Geneva slowed down, but not enough to lose
Heading into Wednesday, Geneva's baseball team had scored double-digit runs in nine of its 10 victories.
Win No. 11 arrived Wednesday with fewer than 10 runs, but that's fine with the Vikings. They'll gladly take a 6-2 win over Glenbard South.
Geneva (11-5, 6-2) remains tied atop the Western Sun Conference standings and clinches the series against the Raiders (10-7, 5-3). After playing Wednesday in Glen Ellyn, the series wraps up today in Geneva as the Vikings go for a three-game sweep.
"It's been a while since we've won a game without scoring double digits," said Geneva coach Matt Hahn. "It's kind of nice to win one of these games. The kids need to get used to playing these close games, and pitchers need to get used to the pressure late in games. These are the kind of games we're going to play come regional time, so it's good to see us win one of these."
Geneva starting pitcher Mike Monaghan (2-0) took care of business at the plate and on the mound, starting with a 2-run homer - his third of the season - in the top of the first inning. The Vikings added 2 more runs to move ahead 4-1 in the second inning.
Glenbard South starter Joel Genovesi (2-1) struggled early but settled in for the middle innings. With the Raiders unable to break through against Monaghan, though, a rally never came.
Nick Slezak's first-inning RBI single and a seventh-inning error accounted for the Raiders' 2 runs.
"We're just struggling at the plate right now," said Raiders coach Mike Riley. "With the ball blowing in I thought we had some good at-bats, but they made some good defensive plays. We just don't have the power that we've had in the past. We haven't had a lot of extra-base hits this year, which is unusual for us."
Jason Adams singled home a run for Geneva in the sixth inning and Jerrod Campbell's RBI fielder's choice accounted for the Vikings' sixth run in the seventh inning.
Monaghan scattered 5 hits and struck out three in a complete-game effort.
"I felt really good out there," Monaghan said. "I just had all my pitches working and Eric Renner called a great game behind the plate. I was able to get some key outs in big situations just trusting my defense because I know they had my back."