Geneva pitcher Elise Strohm is no one-trick pony.
Because of it, the senior right-hander helped the Vikings extend a challenging season at least one more day.
Given a choice to close out a game, Strohm would likely prefer that situation involved her work in the circle, throwing the ball. But she has some serious skill in the batter’s box, too.
“It’s just really exciting and kind of what we needed to get the team fired up,” Strohm said Monday of her performance at the plate. “I’m just so happy that I had the opportunity to do it.”
What Strohm did was deliver the key hit of the game.
The Grinnell commit launched a three-run homer to cap a seven-run rally in the fifth inning that erased an 8-1 deficit for the Vikings on their way to an 11-10 victory over archrival Batavia.
The home run, Strohm’s third of the season, rode a strong wind blowing straight out over the eight-foot fence in straightaway center field.
It came in the Class 4A Metea Valley Regional quarterfinal at 16th-seeded Geneva (6-22). Batavia (3-24) came in as the 17th seed. The win advanced the Vikings to a 4:30 p.m. Tuesday semifinal against top-seeded Wheaton North (25-6), the DuKane Conference champion.
After splitting a pair of regular-season games, Batavia and Geneva each scored twice in the sixth inning. The Vikings prevailed when junior shortstop Kaitlyn Sprague hit a two-out single in the seventh, stole second and scored the winner on an ill-fated pickoff throw that went into left field.
Sophomore right fielder Maddie Parsons contributed a two-run double and junior second baseman Sloane Fisher added a two-run single in the fifth when Geneva sent 11 batters to the plate.
Senior pitcher Emily Reagan, a Millikin recruit, had breezed to that point and sparked the Bulldogs with four hits, a walk and two RBIs.
“You can’t waste it when you have a chance to put them away,” Batavia coach Torry Pryor
More Top Picks Best Travel Backpacks
said.Strohm opened the game as her team’s designated player, batting for starting pitcher Nora Faulkner, a Benedictine commit who didn’t get much support.
Senior catcher Hailey Hornick felt Faulkner deserved better.
“They usually switch off starting every other game,” Hornick said. “If one struggles, the other will come in.”
Five of six Vikings’ errors came in the first three innings as Batavia opened a 7-0 lead.
“I don’t even know what happened there,” Hornick said. “I feel like we just didn’t even have our heads in the game. Maybe we thought it was gonna be an easy win. We were just not playing how we should.”
Geneva coach Annie Plackett struggled to explain the start.
“I don’t know that we were locked in to hit and field,” she said. “We had a lot of errors that should not happen.
“It’s a tough part of the year with final exams coming up, and I think a lot of our kids are preoccupied and worried about other things. Sometimes, you just can’t leave that and come on the field.”
Sprague’s speed helped key the win along with the great work from Strohm.
“It’s really great for Elise,” Plackett said. “She’s really smart and academically gifted. The kid is in five AP classes this year. The Grinnell opportunity is great for her.”
Despite a regular season filled with ups and downs, Strohm pointed out that the Vikings played Wheaton North tough — a 7-5 loss — in one of their two meetings.
“We just need to clean up some things and we’re able to do it,” she said. “(Winning) the next game is a very real possibility. I always knew this team had the fight in them to come back.
“It’s been tough because we’ve always been the underdog, but I love playing with these girls. They make it fun. We’re better than people thought we’d be.”