MANKATO —
Adam Geiger was brushed back off the plate by an inside pitch in the second inning of Friday’s game between Bethany Lutheran College and Minnesota-Morris.
Someone called out to the Vikings freshman, suggesting he let the pitch hit him so he could take first base.
“I think he’s done taking one for the team,” teammate Aaron Siefken said.
Geiger did that on April 14 in a game against Northland in Ashland, Wis., when he failed to elude a high, tight inside fastball.
“I don’t know why I didn’t get out of the way,” the Mankato native said. “It hit me on the nose.”
More accurately, it shattered his nose and broke a cheek bone.
Initially, Geiger was told that his season was over. A second opinion, a surgery to put his nose back together and four games off were all Geiger needed before he returned to Bethany’s lineup.
“Miraculous,” Vikings coach Ryan Kragh said.
Not only did Geiger get back in the batter’s box, but, he said, he didn’t seem to be overly nervous about inside pitches coming his way..
“I thought I’d be a little jittery at first,” he said.
Attaching a facemask to his batting helmet certainly helped his confidence, but the .327 cleanup hitter stayed in there and saw the ball just fine.
In last week’s three-game series against Presentation — his first games back in the lineup — Geiger went 3 for 11 and drove in five runs, including a three-run homer in the second game of Tuesday’s doubleheader.
On Friday against Morris, Geiger was 0 for 4 but had two RBIs before the game was postponed due to weather.
“I’m definitely surprised,” Kragh said. “If you saw his face, it was a mess. But when we got back to the hotel, he said, ‘I’ll be back.’ He has a passion for the game. He worked his butt off to get back.”
Kragh said he knew he had a special hitter when he recruited Geiger to Bethany. The Immanuel Lutheran graduate played two seasons of high school baseball at Mankato East through a cooperative sponsorship and hit .447 during his prep career. As a college rookie, he hasn’t disappointed.
Besides his solid average, Geiger has three home runs and leads the team with 14 doubles and 33 RBIs.
“It’s been a lot of fun, and the team’s doing well,” said Geiger, an outfielder. “It’s a little different (than high school). The pitching’s a little better, but I’m getting used to it.”
Friday’s game was tied 6-6 after nine innings before rain washed out extra-inning play. The Vikings scored three runs in the bottom of the ninth inning to tie the game.
Tommy Kramer, Lucas Herd, Casey Woodside and Travis Fisher each had two of Bethany’s nine hits.
The game is scheduled to be completed at noon today at the BLC field, prior to a season-ending doubleheader between the two teams. Kragh said Bethany (20-15, 13-5 in UMAC) is hoping to earn the No. 2 seed for the upcoming conference tournament.
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Related Photos
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Bethany Lutheran College's Adam Geiger recently returned to the lineup after being hit in the face by a pitch on April 14 that shattered his nose and broke a cheek bone. Pat Christman
May 4, 2012
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