Geneva wins thriller over Lake Park
Brad Bernhard sure knew how to make the hearts beat faster — and break a few hearts at the same time — Friday in a Class 4A regional semifinal thriller at Geneva.
With 2 outs left in the Geneva’s season, and in Bernhard’s career, the Vikings senior first baseman launched an opposite field 2-run home run to tie the game at 4. The score stayed that way until the bottom of the ninth when Geneva leadoff hitter Mike Monaghan drew a bases-loaded walk to give the Vikings a 5-4 victory.
No. 7 seed Geneva (21-11) will play No. 2 St. Charles East (25-10) for the regional championship at 10 a.m. Saturday. It’s a rematch of last year’s regional final won by the Saints, and it’s also the fourth meeting this season with Geneva winning 2 of 3 in Upstate Eight Conference play.
With the way Lake Park sophomore Christian Taugner was mowing down Geneva hitters, it looked for much of Friday like the fourth Saints-Vikings matchup was not to be.
That is until Bernhard took a 1-0 fastball just over the fence in right.
“I was thinking this could be it, my last at-bat,” Bernhard said. “Just trying to make something happen, looking to start the rally, keep it going. We needed to put some basehits together, we hadn’t done it all game. I just needed to see the ball and hit it.”
Bernhard’s blast was his third home run this year — all to the opposite field. It scored Andy Francis who had singled to bring the tying run to the plate.
Taugner (6-0) said he made a mistake, letting his fastball catch too much of the plate. He was otherwise brilliant, fanning 14 hitters and walking just 1 while firing 84 of his 121 pitches for strikes before leaving after 8 innings.
“My second pitch was supposed to be fastball outside and I left it out over the plate and he hit it,” Taugner said. “Bad pitch. It’s a tough loss.”
Lancers coach Dan Colucci turned to Kevin Steger for the ninth. Steger, who Colcucci had planned to start in the regional title game, defeated Geneva 4-1 in the regular season.
Geneva only had 1 hit in the ninth, another single from Francis, but a walk to Bernhard put two runners on, and with 2 outs Steger proceeded to walk Jim Martin and Monaghan on 8 pitches to force in a run and end the game.
It was No. 9 seed Lake Park (22-14) who left with its hearts broken after the Lancers outplayed Geneva in many areas. The Lancers outhit them 10-7 and committed no errors to the Vikings’ 3, but they left 14 runners on base including the bases loaded in the fourth and sixth innings.
Lake Park also hurt itself on the bases. Geneva left fielder Martin threw out a runner trying to stretch a single into a double, and Vikings catcher John Swiderski nailed another runner at second trying to advance on a wild pitch.
“We won everything but the scoreboard,” Colucci said. “We didn’t get the big two-out hit. What can you say, it was a great ballgame.”
After Bernhard’s RBI single put the Vikings ahead 1-0 in the second, Lake Park tied the game against Geneva starter Jordan Touro on an RBI groundout from Zach Tsiodras in the third.
The Lancers went ahead 2-1 in the fourth when Brandon Boyle walked with the bases loaded. Matt Williams, fresh off his commitment to Northern Illinois to play football this week, tied the game with a home run in Geneva’s half of the fourth, his 12th of the year.
It stayed 2-2 until the seventh when Lake Park’s No. 9 hitter Dean Kise delivered a 2-out, 2-run single up the middle for a 4-2 lead.
Kise’s turn in the hero role lasted until Bernhard’s 2-run homer in the bottom of the seventh.
“He hits best when he hits from left-center to right-center,” Geneva coach Matt Hahn said. “Where he hit that home run is his strength.”
Williams (4-1) pitched the final 2 innings for the win, sending Geneva to its sixth straight regional championship game. The Vikings likely will face Kansas-bound Wes Benjamin Saturday, and Hahn said he wasn’t sure who he will counter with. Williams was his original plan, and he still might get the call.
“We’ve faced good pithing all year,” Hahan said. “I’m not saying we’ve faced Wes Benjamin-caliber pitching, but we’ll be ready to go. Our guys will be confident.”