Vikings on wrong end of slugfest

Font Size

Email

Bookmark

Black Text

White Text

GENEVA -- Sycamore baseball coach Jason Cavanaugh played at Geneva while in high school and has been the coach of the Spartans for 12 seasons.

So he knew exactly what to expect when the bus pulled up to the field for Thursday's Western Sun Conference tilt. Temperatures in the mid-80s and the wind blowing out of the smallish field means the scoreboard will get a workout.

"You knew this was the way it was going to be," Cavanaugh said. "This is the way it always is here. Anytime we ever play Geneva on a nice day, that's the score."

The Spartans were on the right side of the scoreboard, handing Geneva an 18-7, five-inning loss to take two of three games in the series.

And Sycamore (20-11, 11-10 WSC) wasted no time getting going off of Geneva starter Alex Sroka (5-3). David Salvatore and Caleb Weinhold each hit three-run homers in the first to help the Spartans open a 7-0 lead.

Sycamore added four runs combined in the second and third, including a two-run homer from Kyle Szychlinski. But Geneva (18-11, 13-5) started to chip away against Sycamore starter Kyle Landes (6-2).

Despite breaking his bat, Geneva first baseman Cory Hofstetter belted a two-run homer in the first. Brian Cornick added a two-run blast in the second and Sroka led off the third with a home run, part of a three-run inning that cut the lead to 11-7.

"Every game is important, but at the same time, I liked the way we fought back," Sroka said. "All you can ask from your teammates is to go out there and fight back and I was real proud of the way they did that. We showed our heart today."

In the top of the fourth, Sycamore added an unearned run, but with two outs, Sroka nearly escaped more damage and kept the momentum on Geneva's side. But he then walked a pair and allowed an RBI single to help the Spartans push the lead to 13-7.

"We got it to 11-7 and Alex got two quick outs," Geneva coach Matt Hahn said. "If we could have held them right there, it could have been a different game."

Instead, Tom Renner relieved Sroka in the fifth and the Spartans greeted him rudely, with a three-run homer from pinch hitter Conor McCaskey and a two-run shot from Trevor Mathey to push the lead to 18-7.

Usually, Hahn wants losses to eat a little at his players. But with only today's nonconference game against St. Francis looming before regionals, Hahn would rather they just move on.

"I told the guys to shrug this off," he said. "We have one game to get ready for regionals. We have to get ready for tomorrow now. This is one of the losses that you just have to let go." Baseball: Sycamore 18, Geneva 7 (5 inn.)