Geneva bounces back to beat Jacobs
There was something about losing its season opener 15-0 to Benet Saturday that didn’t sit well with the Geneva softball team.
Well, there were actually a lot of things about that game the Vikings would like to forget.
They got started on that road Wednesday when they knocked off previously unbeaten Jacobs 6-1 in Geneva’s home opener.
Sophomore Haley Orwig allowed just 5 hits and the Vikings got timely hitting from junior Kristen Searcy and senior Clare Stribling to hand the Golden Eagles their first loss of the season after wins over Kaneland and Barrington.
“We’ve been stuck thinking about that since Saturday,” said Geneva coach Greg Dierks of the season-opening thumping. “Even though this is just the second game of the season it’s good to get a win and score some runs.”
The Golden Eagles were gracious guests, committing 4 errors that led to all of the Vikings’ runs.
Jacobs held a 1-0 lead after one inning, scoring an unearned run on Heather Chudy’s RBI single that drove in Alyssa Lach (2-for-3), who had singled with two outs. After Lach’s single, Orwig hit Maggie Hansen with a pitch and Geneva made an error on Nicky Chapa’s grounder to load the bases. Chudy sliced a single to right to give Jacobs a short-lived lead.
Geneva took over in the bottom of the third, using a two-out error on Anna Geary’s grounder to start the rally. Bridget Weitzel followed Geary with a single to center and Searcy took Jacobs sophomore lefty McKayla Lein deep to center to give the Vikings a 3-1 lead.
“I thought McKayla pitched a great game,” said Jacobs coach Jeremy Bauer. “She was keeping their hitters off-balance and hitting her spots. “The three-run homer shouldn’t have happened. We made physical mistakes and mental mistakes. You can’t give teams 4-5 outs.”
Orwig settled down after the first inning and only allowed two Jacobs baserunners as far as second base the rest of the game. She struck out 4 and didn’t walk anyone.
“I was a lot more confident playing at home today,” Orwig said. “It really helps to have the team behind me. I had some jitters at first but this feels good. This is what we needed.”
Orwig was grateful for Searcy’s home run.
“That was a game-turner,” she said. “To have some runs behind you really helps.”
Geneva added two more runs in the fourth. Jacobs made an infield error that allowed Nicole White to reach and after Lein got the next two hitters out, Orwig drew a walk. Senior catcher Stribling then laced a triple to the right-field corner to score White and courtesy runner Kristin Scheinost and make it a 5-1 game.
“We hadn’t scored a run yet so the home run was a nice way to get us going,” Dierks said. “Clare got that big hit also and extra runs always make it easier.”
The Vikes’ final run in the fifth came when Weitzel reached on an error, took second on a passed ball and then scored on Searcy’s hard-hit single through the infield.
Lein struck out 2 and walked 1 in 5 innings. Senior Katie Kirker pitched the final inning for the Golden Eagles.
“It’s early in the season,” Bauer said. “We’re still optimistic about what we’ve got.”