Highland, Ind. – July 22, 2023 – The Southland Vikings exacted their revenge on the Indiana Panthers after a loss on Friday by churning out ten runs on ten hits in a 10-4 win at Highland High School on Saturday.
The Vikings struck first with an unearned run in the second inning. Lucas Pajeau reached on a single and advanced to second on a wild pitch. Later, he took off to steal third and ended up coming around to score as the throw from the catcher went into left field.
Southland then added four more runs in the third inning with five hits, including three doubles, to take a 5-0 lead.
The Panthers got a run back in the bottom of the third after a leadoff walk came around to score on an RBI single from Brek Baranowski, but Ty Chaney Jr. was able to strand the bases loaded to limit the damage.
Chaney Jr. ran into a jam in the fifth inning after allowing a leadoff single and then back-to-back two out hits to drive in a run and cut the lead to 5-2. With runners at first and second, manager Sullivan Stickann made a call to the bullpen and brought in All-Star Jorgie Vazquez, who induced a fly ball to end the inning.
The Vikings then broke the game open in the sixth inning against Horacio Cabrales, who started the game at designated hitter before taking over on the mound to begin the sixth.
Four runs came across for the Vikings on just one hit as they took advantage of two walks, a hit by pitch and two errors.
The Vikings cruised to a 10-4 victory from there with Vazquez, Daniel Quintero and Lucas Pajeau finishing off the game on the mound.
“It feels good,” Stickann said of the win. “The Panthers are a really good team and fighting for a playoff spot. Definitely a team that you can’t take lightly. It’s good to have some cushion over them."
The third place Vikings (23-18) have an off day on Sunday as they find themselves with a 5.5 game lead over both the Panthers (18-24) and Miracle (19-25) and trail the second place Oilmen (24-17) by just one game in the Northern League standings.
The Vikings return to action on Monday when they host the Corn Dogs at Dowling Park. First pitch is at 5pm.
