Batavia hitting hard heading into key stretch

With very little assistance from Mother Nature, it has taken a little longer than usual for area baseball teams to reach the one-third mark of the season this spring.

Take one look at the Batavia High School diamond schedule and you'll notice some red marks.

Five scheduled games, including a doubleheader against West Aurora, have already been canceled and will not likely be rescheduled. Three other contests were originally postponed but have since been made up.

"We were supposed to play West Aurora last Saturday but it got snowed out," said junior Brian Krolikowski.

And that's a shame because the Bulldogs wanted to find out where they stood against the Blackhawks -- a team that eliminated Batavia from postseason play last season.

West Aurora, seeded 10th at the time, didn't just beat the seventh-seeded Bulldogs in the Class AA regional semifinals -- it beat them up, 21-8.

"No one wants to end a season like that," said Krolikowski. "It's awfully hard to look at the positives from your season when you get knocked out like that. It leaves a bad taste in your mouth."

Especially when it seems like your team was peaking at the right time late last May.

"The worst part of last year was that we had an 8-game winning streak at the end of the year," said Batavia coach Matt Holm, who recorded his 250th career victory earlier this season. "We had no-hit Montini prior to our game against West Aurora. I thought we were rolling."

The Bulldogs have gotten off to a better start this season, having won 9 of their first 13 games, including a 6-2 mark in Western Sun Conference action.

During a recent 3-game sweep of DeKalb, Batavia outscored the Barbs by a staggering 47-6 margin.

After winning the opener 4-2, the Bulldogs rolled to 25-2 and 18-2 victories over DeKalb, thanks in large part to an 11-run first inning (in the 25-2 game) and 10-run fourth in the latter contest.

While Sycamore spoiled the party somewhat, taking the first of a 3-game series, 16-7, Tuesday afternoon in Batavia, the Bulldogs bounced back Wednesday by winning at Sycamore.

The Bulldogs' offense has been difficult to shut down -- and temperatures are just beginning to rise.

"We've really hit the ball hard," said Holm, whose team has scored 50 runs in its last three games.

With five of their top six hitters -- including Northern Illinois University-bound leadoff man Alex Beckmann (.511 as a junior), Brad Brandenburg, Krolikowski (12 HRs in 2007), Jordan Coffey and Mike Sentman -- back in the fold, the Bulldogs' offensive firepower should come as little surprise.

"We're pretty explosive," said Holm. "There are not many holes in the lineup."

One of the so-called question marks coming into the season of who was going to replace since-graduated catcher Zach Deutscher in the No. 3 spot has apparently been answered.

Enter junior Tim Drish, who delivered a key 2-run single in a 5-1 win over Rochelle and enjoyed a 3-hit game in the five-inning, 25-2 rout of DeKalb last Friday.

"We weren't sure how he'd do going up against varsity pitching," admitted Holm. "But he worked so hard in the off-season with a hitting coach. He's a cool customer.

"We had very few spots to fill (in our batting order). He's done a great job. He had 16-17 RBI in our first 11 games."

With Coffey (5-0) and Krolikowski leading the mound corps, the Bulldogs may have what it takes to unseat defending Western Sun champion Geneva and primary contenders Sycamore, Glenbard South, Rochelle and Kaneland.

A year ago, just three games separated the top six finishers.

"I expect another five-, six-team race," said Holm. "It has been like that the last couple years."

"We set our goals as a ladder," added Krolikowski. "We want to win every (three-game) series in our conference, and then win conference and regionals."

Overall, Holm is confident this team can settle some unfinished business.

"I've got a great group of kids right now," said the coach. "I wish I could lock them into signing a long-term contract."

Unfortunately, high school athletics don't work that way.

But at least he still has two-thirds of the season remaining.