Elfstrom, Batavia can't hold Geneva down

Just when it looked like Geneva could put to rest the talk that all its home runs are a product of its small home park, Vikings coach Matt Hahn knew what he would hear next.

"We have some guys who can hit the ball, but I'm sure someone out there will say "Aah the wind was blowing out,'" Hahn said.

The wind was indeed blowing out Tuesday, but it was blowing out at Elstrom Stadium with its 375-foot power alleys and center field fence at 400 feet.

And Geneva drove two more out high over those fences in a 12-5 victory over Batavia, giving the Vikings 31 home runs in their 23 games.

"Wind or no wind those are home runs on any field," Hahn said. "Fifteen hits, I don't care what park you play in, you still got to hit the ball and I thought we did a good job of that today and we put pressure on them early on."

Geneva (18-5, 11-2), trying to add a second Western Sun title to the one it won in 2007, maintained its lead over DeKalb and Kaneland. Batavia (9-12, 7-6) dropped its fourth straight in conference.

The Vikings looked like they might win in five innings, jumping to an 8-0 lead after two innings and 11-0 in the top of the fourth with ace Riley Perry on the mound. But Batavia didn't quit, outscoring Geneva over the final five innings to avoid getting beat by the 10-run rule.

That comeback was too little and much too late after Geneva's big bats blitzed Batavia early.

Shortstop Jason Adams, who led 5 Vikings with multiple-hit games by going 3-for-5, smacked a one-hop double off the fence in left-center to start the game. After Mike Monaghan's shallow fly dropped between three Bulldogs in short left field, Adams and Monaghan both hustled home on a wild pitch - Monaghan all the way from second - to put Geneva ahead 2-0.

"That is a darn good team taking advantage of an opportunity," Batavia coach Matt Holm said.

Geneva scored 6 runs in the second inning. Adams connected on his second home run in as many games, a 3-run shot to deep left on an 0-2 pitch for a 5-0 lead.

"I did not think I could do that," said Adams, who nailed a walk-off grand slam to beat Fenton Friday.

Monaghan and Alex Sroka followed with singles, setting the stage for Chris Hipchen. The junior right fielder drove another 3-run home run out to left field, his 11th on the season giving him 30 RBI.

"People (talk) about our short field," Hipchen said. "Other teams try to put us down but we hit everywhere else we play. Every other team has a little something to say. Anyone who says we have a short park, on the road we have hit, now minor league ballparks."

Batavia starter Matt Taylor (3-2) settled down after that. Geneva added 3 runs in the fourth but all were unearned. Brian Cornick made Batavia play for a pair of errors with a 2-run single to center.

At that point it looked like Perry would send Batavia home early. He needed only 25 pitches to work through the first 3 innings, then labored through a 29-pitch fourth when Batavia plated four. Jay Clark delivered the big blow, tomahawking a 2-run double deep to the opposite field. Anthony Carby and Nick Leonard added RBI singles.

"I threw high fastballs and they went up and got it," said Perry. "They are a good-hitting team."

Perry held Batavia to 7 hits, striking out nine and walking five. He snapped Tim Schofield's 20-game hitting streak, though the Batavia leadoff hitter got on base twice and scored two runs. Adams made a stellar play at shortstop on Schofield's final attempt at a hit in the seventh.

"It was a fun experience to play here the first the first time," said Perry, now 7-0. "A big ballpark, the grass is even, the mound is nice, the dirt is soft."

While Batavia struggled defensively with 4 errors, Geneva played error-free and turned a pair of double plays. Perry started a 1-4-3 twin killing in the third and Cornick began a 4-6-3 double play in the sixth.

"It's real easy when you have Riley on the mound to lull yourself to sleep because he is striking (everyone) out," Hahn said. "They (the defense) did a great job."

Monaghan, Sroka, Jack Delabar and Eric Renner each had 2 hits; every Geneva starter had at least 1.

Batavia senior Kevin Flinn relieved Taylor and held Geneva to 1 run over the final 3 innings.

"For him to come in against this good of a hitting team to hit his spots and do pretty well I was pretty pleased with that," Holm said.

"We missed our spots in the second inning. After that? We settled down pretty good. We have to start doing that from the beginning. It's relaxing and playing ball."

Batavia's Mickey Walsh and Geneva's Monaghan take the mound for the second game of the series today at Geneva.