LOUISVILLE—Geneva’s season came to an end with a 9-1 loss to No. 3 West Branch in a Division II district championship game at Louisville High School on Wednesday.
With the loss, the No. 11 Eagles closed the season with a 15-6 record.
“Anytime you play a sport, you know it’s going to end at some point,” said Geneva head coach Terry Hejduk. “Unfortunately for us, today was the day we lost. Season-wise, it was a great season for us. The boys played superbly, and they were fun to be around. I do this for one reason, and that’s because I love coaching the kids and the sport of baseball. The memories we built at practices, games, dugout conversations, you can’t replace them.”
Geneva struck first when Hewitt Wilt singled to start the game and later scored on an error.
West Branch scored nine unanswered runs on the way to winning the district championship.
The Warriors scored three runs in the bottom of the first, two more in the second, and three runs in the fifth. West Branch closed the scoring with a run in the sixth inning.
The Eagles were able to get a base runner in each inning but could not convert with the chips down.
“That’s just baseball,” Hejduk said. “We scored first, but we just couldn’t get that second run in. Then they came out and threw three on the board. When you play big games like this, it’s a boxing match. We knew they would hit us at some point, but unfortunately, we stumbled when they got us. The guys didn’t give up. West Branch is a heck of a baseball team; they’re state-ranked and swing the bat like machines. It happens.”
Curtis Maier led Geneva on offense.
He finished 2-for-3 with a pair of doubles in his final game with the Eagles. Austin Murphy, Ryland Besco, and Wilt each collected hits for Geneva in the loss.
Wilt took the loss on the mound, giving up five runs on three hits with three walks.
Brendon Fobell pitched 2 ⅓ innings, surrendering three runs on three hits with two walks, and Logan Queen finished the final one ⅔ inning with two hits allowed, one walk, and one strikeout.
Geneva graduates eight seniors who transformed the Eagles’ baseball culture over the past two seasons.
“(These seniors) are the program; they set a winning standard,” Hejduk said of his senior class. “They set a standard of having fun. The program is going to miss them, and there are some great young men and some great athletes in (the dugout).”
Although the season ends, it’s been a great one for the Eagles, who finished second in the rugged Chagrin Valley Conference Lake Division standings, won a sectional championship, and finished as district runner-up.
“We expected (this success),” Hejduk said. “We expected this season to be good and fun. If anyone knows me, I like to have fun. This team, with this group of guys I had, they wanted to have fun. It was a perfect-perfect mix. I wouldn’t replace it for the world.”
