Aggressive play lifts Geneva to extra-inning win
Having seen the exact same play work against his team, Geneva coach Greg Dierks picked a great time to put it to good use for the Vikings.
With Deirdre Phalon at second base in the bottom of the eighth inning, Dori Rogers hit a grounder to second.
All eyes were on Rogers beating a close play at first. Dierks never hesitated, waving Phalon around third. Phalon never stopped running, scoring without a play at the plate for a 4-3 Geneva victory over Kaneland.
"That play has happened to us a few times," Dierks said. "It's just worth a chance. They (the defense) have to be alert and they have to make a good throw. Sometimes you are going to run into an out on that but it was worth the chance. I guess if I would have known for sure she was going to be called safe I would probably have held her. It would have been a rough way to create an out on that. But it worked out well."
Other than allowing a 3-run fourth inning, everything worked well for Geneva (2-5, 2-0), who came into the week 0-5 but turned things around in a hurry.
"I think after this week people are not going to look at that (slow start) anymore," Phalon said. "We know we can play and we have so much potential. It shows a lot that we came back and won the two games that mean the most."
Leadoff hitter Nikki Davis set the tone going 4-for-4. She led off the game with a single and scored on Melissa Barber's double off the center field fence.
Geneva extended its lead to 3-0 in the third. Davis again started the rally with a double. Danielle Caprile reached on a bunt single, then Phalon's double plated both.
"I've been having a rough start so I'm just trying to wait for the ball," Davis said. "I'm really anxious when I go up to bat so I just have to tell myself to wait, don't move. Be patient for the ball to come or otherwise I'll lunge at it."
Kaneland (4-2, 1-1) took advantage of two Geneva errors in the fourth. The Knights batted around, scoring 3 runs to tie the game but also failing to take the lead when they had runners at first and second and no outs.
Jessica Lubic singled to start the rally, and the Vest sisters, Delani and Rilee, both had RBI singles.
"We've got to get better," said Kaneland coach Dennis Hansen, who cited timely hitting as a primary focus for improvement. "We got hits but we spread them out over 8 innings."
In addition to getting out of the jam in the fourth, Geneva starter Kelly McCaffrey left runners at third base in both the sixth and seventh innings.
Her battery mate, Clare Stribling, helped keep the Knights from taking a lead with two stellar defensive plays.
"Clare had a great game. Kelly pitched well, the defense came through," said Dierks, who said the win meant more after the struggles the team had earlier this year.
"We came out hitting right away. Although it would be great to cruise through at 3-0, I think in the long run it will help us we had a little adversity in the middle of the game and we got through it. We've struggled to let stuff like that go."
Kaneland's leadoff hitter Sara Rose also had a good day. She went 2-for-4, joining Lubic and Rilee Vest with 2-hit games.
"We haven't played well all year," Hansen said. "We happen to be winning some games but by all stretches of the imagination we're not where we need to be yet."