For some reason, Geneva pitcher Mason Bruesch has gravitated toward being a leadoff hitter ever since childhood.
So coming into the season, when Vikings coach Brad Wendell was constructing a new-look batting order and replacing an entire starting lineup lost to graduation, the top spot was a quick decision.
“I love leadoff,” Bruesch said. “I’ve been hitting there since I was like 12. You get to jump on the first pitch of the game, which is nice.”
The sophomore right-hander put it all on display Wednesday.
He hit a solo home run to lead off the fourth inning and added an RBI single in the fifth that proved to be the difference for host Geneva in a 2-1 DuKane Conference win over St. Charles East.
Bruesch, who broke up the bid for a perfect game by Nathan Moline with his homer, struck out three in six strong innings for the Vikings (21-9). He allowed an unearned run on two hits and two walks. Ethan Gronberg singled and scored and Alex Abraham added a double.
Moline was excellent in defeat for the Saints (12-15, 8-9). He went six innings, striking out five and allowing two runs on six hits. Andrew Evans singled in Andrew Zolna for their lone run.
When looking at his options before the season, Wendell valued getting his potentially best hitters the most plate appearances possible, putting them in the top three of the order.
Bruesch fit comfortably into that group. But even more went into it.
“He does have pop,” Wendell said of Bruesch. “When he gets that pitch he likes, he rips it. He hits power ground balls through the infield.
“In the end, it was his on-base percentage. He sees pitches. He’s competitive with two strikes.”
Bruesch leads the team in batting average at .394 and in home runs with four. He’s added 29 runs, seven steals, seven doubles and 19 RBIs. That’s in addition to going 4-4 on the mound.
The high RBI total out of the leadoff spot is a byproduct of the whole lineup clicking.
“He’s come up in key situations,” Wendell said of Bruesch, who mans center field when he’s not pitching. “My bottom half has done a really nice job of loading it up for him.
“They’re working hard to get on base.”
Bruesch said he has an advantage batting leadoff since he’s also a pitcher. He knows what he would do to attack a leadoff hitter and he uses that to succeed.
“The guy wants to start off with a strike,” Bruesch said. “I know what the pitcher’s mentality is. It’s just being smart.”
It wasn’t the first pitch of the game Bruesch jumped on. Moline retired the first nine batters of the game. The second time around, though, Bruesch pounced.
“I was definitely seeing it well,” he said. “He threw me a slider right down the middle and I jumped right on it. I was sitting slider.”
It was one of the few mistakes Moline made all day as he works to establish himself as a key postseason contributor for the Saints.
“He’s just been executing more and more with each start he’s had,” St. Charles East coach Derek Sutor said of Moline. “That’s kind of the thing for him, building confidence for the postseason.
“In the postseason, he’s going to be tough.”
Bruesch still has a long way to go in his high school career before he’ll have to decide what he would prefer to do in college should that opportunity present itself.
However that plays out, Wendell is enjoying Bruesch’s contributions while knowing it will all shake out in the end.
“Whatever Mason wants to do in the game, he’s going to work for it,” Wendell said. “And he’s going to be rewarded.”
Paul Johnson is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News.
