Hammond, Ind. – July 6, 2023 – The Southland Vikings had a season high 16 hits as they won their third straight game on Thursday, beating the Griffith Generals 10-1.
With Bryce Nevils in attendance to say goodbye to his teammates before heading to Western Kentucky for school, the Vikings dominated in every phase of the game, racking up hits, shutting down the Generals offense and running wild on the basepaths with seven stolen bases.
Angelo Luna started the scoring for the Vikings with an RBI double to drive in Lucas Pajeau in the first inning. He would later add another RBI double in the eighth inning to bring his RBI total to four through his first three games with the team.
“I’m seeing the ball pretty well and my swing feels really nice right now so I’m just trying to keep it simple,” Luna said after the game. “I think we have a lot of talented guys and there is no reason why we shouldn’t just keep on winning.”
The Vikings pounded Generals pitching throughout the game, recording at least one hit in every inning that they came to the plate.
Matt Merk was part of the hit parade with an RBI single in the second inning to extend his hitting streak to 11 games and bring his team leading RBI total to 15.
On the mound, four different Vikings pitchers combined to hold the Generals to just one run on six hits while striking out seven and walking two.
With the win, the Vikings improved to 16-14 on the season and evened the season series with the Generals 3-3.
“Bats were great today. A lot of up the middle singles,” manager Sullivan Stickann said after the game. “The team has a great work ethic outside of games, getting work in on off days. The kids really push each other and want to win.”
The Vikings and Generals meet up again on Friday for a matchup at Griffith High School starting at 7:10pm.