Geneva sweeps St. Charles E. to tighten UEC race

Thanks to a pair of first-time varsity winning pitchers, the Upstate Eight Conference River Division baseball race has gotten a lot more interesting.

Junior Drew White (1-2) worked 6 solid innings in the opener and sophomore right-hander Andy Honiotes (1-1) turned in a masterful 5-inning relief job during the nightcap, as Geneva (18-8, 15-6) swept a doubleheader from St. Charles East (21-8, 17-4) Saturday in St. Charles.

The victories enabled the Vikings to pull within 2 games of the division-leading Saints and Streamwood (17-4) heading into the final week of the regular season.

St. Charles North (16-5 in UEC play), which swept a pair of games from Elgin Saturday, also remains in striking range of the UEC River leaders.

“We’ll have to play good ball these last four games against Lake Park and Streamwood but we did what we needed to today,” said Geneva coach Matt Hahn, whose team begins a 3-game series with Streamwood Tuesday.

On the heels of Thursday’s 14-3, 6-inning loss to St. Charles East, the Vikings bounced back with an impressive display of resiliency Saturday.

“We told the guys when they leave the park on Thursday to leave it there because we’ve two games with them on Saturday,” said Hahn. “We told them, ‘let’s continue to give ourselves a shot to win this.’ We’ve still got a shot.”

After sophomore Jordon Touro recorded the final 3 outs to pick up the save in the opener, stranding runners on second and third, Honiotes entered the nightcap in the bottom of the third inning with the score tied at 4-4.

Honiotes was promptly greeted by Luke Rojas and Tony Rallo, who launched back-to-back solo home runs to put the Saints on top 6-4. Rallo’s line drive that cleared the fence in right-center was his 13th of the season, breaking the Saints’ single-season record of 12 set by Jim Caine in 1999.

“I looked at it as there’s no one on base anymore,” said Honiotes. “I just tried to have a positive outlook on that and keep my team in it because I know our offense is going to score runs — and they did.”

Matt Williams’ solo home run off of Saints sophomore starting pitcher Joe Hoscheit (3-2) to lead off the fifth pulled the Vikings within 6-5.

An inning later, a throwing error allowed the Vikings to tie the game at 6-6 before Mitch Endriukaitis’ RBI single put the visitors on top for good.

Meanwhile, Honiotes kept the Saints at bay, working a 1-2-3 fourth while striking out the side in the sixth. He also received some defensive help from center fielder Chris Hipchen, who threw out Rallo trying to stretch a single into a double to lead off the fifth.

“That was a key play,” admitted Hahn.

After Rojas’ 1-out fly ball to right was misplayed into a 2-base error in the bottom of the seventh, Honiotes had the unenviable task of facing Rallo again as the tying run in the batter’s box.

“The first thing we talked about was should we walk this guy,” said Hahn. “I thought about it the whole way out there (meeting at the mound). I turned to my dad and asked what he thought, and I turned to my assistant coach and asked what he thought. I know my second baseman (Williams) was lobbying for it.

“That was one of those things where if you walk him and it works, you’re a genius. If you walk him and you put the winning run at the plate…

“I went back to the old textbook where you don’t put the winning run at the plate. Even if he hits a home run, you still live to play.”

Honiotes retired Rallo on a fly ball to left before getting Kyle Manske on a game-ending groundout to second.

“Every ball I’ve seen him (Rallo) hit was over the plate,” said Honiotes. “I figured if I jammed him, he’d either hit it straight up in the air or hit a grounder to the right side.”

Hipchen’s first-inning home run that caromed off the flagpole in straightaway center highlighted the Vikings’ opening-game triumph. Manske (2-1) suffered the loss for the Saints.

“I told the guys it would be a big challenge after yesterday (11-9 extra-inning win over Streamwood) because it was such an emotional day for us,” said Saints coach Dave Haskins.

“It’s tough mentally and it showed up a little bit today but we’re all right. We’re going to bounce back and hopefully take care of business.”