St. Charles North tops Geneva in error-filled game
After a game in which Geneva and St. Charles North combined for 26 runs, 25 hits and 14 errors, Vikings coach Matt Hahn seemed to sum things up appropriately.
"That could have been one of the uglier high school baseball games I've been around ever - as a player or as a coach," said Hahn, whose team wound up on the wrong side of an 18-8, 6-inning decision at the hands of the host North Stars (12-2, 6-1) Tuesday in Upstate Eight Conference River Division action.
"I don't think the scoreboard was right," added Hahn. "I think there were 20 errors in that game - or pretty close to it."
Geneva (9-3, 5-2) shot out to a 2-0 lead in its half of the first thanks in part to RBI hits from Nick Derr (3-for-4) and Ben Chally.
However, the North Stars answered with 3 runs of their own in the bottom half of the frame - all of them scoring on a misplayed bases-clearing triple by sophomore John Legare.
St. Charles North seized control with a 7-run second that involved plenty of generosity from the Vikings.
The inning included 4 errors, a bases-loaded walk, 1 hit batsman and just 2 base hits - a bloop single off the bat of Riley Coomes (2-for-5) and a 2-run single from Nick Drawant (4-for-4, walk, 3 RBI).
"They took advantage more than we did," said Hahn.
After the Vikings plated a pair of third-inning runs on RBI singles from Chally (3-for-3, walk) and Jack Wassel to make it 10-4, the North Stars countered with 3 runs of their own in the bottom of the third.
Consecutive singles by Jack Dennis, Joe Kuczek and Drawant loaded the bases for junior catcher Kyle Khoury, who delivered a 3-run double that was lost in the sun by the Vikings' outfielder.
Khoury, who struck out swinging in his first 2 plate appearances, added an RBI single and a 2-run single as part of his 3-for-5, 6-RBI afternoon.
"After the first two (at-bats), I just tried to focus and hit my pitch," said Khoury. "I was just looking for something to hit."
Coomes, Dennis (3-for-4, RBI), Kuczek (2-for-5), Legare (2-for-3, 3 RBI), Drawant and Khoury all enjoyed multihit games for the North Stars.
"I'm really proud of the way we hit the ball today," said North Stars coach Todd Genke. "We exploded offensively. We certainly have that potential."
Geneva capitalized on 5 North Stars' errors during a 3-run fifth that narrowed the deficit to 13-7 and added a run without the deficit of a hit in the sixth before St. Charles North finally ended it with a 4-run sixth, highlighted by Khoury's 2-run single and Jordan Bergren's walk-off RBI single.
"It felt like it was Wrigley Field out there with no lead that was safe but I felt that we really hit the ball well - the best we've hit all year," said Genke. "It's great because it's really going to give us some confidence and that's going to take us a long way."
Senior pitcher Frankie Farry (2-0) worked 5 innings to get the win with sixth-inning help from senior southpaws John Sykora and Tim Hausl.
"I thought Frankie pitched well," said Genke, whose team committed 8 errors. "He had some hard luck with some of the groundballs but he stepped up and showed what he's made of. We made just enough plays to keep them at bay."
The teams meet again today in Geneva.
"I told the guys afterward that this is one of those games you just erase and forget about," said Hahn. "The score will be 0-0 when we show up tomorrow."