Hammond, Ind. – June 19, 2023 – One big inning was all that it took to get the Southland Vikings back into the win column as they beat the Northwest Indiana Oilmen 11-7 on Monday.
Trailing 4-0 going into the bottom of the sixth inning, the Vikings managed to send 15 hitters to the plate in the sixth against three different Oilmen pitchers.
The inning started off with a double by Connor Janik followed by a Shemar Harris single to put runners at the corners with nobody out and knock out Oilmen starter Aaron Buckholtz from the game.
Tanner Sobkoviak came on in relief and was able to get two quick outs, allowing just one run in the process as Harris stole second base which drew a throw and allowed Janik to swipe home.
With two outs and a 4-1 Oilmen lead, the Vikings took advantage as Sobkoviak suddenly could not find the strike zone. Harris scored on a wild pitch to make the score 4-2 and Hobbs Dunne followed by drawing a walk. The next three hitters were all hit by a pitch to make the score 4-3 and after two more walks the Vikings suddenly found themselves with a 5-4 lead.
After the Oilmen brought in their third pitcher of the inning, the Vikings continued to add on with a two-run single by Shemar Harris and an RBI single by Caleb Rhodes. Another set of back-to-back walks drove in one more run before the inning finally came to an end.
The Vikings now had a 9-4 lead as starting pitcher Ty Chaney Jr. entered the seventh inning suddenly in line for the win. He certainly did his part to make sure the Vikings held on as he tossed 8 2/3 innings before yielding to Lucas Pajeau to get the final out and secure the win.
“It feels great,” Chaney Jr. said of going into the off day with a win. “Being a young team especially and just having a lot of energy. So just keeping our energy positive, we’ll just keep going and doing what we’re doing.”
Newcomer Kyree Alexander immediately made an impact in his Vikings debut as he filled the stat sheet with a pair of singles, a walk, hit by pitch, two runs, an RBI and a stolen base.
“It’s good to just go out there and play my game,” Alexander said after the game. “I’m known for just going out there and hitting the ball, getting on base and stealing bags. So I just go out there and do me.”
The Vikings will enjoy their day off on Tuesday and then look to carry some momentum into the rest of the week.
“We had a lot of kids on vacation and a lot of injuries, so this lets us kind of reset,” manager Sullivan Stickann said of the day off. “We’re about a third of the way in. So, now we can kind of break it up into the next part and hopefully have a better stretch than what we started with and that should be the goal every week.”
The Vikings (8-10) return to action on Wednesday when they host the Griffith Generals at Dowling Park. First pitch is at 5pm.
