DeKalb snatches Western Sun lead from Geneva
Good pitching really does beat good hitting - even on a day with the wind blowing out at Geneva.
DeKalb ace Ben Dallesasse made one mistake in pitching his team to a 5-3 win, a victory that moves the Barbs past Geneva into first place in the Western Sun Conference with four games remaining.
DeKalb (18-6, 13-4) started the week a game behind Geneva (19-8, 12-5) but now holds a 1-game lead heading into Friday's series finale at Geneva.
"When we have this energy we've had the last couple games, we're tough to beat," said Dallesasse, who is 8-1 with his only loss coming against Burlington Central.
"I know my stuff is pretty good and I keep the ball low. They don't scare me at all."
The Barbs jumped on Geneva starter Mike Monaghan with 2 runs in the first. The first three batters all singled. Dallesasse drove in the first run and the second scored on a wild pitch.
Geneva tied the game in the second. Sophomore Matt Williams connected on his first career home run, a 2-run shot to right.
A leadoff walk started DeKalb's 3-run third. The first run scored on a close play at the plate that knocked out Geneva catcher Eric Renner.
Geneva coach Matt Hahn argued the DeKalb runner led with his shoulder causing the injury to Renner. Junior Anders Langlo took over for Renner and caught the final four innings.
"(Our runner) hit him (Renner) with his foot trying to slide around him," DeKalb coach Justin Keck said. "My only hope is he (Renner) is OK. I don't want anyone to get hurt.
"I definitely don't think it was anything dirty. We don't play dirty baseball. It's a beautiful game, we all love it. That's why we all play it. There's no sense trying to get somebody hurt."
Jake Jouris followed one batter later with the big blow, a 2-run home run to put DeKalb ahead 5-2.
Monaghan (4-1) labored through the first three innings, throwing 76 pitches, then settled down and shut the Barbs out over the final four innings. Kyle Bender relieved in the seventh and recorded the final two outs.
"I thought both pitchers did a nice job," Hahn said of Dallesasse and Monaghan. "They made some good defensive plays in the outfield. They are a very good team. They made all the plays they had to."
Dallesasse held Geneva to 6 hits. He got help behind him, especially from center fielder Frank Petras who made three highlight-reel catches.
The first came in the first inning when he sprinted in for a diving catch to take a hit away from Chris Hipchen. His best catch might have come in the sixth when Petras went back almost to the fence to take extra bases away from pinch hitter Jim Martin.
"Frank comes up big all the time," Dallesasse said. "He's always making amazing catches in the outfield."
Petras and right fielder Jake Gordon both made great catches in the seventh that halted Geneva's comeback bid. Monaghan led off with a double, and after the two liners that DeKalb's outfielders hauled in, the Barbs opted to intentionally walk Alex Sroka to bring the winning run to the plate. The move paid off when Dallesasse induced a grounder to end the game.
Geneva entered the series with 36 home runs in its first 25 games. Keck said that holding the Vikings to 1 home run and 6 runs the last two days can be credited to his pitchers keeping the ball down.
"Same mentality we've been trying to get our pitchers to have for years," Keck said. "If you are going to miss, miss low. You can't miss over the heart of the plate. They are a very good hitting team. They are going to make you pay. The last two days we have been fortunate to not make many mistakes."
Geneva also received a web gem from its center fielder Williams, who threw out a runner at the plate to end the sixth inning and keep the Vikings within 5-3. Williams fired a rocket from center straight into Langlo's mitt.
"He (the runner) got to third about when I got the ball," Williams said. "I just fired home. We couldn't afford another run against us. Anders did a great job blocking the plate and holding onto the ball."
DeKalb will turn to Blaine Parson going for the sweep today while Hahn said he wasn't sure who he would pitch.
"It will be a new experience for him (Parson)," Keck said of his junior. "Hopefully he can do what Ben and (Tuesday's starter) Cody (Varga) did and locate his fastball. We know offensively we are in for a struggle and have to get our bats going early."
Kaneland (10-5) also is in the thick of the race with three makeup games coming against Sycamore. If the Knights can sweep that series and Geneva beats DeKalb on Friday, the three teams will head into the final week of the season in a three-way tie at 13-5.
"We are going to try to come back and win one and pull into first place," Hahn said.