St. Charles N. holds off Geneva
St. Charles North junior Nick Gilmore got his first start at designated hitter Thursday against Geneva, then went out and hit like he wants to stay there.
Gilmore went 3-for-3 with a 2-run home run and drove in 6 runs, the offensive star in a wild 12-11 victory over the Vikings on a day every pitcher on both teams had trouble throwing strikes.
Gilmore, the North Stars’ backup catcher, said he changed his stance this week, bending his knees more and focusing on using his hands in his swing and flicking his wrists.
“I was seeing the ball really well,” Gilmore said. “I was pretty pumped up (to be in the lineup). It felt good to get in there.”
St. Charles North (10-5, 5-2) handed Geneva (10-4, 8-2) just its second Upstate Eight Conference loss. The teams play a doubleheader Saturday at Geneva.
For most of the cold, overcast day it looked like it would be an easy win for the North Stars, who staked starter Phil Warner to a 5-0 lead after three innings and 9-2 after five. But 8 walks drove up Warner’s pitch count, and the Vikings got to the North Stars bullpen for 10 runs in the sixth and seventh innings.
“We might be playing to Sunday,” North Stars coach Todd Genke joked about Saturday’s doubleheader. “Whenever the wind is blowing out in these small high school fields you get games like this. I’m just glad we hit more than they did because I know they can hit.”
The teams combined for 18 walks – 12 allowed by the victorious North Stars. Eight of those 18 walks came in to score, as did another batter hit by a pitch, and three different players drew bases-loaded walks to score runs.
“That is almost a microcosm of the season,” Geneva coach Matt Hahn said. “Every odd thing that could happen in a game was today.”
The game started normally enough with Andrew Elliot — who made a pair of diving catches in right field — doubling in the first inning and scoring on John Brodner’s single. Then the wildness started for Geneva starter Jordan Touro, who walked three straight hitters to force in a second run.
St. Charles North grabbed a 3-0 lead in the second on John Munyon’s RBI single, and made it 5-0 in the third on Gilmore’s 2-run home run to right field. Gilmore went with a high outside fastball for the homer.
“He had quite a day,” Genke said. “He’s a kid that has really worked hard and has waited for his opportunity. I think each ball he hit was hit harder. It is nice to have kids step up when they haven’t had an opportunity.”
Geneva scored its first run in the fourth on an RBI single by sophomore shortstop Mitch Endriukaitis. It would have been a bigger inning if not for a perfect relay from Jake Bergren in center field to Brodner to third baseman Jake Johansmeier to cut down Matt Williams trying to stretch a double into a triple.
Warner, who improved to 3-1, walked four in the fifth to force in a run and make it 5-2. But Geneva left the bases loaded, 3 of the 12 runners the Vikings stranded.
“He lived up to his reputation,” Hahn said of Warner, who fanned 6 and allowed just 2 hits in his 5 innings to improve to 3-1. “We got some guys on base, we just couldn’t get that key hit.”
Gilmore delivered an RBI single as part of the North Stars’ 4-run fifth inning that built the North Stars lead to 9-2.
Geneva capitalized on 3 more walks and a pair of errors to score 6 runs in the sixth and make it a 9-8 game. Carl Formento stranded the go-ahead runs at second and third with a strikeout to end the inning.
The North Stars added 3 insurance runs in the sixth on Brodner’s homer and Gilmore’s 2-run double. They needed each of those runs when Geneva again rallied in the seventh.
“I liked the way we battled back and added on,” Genke said. “We always talk about how good teams add on when they have a lead and as you can see we needed every one.
“A win is a win. You can look at a lot of different things in that game and be negative but they (Geneva) are 9-1 (actually 8-1) and we’re not so we’ll take it.”
Two more errors — St. Charles North made 5 of them — again helped Geneva in the seventh, including a throwing error on a dropped third strike that would have ended the game.
That brought the Vikings within 12-11 and put Geneva runners at first and second for Endriukaitis who had reached in all 4 of his at-bats. Endriukaitis hit another line shot but right at Bergren in center field to end the game.
“We showed a lot of life at the end of the game,” Hahn said. “That is the character of our team. We don’t have quitters. Those are the kinds of things good teams need to do. We dug ourselves a hole but it was nice to see us come out of it a little and have a chance to win at the end. You can’t make mistakes and beat North.”