southlandvikings.com

The Southland Vikings (17-21) scored eight runs in the final inning to help beat the Northwest Indiana Oilmen (24-14) for the third straight time.

The Vikings struck first as they took advantage of three walks and had RBI singles from James Dawson, A.J. Doyle and Micah Rooke. But the Oilmen scored three runs of their own in the bottom of the inning to tie the game.

In the second inning, the Vikings retook the lead with another RBI single from Dawson. They extended their lead in the fifth with another RBI single, this one from Alec Ornelas. In the bottom half of the inning, the Oilmen added one run with a home run from Brandon Krieg to make it 5-4 Vikings.

In the next couple innings, the Oilmen threatened a couple of times but could not take the lead. Chris Chigas (3-1) kept the Oilmen at bay, giving up three earned runs in eight innings while striking out six.

The Vikings’ offense exploded in the ninth inning as they scored eight runs. Doyle and Ornelas both had RBI singles while Dan Eliopulos and Chris Stevens each had 2-run singles. Two more runs were scored from a bases loaded walk as well as a hit by pitch and the Vikings walked away with 13-4 win.

Southland ended the game with 15 hits as all nine batters scored, eight recorded a base hit and seven had an RBI. Leading the way was Dawson who went 3 for 3 with two runs scored and three RBIs. Doyle also stepped up, going 3 for 4 with one run scored and two RBIs while Ornelas went 2 for 4 with one run scored and two RBIs.

Chigas picked up the win for the Vikings while Tait Rauen (1-2) received the loss for the Oilmen. With this win, Southland takes a 2.5 game lead over the Chicago Zephyrs (14-23) for the final playoff spot. After two days off, the Vikings will be back home on Wednesday to take on the DeKalb County Liners (25-14).