Whenever Geneva is in the middle of a rally, if his spot in the batting order is due up, expect Blake Stempowski to respond.
“When he’s at the plate,” Geneva coach Brad Wendell said, “good things usually happen.”
The senior third baseman was in the middle of three rallies Tuesday in a 6-2 nonconference win over previously unbeaten Metea Valley.
And good things happened.
Stempowski drove in the game’s first run with a groundout. He then doubled off the fence in right-center in the third inning and scored on Carson Sprague’s double to make it 3-0.
In the fifth, Stempowski walked and scored on Tommy Maynard’s two-run single to cap the Vikings’ scoring.
“It was nice, just trying to keep adding on for my team, just trying to contribute,” Stempowski said. “I try not to go for big hits — just get base hits and help my teammates.”
Stempowski’s humble nature is no surprise to Wendell.
“He’s a really solid hitter, great player,” Wendell said. “We’re glad to have him in the middle of our order. He’s just steady Eddie. He comes to work every day.
“He’s not real flashy. He just constantly gets the job done and he’s a really good ballplayer. He doesn’t say a lot, real quiet, just leads by example. He’s really a tough kid. Fun to watch play baseball and watch swing the bat.”
Stempowski’s ambitions for this season are as simple as his everyday approach.
“I’m just trying to hit over .300,” Stempowski said. “That’s my goal. A big goal we have as a team is to win conference. Our goal every game is to just have fun and play baseball.”
When you score every inning, as Geneva (3-2) did in the first five innings Tuesday against Metea (4-1), everybody has fun.
After scoring a run in the first, the Vikings kept adding on. Jackson Dibble singled in Owen Anderson during the second. Jackson Walton came home on a double steal in the fourth.
“I was talking to the kids about good, two-out hitting,” said Wendell, whose Vikings had four RBIs with two outs. “That was the difference. Maynard had a huge one (in the fifth). That game feels a lot different if we don’t get those two runs.”
The offense made a winner out of Daniel Strohm. He allowed only one unearned run and worked around five walks in four innings.
“Really proud of him,” Wendell said. “He’s a good talent — strong, lefty thrower. We’re really excited about him. Last year he had a little shoulder injury, pitched only four innings for us. We’re really excited to have him back.
“When he’s on and in the zone, he’s tough to hit and we know it. That’s the only thing that’s gotten him in trouble this year — walks. When he’s on, he is tough.”
Jake LaVine indeed walked and scored on Connor Akstulewicz’s groundout in the fourth for Metea.
The Mustangs then threatened in the seventh and had the tying run at the plate. Kyle Bucher led off with a double and scored on a double from Aidan Wagner.
Metea left the bases loaded, however.
The Mustangs also grounded into double plays in the second and third innings to thwart rallies. Their pitchers also walked seven.
“They capitalized more on their opportunities than we did,” Metea coach Steve Colombe said. “Both pitchers were wild to start. Their pitcher settled in a little bit more than we did.
“We just didn’t pitch to contact enough. Seven walks at this level is not going to be successful.”
Wendell, meanwhile, hopes to see more steady days out of Stempowski as DuKane Conference play starts next week.
“He’s just solid, like he was (Tuesday),” Wendell said. “He’s been doing that all season. A hit a day, good at-bats. He’s just a great athlete.”
Paul Johnson is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News.
