There’s an old adage in baseball that Batavia’s Justin Enger definitely lives up to.
The notion of being just a thrower or being an actual pitcher is a comparison often thrown around in the game. Go ahead and count Enger in the latter category as a pitcher.
“I don’t throw that hard,” Enger said. “I get people out. That’s what makes me successful.”
The senior left-hander continued his recent success as a starter Friday, throwing a complete-game gem for the host Bulldogs in a 6-1 DuKane Conference win over archrival Geneva.
Enger, who didn’t receive a start on the mound until last Saturday, struck out three and allowed seven hits and two walks for Batavia (7-14-1, 4-6). He pumped strikes into the strike zone.
Batavia coach Alex Beckmann is glad he gave a chance to start to Enger, who worked six scoreless innings last weekend against Wheaton North. It’s provided a spark to a struggling team.
“He’s a strike thrower,” Beckmann said of Enger. “He gets all pitches over for strikes and keeps guys off-balance. That’s his game. He’s not going to try to overpower anyone.
“He’s calm, cool and collected. He fields his position well. Any time he’s on the mound, we have a chance. It’s been awesome for him to kind of emerge.”
Luke Stevenson emerged as well for Batavia, making a rare start in left field and breaking a 1-1 tie with a three-run homer in the fourth inning. Liam Darre hit his third homer in the past two games and drove in three runs. Nolan Zimberhoff added two hits.
Nelson Wendell led Geneva (17-6, 7-3) with two hits, including a double. He also scored a run.
Enger, meanwhile, had been used in a relief role before last week for the Bulldogs. When Beckmann told him he was going to start, Enger was ready.
“At the beginning of the year, I didn’t think I was really going to pitch much,” Enger said. “Then I got an opportunity and I took it. Every time I get an opportunity, I want to take advantage of it.”
Enger throws from a funky arm angle and uses a variety of pitches to keep hitters off-balance.
He said it was his change-up Friday that made a difference. Beckmann is impressed with Enger’s vanishing split-finger fastball. Enger also has a version of a knuckle-curve that baffles hitters.
“I like changing speeds a lot, not just with pitches but with me,” Enger said. “I’ll quick pitch, take more time, just mess with them any way I can.”
That approach certainly stymied Geneva. Once Batavia got the lead, the Vikings’ penchant for playing small ball was impacted and they never recovered. Geneva left nine runners on base.
“Their kid threw great,” Geneva coach Brad Wendell said of Enger. “He kept us off-balance all day.
“He has a big ballpark here and he let us hit it, and we hit it up in the air. We need to hit line drives. That’s the game sometimes.”
The game was tied 1-1 when Stevenson stunningly jumped on a pitch and launched it out to left field, setting off a huge celebration in Batavia’s dugout.
“That was awesome,” Enger said of Stevenson. “He had a rough beginning of the year, but he’s always kept his head up. To see him do that was awesome.”
It also helped Enger settle in and helped give Batavia its first back-to-back wins this season.
Enger hopes it’s the start of a special ending to the season for the Bulldogs.
“I feel like we’re a really close group,” Enger said. “We haven’t had the season we wanted, but I would say going forward I think we’re going to get a lot more wins like that.”
Paul Johnson is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News.
