Hammond, Ind. – May 26, 2022.

The Southland Vikings (1-2) fell in their third game of the season to the Crestwood Panthers (2-1) by a score of 11-9 on Thursday at Dowling Park. The Vikings pitching staff struggled, issuing 10 free passes in the loss. 

“The most frustrating thing for me as a coach is when pitchers don’t throw strikes,” said Vikings general manager and interim manager Rocco Mossuto.

However, the nine runs the Vikings scored on Thursday were the most runs they have scored in a single game this season. The top of the order did most of the damage as six of the nine runs that touched home were scored by center fielder Kyle Fenner and shortstop Luke Sefcik. Sefcik went 3-5 on the day, the three hits for him were his first in this young season. 

“These were my first at-bats in a little bit of time because I redshirted, so just trying to see the ball out in front,” said Luke Sefcik on how his approach has changed through his first at-bats of the summer. “I was rolling over, so I was just trying to stay up the middle and stay pull side..” 

The Vikings offense also saw utility player Chris McDevitt open his RBI account as he picked up his first two on the season Thursday night. McDevitt hit a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the 5th inning and the following inning, he picked up his first hit of the season which saw him knock in another run. 

Southland will look to break their two-game skid on Saturday when they travel to Chicago to take on the Chicago American Giants at Ed Glancy Field. First pitch is tentatively set for 5 p.m.