southlandvikings.com

Chicago Heights, Ill. – June 14, 2022 – On a day with temperatures in the upper 90’s, the Vikings' offense was heating up with it. 

The Southland Vikings (7-7-1) picked up their second consecutive win Tuesday night as they defeated the Crestwood Panthers (9-8) by a final score of 14-4. In the first true road win of 2022 for the Vikings, they were able to pick up 14 runs on 21 hits.

The offense started right away for the Vikings in Tuesday’s contest as Chris McDevitt opened the scoring with an RBI single, allowing A.J. Taylor to score from second base. That hit would be the first of six RBIs in the contest for McDevitt. He would later hit an RBI groundout to second base in the top of the third inning, giving the Vikings a 2-1 advantage after the Panthers tied it in the first. 

The Vikings would then go on to have two four-run innings (in the fourth and ninth) to go along with two runs in the eighth, another run in the sixth and the offensive play of the night in the top of the seventh, a solo home run by Chris McDevitt, going yard to dead-center field for his first home run of the summer. 

“My at-bat before that, I was very early to one of my hits to right field,” McDevitt said. “My main approach is sitting left field and he ends up throwing a fastball right down the middle.” 

To go along with McDevitt’s six RBI day, outfielder Kyle Fenner had himself a day at the dish. Going five-for-six with an RBI double and four runs scored. In addition to his solid at-bats, Fenner also made several plays in the outfield including a spectacular diving catch.

“Just have fun,” Fenner said. “Stay loose and lay out, that’s what I like to do, flying around and making plays [for us].” 

Fenner and the rest of the Viking defense had another solid day, committing just two errors in the contest, and helped out the Viking pitching staff when needed. 

Max Everaert got the win on the mound in another start for the Vikings. Everaert went six innings of one-run baseball, yielding six hits while picking up six strikeouts. Those six strikeouts of his tied his season-high for most strikeouts in a start. 

The Vikings will look to continue their hot offensive performance on Wednesday when the Joliet Generals come to Dowling Park for their third meeting of 2022. First pitch is slated for 5 p.m. and will be aired on Facebook Live and the Vikings Radio Network. 

This is Vikings Baseball.