Glenbard South 9, Geneva 5

Glenbard South catcher Joe Biagini is an imposing figure.

The senior clouted a mammoth first-inning home run, and the Raiders never trailed in their Western Sun Conference baseball game against host Geneva Tuesday afternoon.

With its 9-5 victory in the opener of the three-game set, Glenbard South improved to 5-1 in the league and 8-4 overall.

Geneva is 9-3, 3-3.

The Raiders had all the ingredients in place for their win on the afternoon at hitter-friendly Geneva, where the wind was gusting straight out at a considerable pace.

Senior leadoff hitter Will Hill went 4-for-5 on the day with 3 runs scored, and Biagini added a 2-run double in the sixth to give Glenbard South a commanding 8-2 lead.

Glenbard South ace Andy Manson went the distance, withstanding two seventh-inning home runs to improve to 2-2 on the season.

The Raiders' defense backed up Manson with error-free baseball.

It was Hill, however, who ignited the Raiders' attack, doubling high off the center-field wall to start the game.

"(Hill) has really turned the corner as a varsity player," Glenbard South coach Mike Riley. "Both offensively and defensively, he has been outstanding. He's really making us go right now."

Two batters later, Biagini hit a tape-measure bomb to left center to give Glenbard South a 2-0 lead.

"I knew his out pitch was the slider," Biagini said of his encounter with Geneva starter Chris Jordan. "The home-run (pitch) was right there in the zone."

Jordan settled down, only to have his chances for a comeback victory unravel behind defensive inconsistencies.

The Vikings committed 4 of their 5 errors in the third and fourth innings, enabling Glenbard South to take a 6-0 lead.

Franz Merkendorfer and Doug Anderson had RBI singles during the span for Glenbard South.

"That's a good hitting team, but we definitely gave them extra chances," Geneva coach Matt Hahn said. "I thought Chris pitched pretty well. When you're asking your pitcher to get more than three outs an inning, that makes it tough."

Manson surrendered lone runs in the Vikings' fourth and fifth, but Biagini put the game out of reach with his 2-run opposite-field double in the sixth.

Geneva did not go meekly in its half of the seventh; Ryan Adams' solo blast with two outs was followed by a 2-run shot from Dan Rowe.

But Manson made a cat-like leap to snare a come-backer, giving the Raiders an early edge as the series resumes this afternoon in Glen Ellyn.

"(Manson) was on his game today," Biagini said.