Baseball: Geneva goes full throttle on offense to take series opener over St. Charles East
Geneva sophomore Noah Hallahan knew he couldn’t have his latest performance carry over into Monday’s game.
After striking out three times at the plate in a 7-6 victory over Wheaton North on Saturday, the sophomore believed he needed to come into Monday’s series opener against St. Charles East with a different mindset at the plate.
That change would be challenged early when he came to the plate in the first with runners on second and third.
And sure enough, it worked.
“Everyone was hitting fastballs, so I went up thinking that I wanted to hit one,” Hallahan said. “The pitcher threw me a couple that I didn’t want, and then I saw one with two strikes, which was one that I could drive up the middle for a two-run single.”
Hallahan’s single was his first of three hits on the day, which paced the Vikings all game long to a big 10-1 victory to open the three-game series against the Saints.
“He’s been really good for us,” Vikings coach Brad Wendell said of Hallahan. “He’s had his ups and downs, which I think just comes with the territory here in this conference and being young, but he’s stayed positive and put bat to ball. He didn’t let the past get to him.
“He knows who he is, and he just keeps fighting to compete and try and get it done for the team.”
With the win, the Vikings (20-9, 10-6 DuKane) retained their spot atop the DuKane Conference standings alongside St. Charles North, who won their series opener with a 3-2 victory over Lake Park. Behind them, five teams sit at .500 or better in conference play.
“I mean, this was a huge win,” Hallahan said. “We’ve got five games left, and it’s neck and neck. There’s a lot of teams that can just get into it, and it’s going to be whoever wants it most. It’s a goal we made right at the start of the year (to win conference), and it’s right there. We’ve just got to finish business.”
Senior Michael Toole also added to the first-inning production with a two-run double, giving the Vikings a 4-0 lead before the Saints even got a chance at the plate.
“It feels great anytime that you can put runs on the board in the first,” Wendell said. “But I’m glad we were able to keep that production and add a few later as the game progressed.”
The Vikings saw their offensive production happen in all of the odd innings, as they put up a run in the third, two runs in the fifth and three in the seventh.
Besides Hallahan and Toole, senior Ethan Gronberg led the scoring effort with three RBI in the later innings. Sophomore Alex Abraham also drove in a pair of runs.
“I thought we were competitive the whole way, and it was wonderful,” Wendell said. “We just had a decent approach against one of the best arms in the conference and made him work a bit. We just did a really good job of staying on the ball and forcing him to throw strikes.”
Chris Dazzo drove in the Saints’ (12-14, 8-8) only run in the bottom of the fourth inning with an RBI double. James Feigleson and Andrew Zolna each added two hits.
“They were just the better team all around, and that can’t happen against a good team like that,” Saints coach Derek Sutor said. “But we’re a totally capable team, and we’ve proven that throughout the season. At our best, we can hang with anyone.”