After a disappointing season last spring, Geneva’s Ryan Kastor was hoping to be a part of something special as a senior.
He’s found himself manning third base every day and hitting in the middle of a relentless, loaded lineup that has provided ample opportunities for him to succeed.
“It’s really cool compared to last year,” Kastor said. “I really struggled. I feel really good right now and the team has been with me the whole time. They helped me through it.”
Kastor and the host Vikings showed how deep and powerful their lineup is Friday afternoon with a 14-run third inning in a 15-0 DuKane Conference victory over Glenbard North.
In that third, Kastor recorded a two-run single and an RBI single for Geneva (23-3, 12-2). Nick Torrence added a grand slam and a two-run single in the inning, which saw the Vikings send 17 batters to the plate. Mason Bruesch scored three runs.
Noah Hallahan (5-1) shut down Glenbard North (10-13-2, 5-9), striking out eight in four innings.
Geneva coach Brad Wendell knew that Kastor’s slow start last season squeezed him out of the lineup. Seeing him bounce back as well as he has this year has been a welcomed sight.
“He’s been awesome all year,” Wendell said of Kastor. “We expected a lot from him. Last year he had kind of a rough start and that held him back all year.
“Other guys were playing well, so he didn’t see a ton of opportunities. This year, we said, ‘We think he’s our guy at third base. We think his bat plays.’ And it has.”
Kastor, who has driven in a team-best 26 runs, has a .417 batting average.
That trails only Breusch’s .457 for Geneva. Kastor also has drawn a team-best 17 walks, tying him with Breusch as the Vikings’ on-base percentage leader at .531.
“He sees the zone really well,” Wendell said of Kastor. “He’s just hit everything. I’m super happy for him in terms of how he’s performed. He’s just having a great year. He’s really hard to get out.
“He comes up in big situations for us, a lot of RBIs for us out of the four or five hole.”
When Kastor gets to the plate, unless he’s leading off an inning, there’s a good chance somebody will be on base for him. That shows the depth of Geneva’s lineup.
“It’s really nice,” Kastor said. “It looks good in the stats. They’re always out there for me.
“It’s nice to have guys on base all the time, and everyone trusts you in those situations to get the job done and get the runs in for the team.”
Friday’s 14-run third is a perfect example. Torrence’s grand slam capped off the inning, but it was the lone extra-base hit. Six singles, five walks, a hit batter and an error caused the other damage.
“I think it just shows that when we work as a team, all one unit, that’s the best we are,” Kastor said. “It’s never just one guy. It’s all of us together. It’s really cool.
“You don’t have to focus on one person getting the job done. We’re all capable of it.”
That gives Hallahan confidence on the mound.
“It’s great going out there and pitching knowing that if I give up one or two runs, it’s not the end of the world,” Hallahan said. “It’s great to go back to the dugout knowing I have one through nine.
“And all nine of them can do a job.”
Kastor hopes that leads to a special end to what’s already been a special season.
“This is probably one of the better teams I’ve ever been a part of,” Kastor said. “It’s cool to provide for them and help them out. I think we’ll go a long way.”
Paul Johnson is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News.
