Batavia, Geneva split doubleheader
Senior leadership comes in all shapes and sizes, from the production on the field to setting the right example off it.
Brad Bernhard has shown plenty of it this year at Geneva, first on the basketball court and now during the baseball season.
Bernhard went 2-for-7 during a doubleheader split at Batavia Saturday, driving in a run and reaching base three times. A solid if not spectacular contribution in bringing Geneva’s record to 15-7, 12-5 in the Upstate Eight.
The hitting star Saturday was junior catcher John Swiderski, who went 4-for-7 in the two games with 2 doubles and 4 RBI.
That’s the same Swiderski who had been scuffling lately after a fast start this year. And who was there to help the junior work through his slump? A senior leader like Bernhard.
“I’ve been struggling lately and coach just kept having confidence in me and I saw the ball good today,” Swiderski said.
“Brad, a couple guys have thrown a lot of extra batting practice at me and it helped me out a lot. People kept pushing me to hit the ball better.”
Swiderski started the day going 2-for-3 with 2 RBI, but it was Batavia (9-14, 6-10) who rallied from an early 2-0 deficit to win 6-2. The score reversed in Game 2, with Mike Monaghan tossing a complete game for a 7-2 Geneva win.
Swiderski would have had 5 hits if not for a spectacular over-the-shoulder, Willie Mays-like catch in deep center field by Batavia sophomore Rob Bowman in Swiderski’s final at-bat of the day.
“It was a great catch,” Swiderski said. “Coach said it was one of the best he has seen in a long time. Very nice catch.”
In the opener, Batavia starter Nick Pappas settled down after Geneva’s 2-run first inning. He worked 5 1/3 innings allowing 2 runs on 8 hits and 3 walks, striking out four. Steve Patterson retired all 5 batters he faced to finish the game as he did Wednesday against St. Charles North.
“Pappas, he’s quietly pitching very well for us,” Batavia coach Matt Holm said.
Geneva had a chance to extend its lead in the third but Matt Williams’ towering ball to left field went just foul. He later was picked off second base in the inning on a great throw from Batavia catcher Jay Clark to second baseman Braden Hrack, and the Vikings failed to score despite getting 3 hits.
“That inning kind of turned the tide,” Geneva coach Matt Hahn said. “Their pitcher did a great job after the first inning.
“Whether that was a home run or not (was hard to tell). I told the umpire that even at the major league level with a 50-foot foul pole, did it cross in front, did it cross behind.”
Batavia tied the game in the third on an RBI single by Danny Seiton. The Bulldogs took the lead for good with a 3-run fourth. An RBI single by Danny Ritchason scored Steve Durham who had walked to make it 4-3, and Bowman followed with a 2-run homer that landed in the tennis courts — the sophomore’s first career homer.
“Being a sophomore facing Geneva our rivals, big game,” Bowman said. “We haven’t been playing that well this year so it was good to get over the hump.”
Geneva rebounded in Game 2 behind Monaghan, who had missed his turn in the rotation against St. Charles North and Elgin with a sore arm. He threw only 37 balls out of his 106 pitches, allowing 5 hits, 2 runs and 1 walk while striking out four to beat Batavia starter Ben Allison.
“That is the norm for him all year,” Hahn said. “He throws strikes early in counts, keeps the ball down, gets a lot of groundball outs. That’s what he did for us today, and it was important (to not get swept).”
Geneva again scored 2 runs in the first — sophomore Mitch Endriukaitis tripled to get it going and Chris Hipchen and Swiderski later followed with run-scoring singles – but unlike the first game the Vikings added on.
Swiderski and Bernhard had RBI hits during a four-run third inning while Batavia hurt itself with an error and two wild pitches that plated runs. Geneva led 6-1 and the Bulldogs never got much going against Monaghan.
In addition to Swiderski, Williams went 4-for-8, Hipchen 3-for-4 and reached base in 6 of his 7 at-bats, and Eric Melin 3-for-6. Ritchason led Batavia going 3-for-6.
Both teams turned two swift double plays in the night cap.
“I thought it was a pretty good day of baseball,” Holm said. “We hit the ball, we didn’t strike out. The first game we got clutch hits, the second game we did not.”
Saturday’s split leaves the Tuesday meeting between the teams in Geneva as the rubber match.
“Tuesday will be a big game,” Swiderski said. “We need to come out and hit the ball again.
“We had a tough series vs. St. Charles North (losing 3) but everybody is still feeling good, hitting the ball good and it’s coming around. Pitching was great today, great defense.”