Baseball: Geneva wins 1st sectional championship; Naperville Central also advances with 14th straight win

Josh Frieders enjoyed a perfect day at the plate, going 3 for 3 with a double, walk, stolen base, and scored a pair of runs during Geneva’s 11-7 Class 3A sectional championship triumph over Rockford Boylan Saturday in Sycamore.

Frieders filled the stat sheet for the Vikings (32-7), who captured their first sectional baseball title in school history and advanced to Monday’s 6 p.m. Geneseo supersectional against East Peoria (25-13), which defeated top-seeded Dunlap, 5-3, at Washington on Saturday.

“We’re super excited,” said Vikings coach Brad Wendell, whose team extends its single-season school record with each victory.

“We’re just happy to be playing again.”

The Vikings seized control with a 5-run third in support of junior starting pitcher Noah Hallahan.

After the Titans (24-15) got on the board with a run in their half of the third, the Vikings added more breathing room with a 6-run fourth.

“We played some small ball with back-to-back bunt singles and running the bases,” said Wendell. “We played a lot of good ball early on.”

Frieders was the offensive catalyst for the Vikings, who finished with 11 hits.

“Josh did a little bit of everything for us,” said the coach. “It was great to see. He missed some time with an injury after getting cleated in the leg (requiring stitches), so it’s nice to have him back.”

Junior Nelson Wendell delivered a 2-run triple for Geneva, while additional offensive support was provided by Ryan Kastor (2 for 3, 2 RBI, sacrifice fly), Gavin Dworak (2 for 4, 2 runs scored), Tate Beran (1 for 2, walk), Nick Torrence (1 for 3, double, 3 RBI, sacrifice fly), Alex Abraham (1 for 3, walk, 2 RBI), and Mason Bruesch (walk, hit-by-pitch, 2 RBI, 2 runs scored, stolen base).

“We have some headliners with Mason (Bruesch) and Alex (Abraham), but every game it seems like it has been somebody else,” said Wendell.

Hallahan earned the win, allowing 5 runs (4 earned) on 7 hits with 2 walks and 5 strikeouts before giving way to senior reliever Blake Kopec, who gave up 2 runs (1 earned) on 2 hits with 6 strikeouts in 2 1/3 innings.

“Noah has been our workhorse,” Wendell said of Hallahan. “He throws hard, and it was so hot out there, and then Blake comes in to finish the job. Blake is a three-year varsity player who has accepted his role as our top reliever.”

Wendell now faces a tough decision on who to send to the mound Monday evening.

“We used up Noah (Hallahan) until next Friday or Saturday,” said the coach. “We have a lot of options and a lot of depth.

“We moved Mason (Bruesch) to the leadoff spot and he hasn’t even pitched yet in the postseason.”

Naperville Central 3, Downers Grove North 1: Max Henson, Decker McDonald, and Ryan Gervase combined to limit Downers Grove North (24-13) to just 4 hits during Naperville Central’s 3-1 Class 4A sectional championship victory Saturday in Lockport.

While recording their 14th consecutive win — and first sectional title since 2012 — the Redhawks (29-9) advanced to Monday’s 6 p.m. supersectional against Minooka (32-6) at the Corn Crib in Normal.

Pitching has provided the difference for the Redhawks during postseason play. Following 3 straight shutouts, the Redhawks’ scoreless streak on the mound extended to 26 innings before Downers Grove North pushed its lone run across in the sixth.

Henson, a senior southpaw, started and pitched 4 1/3 innings of scoreless ball, allowing 2 hits and 2 walks with 3 strikeouts.

McDonald gave up a run on 2 hits with 2 walks and 3 strikeouts before giving way to Gervase, who came on with the bases loaded in the seventh to record the final 2 outs, including the game-clincher on a fielder’s choice grounder to second baseman Casey Cooperkawa.

Jermaine Kenady led the Redhawks’ offense, going 3 for 3 with an RBI double and pair of stolen bases.

Additional support was provided by Michael Page (2 for 4, run scored), Ryan Pall (1 for 3, double, 2 RBI), Grant Umbright (1 for 4, double), and Cooperkawa (3 walks).

Oliver Gibson (triple) and Antonio Russotiesi (double) had extra-base hits for the Trojans, who saw their 5-game winning streak end.