southlandvikings.com

Hammond, Ind. – June 29, 2022 – When an offense is rolling, they are tough to beat. No matter their stats or record.

The Southland Vikings' (14-10-1) offense exploded in Wednesday’s contest against the Chicago American Giants (4-17-1) winning by a final of 16-6. The Vikings used an eight-run seventh inning to pull away and 10-run rule the Giants. 

“We just take it game by game,” Sean Moore said. “Just take our time and play our hardest and we get back up there [in the standings].”

Following three consecutive victories, the Vikings now have sole possession of second place in the Northern League standings. But, picking up that third consecutive win didn’t come easy at first for the team from Southland. 

After falling behind 1-0 going into the bottom of the first, the Vikings immediately responded. Sending nine batters to the plate, which included several firsts. Outfielder Sean Moore led off the inning with a base hit to center field. The hit for Moore was the first of his summer campaign. 

“It felt really good,” Moore said. “It felt really good off the bat, and I was smiling the rest of the game.”

While Moore would be retired on the basepaths, the Vikings had a chance to score and did thanks to an RBI single from Nick Daugherty. The next batter, Logan Anderson, came up and smashed a ball into the right-field corner for a bases-clearing, two-RBI double. The two Vikings to score would be the first runs Anderson would knock in on the season.

“[The] first pitch [I saw], I was in the back of the box where I usually chill out,” Anderson said. “Then I moved up to the front of the box and just let the ball travel, seeing it a little longer because I'm used to seeing it right out of the hand and going. So, just seeing the ball a little longer.”

Anderson would later score on an RBI single from infielder Armani Sanchez, to give the Vikings a 4-1 advantage through one. The single by Sanchez would be the first of two hits for him on the day and he was able to reach base four times in Wednesday’s contest. 

“I felt like I was more patient today,” Sanchez said. “With the slower pitching, you gotta wait for your pitch…and I found my swing towards the end.” 

While the Giants were able to capitalize off the walks issued by the Viking pitching staff and grab the lead from Southland going into the bottom of the fifth. However, the Chicago lead did not last long. The Vikings responded with three runs of their own, highlighted by Jon Crowel’s two-RBI double to make it a 7-5 game. Crowel would later score on a sacrifice fly by Sean Moore. 

The score would remain the same until the home half of the seventh, which is when the Vikings began to pull away. The ‘Vikes sent 12 batters to the plate, scoring eight runs, and only had one out recorded when Jon Crowel walked with the bases loaded, to bring in the team’s 16th run of the contest, immediately ending the game with the free pass. 

The Vikings look to extend their hot streak to three games as they welcome the first-place Lake County Corn Dogs to Dowling Park on Thursday. The game is scheduled for 5 p.m. and will be aired on Facebook Live. 

This is Vikings Baseball.

Photo Credit: Isaiah Santiago