St. Charles North sweeps Geneva
Even on a day where the two teams combined for 37 runs with the wind howling out to left field, it couldn’t overshadow the performance turned in by St. Charles North junior pitcher Andrew Kroncke Saturday afternoon.
The 5-foot-9 right-handed reliever entered the second game of the Upstate Eight Conference River Division doubleheader against Geneva (11-6, 8-4) with his team trailing 8-5 in the bottom of the third inning.
After holding the Vikings scoreless for 4 1/3 innings, Kroncke found himself picking up his first varsity win — and receiving a Gatorade bath from teammate Dirk Schmitt — as the North Stars (13-5, 7-2) rallied for a 10-8 victory to complete the doubleheader sweep.
“John (starting pitcher Munyon) didn’t have his best stuff today but Andrew (Kroncke) came in and shut the door,” said North Stars coach Todd Genke. “I really liked the way he competed.”
Mixing in his fastball with a sharp breaking ball, Kroncke recorded 7 strikeouts, including 5 in a row at one point, to cool off the Vikings after they had clubbed 10 base hits through the first 2 2/3 innings.
“It’s my bread and butter,” Kroncke said of his breaking ball. “I don’t throw a hard fastball so I’ve got to get it over. Balls were flying out of here so you’ve got to keep the ball down.”
Kroncke proved that you don’t need an overpowering fastball to succeed.
“He did a great job of keeping us off-balance, and that’s one of the keys to pitching,” said Geneva coach Matt Hahn. “He threw strikes and he threw more than one pitch for a strike. We had a hard time adjusting.”
Offensively, the North Stars scored at least a run in every inning played Saturday. After Munyon’s fifth-inning RBI single narrowed the Vikings’ lead to 8-7, the North Stars took the lead for good with a 2-run sixth that featured RBI singles from John Brodner and Jake Johansmeier.
Johansmeier, who also had an RBI single in the third, capped a 6-for-6 day at the plate (with 2 walks) with his go-ahead base hit in the sixth.
“I was sitting back and doing what Coach (Jim) Richardson told me to do,” said Johansmeier. “We feed off each other’s hits.”
St. Charles North, which took the opener 17-3 in 5 innings, has now scored 51 runs in their last 4 games. The North Stars totaled 39 runs during their 3-game series sweep of Geneva.
“We’re relaxing and trying to hit the ball where it’s pitched instead of trying to do too much,” said Johansmeier. “We knew the wind was blowing out but we weren’t trying to hit home runs. We were just trying to get a hit and get some runs on the board.”
Jake Smiley’s solo home run in the seventh was one of just two extra-base hits for the North Stars in the nightcap.
“I actually told him to think about bunting for a hit there,” admitted Genke. “He’s been playing lights out for us.”
In the opener, Andrew Elliot’s home run highlighted a 4-run first and Brodner belted a home run during the North Stars’ 7-run second inning. Josh Loynachan was the winning pitcher in the opener.
“I kind of like when the wind blows out,” said Genke. “It’s kind of arena baseball. With every ball hit in the air, you kind of hold your breath. To come in here and do what we did today is pretty impressive. We’re getting some confidence at the plate.”
Matt Williams had a home run and 3 RBI while starting pitcher Andy Honiotes added a solo home run for Geneva in the second game.
“The sweep of Larkin last week didn’t make our season and the sweep with (St. Charles) North doesn’t kill our season,” said Hahn. “We still have a lot of baseball left to play.”