Like father, like son applies perfectly to Geneva’s Nelson Wendell.
The junior shortstop is in his second season playing on the varsity for his father Brad, who also is the head coach for the Vikings. It’s working well in what has become a family tradition.
Brad Wendell did the same, playing in high school for his dad John, a Hall of Fame coach with more than 400 wins in his career at Buffalo Grove.
“I was on the varsity last year,” Nelson said of his promotion as a sophomore. “It was kind of weird at first, but I’ve gotten used to it. It’s sometimes hard when he’s chirping on me and I chirp back.
“But I try not to do that.”
Good idea.
Both Nelson and his dad had reason to crow, though, on Saturday when they met at third base in the third inning.
Nelson had just delivered what may have been the game’s key hit –— a two-out, two-run triple — in Geneva’s 11-7 victory over Rockford Boylan in the Class 3A Sycamore Sectional final.
A line drive into the right field corner by Wendell highlighted the five-run outburst by the Vikings (32-7) that broke a scoreless tie.
“That was a huge at-bat and a huge hit,” Brad Wendell said. “He just went away with the pitch and down the line with it. We talk about that. He did a great job. Every run matters this time of year.”
Senior third baseman Ryan Kastor preceded the triple with a sacrifice fly and later had an RBI single. He agreed that Wendell’s triple was key for the Vikings, who play at 6 p.m. Monday in the Geneseo Supersectional against East Peoria (26-13), a 5-3 winner over Dunlap.
“That was kind of where we knew, ‘All right, we’re gonna get this one now,’” Kastor said. “Once we got flowing, got into a rhythm and saw other people succeeding, everyone just builds off of it.
“There’s lot of energy in the dugout.”
Geneva added six runs in the fourth. It featured a two-run double from senior designated hitter Nick Torrence, who drove in three runs to support junior pitcher Noah Hallahan.
“I think Noah threw super well, threw really hard,” Brad Wendell said. “It’s hot out here (Saturday) and I think that got to him a little bit. He got into the 80s on his pitch count and got a little tired.”
Geneva carried a 10-run lead into the fifth, but Rockford Boylan (24-24) extended the game to seven innings with a four-run rally.
“Give credit to the other team,” Brad Wendell said. “It’s not like they’re laying down. Human nature says you may relax a little bit. We try to stay aggressive to the end.”
Senior reliever Blake Kopec closed out the win for Hallahan, going 2 1/3 innings and getting six of the seven outs on strikeouts.
“Blake just mows them down when he’s in the zone,” Brad Wendell said.
Nelson Wendell pointed out that he just went with the pitch on his big hit.
“I saw a gap on the right side,” Nelson said. “The right fielder was playing really far in toward the middle of field, so I was waiting on a curveball and got one on the outside corner.
“I just poked it out there, hit it right where he wasn’t and it rolled to the corner.”
A .314 hitter, Wendell also has nine doubles, two triples and 17 RBIs. But back to last year?
“My dad told me he was gonna treat me like anyone else and I need to play with confidence,” Nelson Wendell said of the promotion. “He knows I can do it.”
Brad Wendell went on to play football and baseball at Augustana before going into coaching. And he still deals with a father-son scenario of his own.
“We talk a lot on the phone before and after games,” Brad said of his dad, who’s now retired. “He’s always got a little advice, You know how dads are.”
