Kenzie Krauch comes in clutch at plate, in field to help Batavia to close win over Geneva

BATAVIA – Kenzie Krauch wanted to make sure left field was a no-fly zone.

After Batavia secured a 4-2 lead over Geneva in the bottom of the fifth inning, the junior made certain there wasn’t a ball that either dropped in front of her or went over her head.

“I was really committed to making sure nothing would drop,” Krauch said. “I was going to do anything to catch a ball that came near me. I was ready to go all out.”

And in the sixth inning, she proved it when it mattered most.

The junior made two acrobatic catches in the frame, including one with the tying run on third base to help the Bulldogs preserve a 4-3 lead, which they would carry to secure the rivalry game victory over the Vikings.

“Kenzie is an amazing outfielder,” Batavia coach Torry Pryor said. “She made some diving catches coming in and some running catches going left and right. She’s got a nice arm also. She’s been doing it all for us.”

Krauch gave the Bulldogs (6-14, 1-7 DuKane Conference) the lead in the bottom of the fifth inning. After Ellie Swanson kicked off the inning with a double, Krauch drove her home with a screaming RBI single to left field to make it 3-2.

“I was just thinking that I needed to hit a good, hard ball up the middle or on the corner so that I could get her in,” Krauch said. “I was a little nervous, but it felt pretty good to be able to do that.”

Krauch would go on to score later in the inning on a sacrifice fly from senior Gwen Shouse. It was the second time Krauch was driven in by the North Central College commit, with the junior scoring on her RBI double in the first inning.

“We did a great job hitting, a good job pitching and had some nice defense,” Pryor said. “We’ve been competing in every game trying to hang in there with everyone in this tough conference. And no matter who you face, you’re playing someone tough, and it’s always going to be a fun game.”

The Vikings (6-14, 0-8) didn’t go down without a fight. The Vikings put up a run in the fourth, fifth and sixth innings and had the tying run on second base in the seventh, but couldn’t get the key hit to take the lead.

“This is always a good game against Batavia, because we’re pretty evenly matched,” Geneva coach Annie Plackett said. “We didn’t come out hitting as strongly as we could have. We made adjustments, but by the time we made them and tried to string our hits together, it was a little too late.”

The Vikings had four batters finish the day with multiple hits, including junior Megan O’Connor, who had the team’s only extra base-hit with an RBI double. Caroline Winsininski and Madison Gates also added RBIs.

“We just need the confidence to know that we can hang with teams and that they can hit the ball when they want to and when they are more prescribed in it,” Plackett said. “Then they can also make the plays they need to defensively, and overall it’ll help them play their best softball.”