Softball: Geneva wins 20th in a row, snaps West Aurora's 31-game UEC streak

It's rare to see a regular season softball game with as many streaks on the line as West Aurora's Upstate Eight matchup Friday at Geneva.

The Blackhawks, leading the UEC Valley Division, entered with 31 straight conference wins. The Vikings, first in the UEC River, brought a 19-game winning streak this year.

Thanks to freshman pitcher Emily Viebrock and some flawless plays by her defense behind her, it is Geneva now with 20 wins in a row while handing West Aurora its first conference loss in three seasons, 2-0.

"There were two long streaks going today and the girls were aware of all of it," Geneva coach Greg Dierks said. "They are very excited and proud of themselves as they should be to end that run."

Not only did Geneva end West Aurora's Upstate Eight streak, the Vikings took a big step toward ending an even longer streak - bringing home the school's first conference title. Coupled with St. Charles East's loss to St. Charles North on Friday, Geneva has a 3-game lead.

"It feels amazing," said Viebrock, who has quite a streak of her own with a 14-0 record to start her high school career. "I have such a good team behind me. It helps so much. I didn't expect this."

The matchup of two of the top five teams in the Daily Herald Top 20 was filled with big plays from the first pitch to the last. Hannah Beatus drove Viebrock's first offering off the center field fence for No. 2 West Aurora (23-5, 12-1).

Yet No. 5 Geneva (22-2, 12-0) got out of the inning unscathed, thanks to left fielder Alyssa Kramer throwing Beatus out at the plate on a 2-out single by Kallie Rundle.

"That was a great play," Viebrock said. "That brought momentum on our side. That's what we train for in practice."

Catcher Katie Keller also came up big on the tag.

"It was a nice aggressive pickup and good throw and it was a nice play by Keller," Dierks said. "She caught most of the ball with her bare hand and palmed it and kept the tag down."

Geneva took a 1-0 lead without a hit in the bottom of the first. West Aurora starter Payton Lundberg hit Keller - Lundberg walked three and hit two in 5 innings, allowing just 1 single to Kyla Chenier.

Keller aggressively took third on Kate Geary's sacrifice bunt, and she scored on a passed ball.

Geneva didn't score again until the sixth on a solo home run by Annika Radabaugh off Beatus. West Aurora outhit Geneva 6-2.

The Vikings made play after play including Sam Keller's strong arm at shortstop, Molly Wrenn's quick hands at third base, and a diving catch by Geary in center. The best might have been again by Katie Keller in the fifth when the Blackhawks got the leadoff runner on only to see Keller pick her off first base - which became even more important when Gabi Nilles followed with her second hit of the game.

"We have not been in a tight low-scoring game since the first game of the year (a 3-2 win over Kaneland)," Dierks said. "I'm really happy obviously with the pitching and defense. We made a couple real sharp plays."

Beatus also had 2 hits for West Aurora, who lost Gab Drager on the second-to-last play of the game when the freshman sprained her ankle trying to beat out an infield grounder. The Blackhawks won their final 2 Upstate Eight games in 2015, all 17 last year, and their first 12 this spring.

"It was a good streak," West Aurora coach Randy Hayslett said. "You tip your hat. They played real good defense. This is the type of game we expected. One streak comes to an end, another continues. We had chances in that first inning. We came out hitting well enough I thought we could put a couple on the board. We just couldn't get the key hit when we needed."