Jeremy Davis played a key role in rallying Geneva to the lead. After the Vikings scored twice in the second inning off St. Charles East starting pitcher Matt Breidigan (1-1) to tie the game 2-2, thanks to 2 Saints error on the same play, the left-handed hitting Davis stepped to the plate and pulled a 2-run single to stake Geneva to a 4-2 lead.
Davis kept the momentum going defensively the following half inning. The Saints had a runner at second base with no outs via Geneva's only fielding error when a flyball was hit to Davis in center field. He made the catch and immediately fired a one-hopper to third baseman Jack Wassel, who applied the tag to complete the double play.
"I heard my teammates yelling tag and I knew he was going to tag so I just made a good throw," Davis said. "Anywhere the throw was going to be, I knew Wassel was going to make the tag."
The Vikings padded their lead in the fourth inning with consecutive sacrifice flies by Wassel and A.J. Hostman, the latter of whom doubled twice.
Geneva needed the extra cushion as it turned out. St. Charles East scored twice in the top of the fifth on a two-out double by Corbin Marucco to draw within 6-4, but Davison registered a strikeout to end the inning. He retired the final seven Saints he faced.
St. Charles East took some solace in bringing the tying run to the plate in the fifth inning despite their numerous mistakes. "We were only down 2 runs so that's great for us but, jeez, think about just picking the ball up and catching the ball and that kind of stuff," Asquini said. "That was not a good day for us. We did not execute well defensively or offensively and that was the story of the game. They took advantage of it."
The series resumes with Game 2 at St. Charles East on Wednesday at 4:30 p.m.