Geneva gets hits at right time to beat Glenbard West

Early on, it didn't appear as if Geneva would need any clutch hits late in Friday's game at Glenbard West.

You see, the Vikings (2-0) scored four times in the first inning and later led 8-2 after 31/2 innings. But the Hilltoppers opened the bottom of the fourth with 6 straight hits en route to closing to within a run at 8-7 and at that point, it was anyone's ballgame.

The Vikings, however, prevailed 10-8 after Kyle Bender and Michael Monaghan each delivered 2-out RBI hits in the top of the seventh to provide the visitors with two critical insurance runs. Monaghan, who started, and Bender, who finished, also handled the pitching duties for Geneva on the chilly afternoon in Glen Ellyn.

"Everyone was being patient at the plate. Fourteen hits is not too bad," said Monaghan, who was 2-for-4 with a walk including his single in the seventh that plated Bender for a 10-7 lead. "We still have a lot of work to do, but our expectations are pretty high."

The Vikings jumped on Hilltoppers starter Will Caspers for 4 runs in the first on 4 hits and an error, with Eric Renner doubling and scoring and Brian Cornick's hit-and-run single to right field plating the fourth run. When Jason Adams doubled and scored in the second, Renner doubled and scored in the third, and Alex Sroka doubled and scored in the fourth, Geneva looked in great control only to have the Glenbard West bats go off in the bottom of the fourth.

Jeremy Abernathy opened the inning with a double to left and the Hilltoppers' next four batters came away with hits - including a 2-run double by No. 9 man Andy Anderson - before Bender replaced Monaghan and was greeted by Glenbard West's sixth straight hit, a single by Mike Laning.

A caught stealing and a pair of strikeouts finally ended the Hilltoppers' fourth, but not before 5 runners scored and 11 batters stepped to the plate.

"It's tough to overcome some of the physical mistakes we had early in the game, but give the kids credit, they fought back," Hilltoppers coach Brian Wojtun said. "These kids have a lot of heart. We'll get it."

After the big fourth the hosts managed just one run in the bottom of the seventh off Bender, a junior right-hander. Glenbard West (0-2), meanwhile, used four pitchers but struggled to slow the fast-starting Vikings offense.

"Both teams took advantage of mistakes early," Geneva coach Matt Hahn said. "But we executed today. We got a couple bunts down, we executed a hit-and-run and we got a couple steals. And we were getting hits when we needed them."