Bulldogs' Flinn looks like he's ready to win
Heading into the season, Batavia knew it had plenty of talent in its starting rotation with Brian Krolikowski, Jordan Coffey and Adam Karger.
The Bulldogs were wondering who would come in late in a game and help get the big outs.
Junior Kevin Flinn is turning into just the pitcher the Bulldogs needed.
Flinn picked up his second win without a loss Saturday against Waubonsie Valley. He entered in the sixth inning and struck out the side. After the Warriors staged a 2-out rally in the seventh by hitting only one ball out of the infield, Flinn got the win when the Bulldogs scored in the bottom of the seventh.
"Kevin is a young guy, he works hard and is a great kid," senior catcher Ryan Welter said. "He's filling the role amazing. He's stepped up huge. We came into the season needing someone to step into that role."
Saturday's win over Waubonsie capped a 4-0 week for the Bulldogs and improved their record to 6-4.
"It was a big week for us as a team," Welter said. "We turned it around. We came together as a team. It was a great week for the Bulldogs. I feel like we'll be full strength and ready to contest."
Kaneland also has someone in a similar role. Ty Hamer came in last Wednesday's game and held Geneva down through three innings to give his team a chance to come back from an 11-0 deficit.
His coach Brian Aversa said Hamer has done that a couple times in the early portion of the season.
"Ty does a great job for us," Aversa said.
Sroka shines: Alex Sroka enjoys a spot in the Geneva lineup made for an RBI machine.
Sroka hits cleanup, just behind senior slugger Cory Hofstetter, who most teams are being very careful in how they pitch. Last week against Kaneland, Hofstetter smashed a game-winning home run in the series opener, then the Knights walked him twice in the second game and once in the third game.
So Sroka figures to come to the plate with lots of runners on base this year. Hofstetter is hitting .517 and with 8 walks has a .622 on-base percentage.
"I think it's good to have someone like Cory in the middle of the lineup," Sroka said. "I don't feel too pressured at all. I just go up there and bat, just hit line drives, just be a good hitter and bat like I was batting anywhere else. Just have productive at-bats."
Sroka went 5-for-8 in the final 2 games of the Kaneland series. He leads Geneva with 12 RBI and has 3 home runs and a .485 average.
Sroka said one key to his early success has been an aggressive approach at the plate.
"I think it's good to hit early in the count," Sroka said. "Don't let yourself get in the hole, don't let the pitcher have you. Take him on and be aggressive at the plate."