Crown Point, Ind. – June 6, 2023 – The Southland Vikings came up just short in their comeback bid, falling to the reigning champion Lake County Corn Dogs 9-8 on Tuesday.

An 11am start time saw the top two records in the Northern League battle in front of a crowd of 350 YMCA kids.  

The Vikings struck first after Freddie Ragsdale III walked to begin the game and then showed off his speed to score from first on a throwing error by Corn Dogs third baseman Owen Winters.

The Corn Dogs would answer back by scoring two runs in each of the first three innings against Vikings starter Will Moell. The Vikings also added two runs in the top of the third and the Corn Dogs led 6-3 going into the fifth inning.  

The Vikings scored a pair in the fifth on a two run double by Ragsdale that scored Josh Moore and Colin Small, who had each walked earlier in the inning. That pulled the Vikings back within a run.

Effective pitching from Brandon West kept the score at 6-5 going into the seventh. West tossed three scoreless innings without allowing a hit as he worked around three walks.    

The Vikings pulled ahead for the first time since the opening inning when they scored a pair in the seventh on a two-run single by Lucas Pajeau, but the Corn Dogs answered right back with a pair of their own in the bottom of the seventh.  

A solo homerun by Northern League Player of the Week Ray Hilbrich gave Lake County a 9-7 lead heading into the ninth.  

The Vikings tried to pull off yet another comeback in the ninth as they loaded the bases with nobody out. One run scored on a sacrifice fly by Hobbs Dunne to make it a 9-8 game with runners on first and second and only one out, but Corn Dogs pitcher Harrison Dubois induced a game ending 5-3 double play from Jimmy Gurgone to end the threat.  

“Emphasis on defense,” manager Sullivan Stickann said when asked what needs to be different the next time these two teams meet up. “The ball is going to be in play a lot. So, if we play good defense it is going to be a much smoother game and it is going to give us a much better opportunity. You just can’t give a good hitting team like that extra outs and extra runs and that was the difference in today’s game.  

The Vikings ended up outhitting the Corn Dogs 13-8, but committed four errors on the day.

The Vikings (4-2) do not have to wait long for their chance at revenge as the Corn Dogs (8-1) head to Dowling Park tomorrow with first pitch scheduled at 5pm.