Conant pitchers prove too tough for Vikings

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GENEVA -- In the bottom of the fifth inning, Geneva still held on to hope of a big rally in the championship game of the Class 4A Geneva Regional.

Then, Conant's Walt Wijas entered in relief, and the University of Kentucky signee promptly slammed the door on the Vikings. The Cougars dominated Geneva in every phase of the game, winning 6-0 to advance to the St. Charles North Sectional against Wheaton North.

Wijas fanned six batters in his three innings of work, including all three outs in the fifth and seventh innings.

His most impressive work came in the fifth after starter Derek Wojcik (4-2) had yielded singles to Jerrod Campbell and Asa Bielenberg to start the inning. Wijas struck out Ryan Mallon and Sean Grady, but then walked Brian Cornick to load the bases.

On a full count, the senior flamethrower fired a bullet past Jack Delabar at the knees to end the threat. Delabar had taken the place of first baseman Cory Hofstetter, who had to leave the game in the third inning after tweaking a hamstring in Geneva's previous game.

Conant (20-11) took advantage of early wildness by Viking starter Alex Sroka, who walked six batters and hit another in his three-plus innings of work. The Cougars got their first run in the second inning on four free passes from Sroka.

"We wanted the guys to be patient and wait for their pitch, put the ball in play and see what happens," said Conant head coach Jerry Song, whose team stole four bases to put added pressure on the Vikings. "I told Derek (Wojcik, normally the starting shortstop) that all I want is three or four innings out of him. We had some guys in the bullpen that could shut the door."

The lead grew to 2-0 in the third on the first of three Geneva errors. Cornick couldn't handle catcher Bielenberg's throw on a steal attempt, and Wojcik trotted home from third when the throw got into center field.

The Cougars scored three times to break the game open in the fourth inning. A walk and a base hit to lead off the inning brought Riley Perry into relieve. Another walk to Bobby Colucci preceded an RBI single by Mitch Comstock, and Conant added a pair of runs on a groundout and sacrifice fly.

Geneva left runners in scoring position in the second, fifth, and seventh innings, and had Grady picked off second base to end the first inning.

"We certainly gave them plenty of chances with 10 walks and two hit batters," Vikings coach Matt Hahn said. "They (the Cougars) are a very good team, and when you've got a guy like Wijas to pitch the last three innings, it makes it very difficult. Any time you watch another team pick up a plaque on your home field, it hurts."

It just wasn't the Vikings' day. They had set school records for runs and hits, but ran into superior Conant pitching and were shut out for just the second time this season.

Bielenberg had two of the five hits for Geneva, which finished its season at 20-12.

Baseball: Class 4A Geneva Regional