Geneva ties record with 5 HRs

Not happy with how he hit the ball this week against Glenbard South, Geneva junior Jerrod Campbell took out his frustrations in a big way Saturday at Oswego East.

In the first inning, Campbell smacked a grand slam. He singled and scored in his next at-bat, then ripped a 3-run home run in his third.

Campbell went 3-of-4 with 2 home runs and 7 RBI in Geneva's lopsided 23-6 win. The Vikings tied a school record with 5 home runs - and they did it all without their top power hitter Cory Hofstetter, who was visiting Western Illinois.

"I've been pulling my shoulder all week," Campbell said. "I thought about keeping that in longer and hitting the ball up the middle.

"All this week I hadn't hit as well as I wanted. Today refreshed me and I felt a lot better."

Campbell and his teammates capitalized on a strong wind blowing out. Backup catcher Asa Bielenberg also drilled a grand slam, Jack Delabar hit a solo homer and senior Sean Grady hit his first homer "ever, even little league," his coach Matt Hahn said.

"I was seeing the ball a lot better today," Campbell said. "The ball kind of took off in the wind today. Anything hit to dead center was pretty much gone."

Geneva (12-5) opened the game with a 9-run first. After a rain delay, the Wolves rallied with 2 runs in the first and 4 in the second, closing to 10-6.

"I'm thinking this is 12-inch softball game," Hahn said. "I'm thinking the first one to 30 wins. Talk about weather - cold, windy - it's the same for both teams. We still had to hit the ball and make plays on defense."

Geneva put the game away with a 13-run third. The Vikings had 8 hits in the inning and drew 6 walks.

In addition to long balls from Campbell and Bielenberg, A.J. Sarantopulos cleared the bases with a 3-run double, Grady stroked an RBI double and Sarantopulos delivered another hit in the inning, an RBI single.

"A nice collective effort," Hahn said.

Delabar was the recipient, picking up the win before Mike Grandenitti tossed a pair of scoreless innings to end the game.

After winning two of three from Glenbard South, Geneva sits at 7-2 in the Western Sun a game behind Batavia and a game ahead of Kaneland heading into this week's series against Rochelle.

"All three are in striking distance, it should be fun," Hahn said. "We can't look past Rochelle. You look past them and drop one it makes the Batavia series that much more pressure."