By Sean Duncan

SAUGET – It wasn’t exactly the way Belleville West coach Lee Meyer thought his team would open the season. But Vianney has made a practice of short-gaming opponents this season.

Vianney, which is one of the top teams in St. Louis, cruised to a 14-4 five-inning victory over No. 14 Belleville West in the Prep Baseball Report’s Border War at GCS Ballpark on Saturday.

Vianney (4-1) has won all four games by 10 runs or more. Vianney broke open the game with six runs in the third inning to make it 10-2, and added four more in the fifth.

“They had a couple of big innings and we helped them,” said Meyer. “We didn’t have a very good outing in our first game unfortunately.”

Belleville West (0-1) mustered five hits against Christian Slazinek. The Eastern Illinois-bound left-hander struck out eight, including four in the fourth inning, with no walks in 4 2/3 innings. Slazinek did, however, yield two home runs, both two-run shots. Starting pitcher Sean Hulse hit an opposite-field homer to right to tie the game at 2-2 in the second inning. In the third inning, junior Garret Schlecht launched a two-run blast.

Schlecht, who’s one of the top prospects in the Class of 2011, also had a brief relief stint in the fifth inning, when the left-hander showed an 86-88 mph fastball. Hulse, who went 9-0 as a junior last year, only pitched two innings, as he is scheduled to start against Southwestern Conference rival Edwardsville on Tuesday.

Vianney got production throughout its lineup. No. 9-hitter Joe James went 3-for-3 with an RBI and three runs, No. 8-hitter Tyler Bentrup had two hits, three runs and an RBI, and Andrew Naegeli delivered a three-run double in the fifth.

“We’re pretty balanced up and down the lineup,” said Vianney coach Steve Bieser. “It’s nice to see that kind of balance.”