southlandvikings.com

The offense came alive for the Southland Vikings (19-23) as they had 13 hits en-route to a dominating, playoff clinching victory over the Chicago Zephyrs (15-25).

After a scoreless first inning, the Vikings scored five runs in the second thanks to a sacrifice fly from Alec Ornelas and a grand slam by Micah Rooke. They added another run off an error in the fourth while Rooke had a sacrifice fly in the fifth to extend Southland’s lead to 7-0. An RBI single by A.J. Doyle in the seventh rounded out the Vikings’ scoring and although the Zephyrs scored one run in the eighth, Southland pulled out an 8-1 victory.

Rooke led the way offensively as he went 1 for 3 with one run scored and five RBIs. Dan Eliopulos was also strong at the plate, going 3 for 5 with two runs scored. In fact, all nine Vikings batters reached base.

While the offense stood out, Jonathan Rosario (4-0) was strong in only his third start this season. He went six innings, allowing no runs on five hits while striking out four. Rosario received the win as Alan Frank (2-2) picked up the loss for the Zephyrs.

The Vikings will end the regular season Sunday night at Homewood-Flossmoor High School when they host the Northwest Indiana Oilmen (28-15). The Oilmen lead the series between the two teams, 7-4.