Geneva wins wild one over Bartlett

It would be hard to imagine a worse spot for sun glare than the first-base bag at the Geneva baseball diamond on an early spring afternoon.

“I coached first base for four years,” Geneva coach Matt Hahn said following the Vikings’ 4-3 Upstate Eight Conference triumph over Bartlett on Thursday. “It’s brutal.”

Matt Brandys raced home from second base to end the game in the bottom of the seventh inning as the Hawks’ first-baseman was blinded trying to field pitcher Tim McKeague’s throw of Anthony Bragg’s sacrifice bunt down the first-base line.

The Vikings’ walk-off win with none out came on the heels of Bartlett staging a 2-run seventh-inning rally to deny Andy Honiotes’ third victory of the season.

Geneva, which had its season-opening seven-game winning streak snapped at Neuqua Valley on Wednesday, improved to 8-1 overall, 1-1 in the league; Bartlett is 5-5, 1-1.

Honiotes walked his final two batters with one out in the seventh, prompting Hahn to issue a summons to fireman Matt Williams.

The NIU football recruit loaded the bases with a third straight walk, and Dan Gallanis’ opposite-field single to right plated Ben Grear and Ryan Roszkowiak to tie the game at 3-3.

“I could tell (Williams) was throwing harder (than Honiotes),” Gallanis said. “I wanted to wait back and take it the other way.”

To Williams’ credit, though, the senior had consecutive strikeouts to thwart the Hawks’ bid to take the lead, stranding two runners in scoring position.

The senior was then credited with his first victory on the year when Brandys laced a single to center and moved into second on an errant fielder’s choice throw before the second straight Bartlett throwing error ended the contest.

“It’s a win, so that’s all that matters,” Williams said. “It’s a team game. We got runners in when we needed to.”

Without a hit its first two-at bats, Geneva collected 5 of its 7 hits in a six-batter sequence to take a 3-0 lead in the bottom of the third inning.

Brandys’ double followed Andy Francis’ single the other way to put two men in scoring position.

Following a short fly out, Bragg, Mitch Endriukaicis and John Swiderski had consecutive two-out singles to frame the Vikings’ 3-run third.

Honiotes, meanwhile, had artfully pitched out of identical jams with the same five players involved.

Bartlett leadoff men Robert Smith and Grear were perched on third and second, respectively, in both the first and the third innings with none out.

But Honiotes retired the heart of the Bartlett order in both instances to remain unscathed.

“The whole dynamic of the game changes,” Bartlett coach Chris Pemberton said of the Hawks’ inability to score first.

“That’s the kind of pitcher Andy is,” Hahn said.