Batavia junior Ryan Boe has seen just about every pressure-packed moment one could encounter on the football field.

As a quarterback, he helped lead the Bulldogs to the Class 7A state championship game.

In his second sport, playing first base, those situations come in handy in close games.

“I would say it definitely helps,” Boe said. “Just knowing how to perform under pressure.”

Boe found himself in one of those situations Saturday in the Class 4A Geneva Regional championship game against St. Charles North.

Facing a tie in the top of the seventh inning, Boe launched a sacrifice fly to scoring Ryne Woods with what would be the winning run in a 4-3 victory.

Batavia (18-16) will face Wheaton Warrenville South — a 5-3 winner over Lake Park in nine innings — at 7 p.m. Wednesday in the South Elgin Sectional semifinals at Judson’s Hoffer Field.

Nate Nazos struck out four and allowed one earned run on three hits and two walks in five innings for the Bulldogs. Joe Kleist earned the win in relief. Jackson Bland reached base all four trips to the plate, going 2-for-2 with two walks. RJ Bohr added an RBI triple.

Bradley Lins had an RBI single and Parker Reinke scored twice to pace St. Charles North (24-9-1).

The game was tied 3-3 in the seventh when Woods drew a leadoff walk. He then went from first to third on Bland’s single to set up Boe’s sacrifice fly.

“I was just thinking, ‘Get the ball to the outfield,’” Boe said. “I tried to hit the ball hard, not try to do too much.

“I thought it was going a little bit further than it did, but I was just excited because I knew he was going to score.”

Batavia coach Alex Beckmann didn’t discount Boe’s experience in clutch situations.

“He’s just a competitor, a multisport guy,” Beckmann said. “He has a big role on the football team, and he’s not afraid of the big moment. I think the best thing he’s done for us this year is his play at first base. He’s a big target to throw to, really a shortstop over there.

“When he starts hitting, we’re going to be pretty darn dangerous. He just knows how to calm himself down.”

St. Charles North took a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the fourth on Lins’ single that drove in Reinke. It was the lone lead the North Stars had all day, however.

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Batavia answered with runs in the fifth and sixth to take a 3-2 lead. St. Charles North tied it in the bottom of the sixth when Reinke scored on a wild pitch.

The North Stars had two runners thrown out on the base paths. Three of Batavia’s runs scored after receiving leadoff walks in the inning.

“We had a lot of opportunities,” St. Charles North coach Todd Genke said. “We’re a resilient bunch. We kept coming back. We couldn’t get that big hit. We were waiting for that loud hit and we just couldn’t get it. Credit to them. They kept getting up on us, and we had to come back and fight.

“At the end of the day, it was a great game and a game you want to be in — you want to put your kids in. You want to feel the playoff pressure. Our kids will learn from it.”

It’s the first regional title for Batavia since 2016 and the first in Beckmann’s tenure as coach. The quest for the program’s first sectional title since 2009 begins Wednesday.

“The playoffs are who’s hot, and we’re hot,” Boe said. “We just get to have more fun with each other. I’m looking forward to practice on Monday.”

Paul Johnson is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News.