southlandvikings.com

The Southland Vikings and Elkhart County Miracle had to wait longer than expected to continue their rain-delayed game from Sunday as rain came through Dowling Park right around game time. After the delay, the teams went back to work and the Vikings went on to win both games on a rainy Monday in Hammond, Ind.  

Southland entered Monday’s continuation with a four run lead in the top of the 4th inning and added one more on an RBI single from Jimmy Gurgone to take a 5-0 lead.  

In the bottom of the 4th inning, Elkhart County stormed ahead with eight runs on eight hits and two errors, but Southland would not give in, scoring three runs in the fifth to tie the game back up and then adding a run in each of the final two frames to win the first game 10-8.  

"It shows how tough we are to get out,” manager Sullivan Stickann said of the comeback win. “When we focus on hitting the ball hard, drawing walks and hit by pitches we can put together a big inning. With nine outs and our approach, I still felt confident and never felt like the game was out of reach.”  

In the second game, strong pitching took over as the Vikings handed reigning Pitcher of the Week Conor Gausselin his first loss of the season.  

The Vikings scored a run in the second inning on a Gurgone sacrifice fly to score Matt Merk who had tripled and another run in the third inning on a Charlie Schau RBI single.  

The two runs were more than enough as Ty Chaney Jr. and Mike Kelly combined to toss the first shutout of the season for the Vikings.  

Chaney Jr. (2-0) tossed five scoreless frames allowing just two hits and a walk while striking out two.  

"I was feeling really confident," Chaney said after the game. "This was my first outing of the week, so my stuff was fresh, and I just felt good." 

Mike Kelly took over for the final two innings allowing just one baserunner on a hit by pitch who was later eliminated on a game ending 6-4-3 double play. Kelly picked up his first save of the season as the Vikings won 2-0.  

“He kind of set the tone for me,” Kelly said of pitching after Ty Chaney Jr. “Seeing what he did, I wanted to do the exact same. So, I went out and did the best I could and put up a zero.”  

The Vikings (13-11) will enjoy a day off on Tuesday before hosting the Griffith Generals on Wednesday at Dowling Park. First pitch is at 5pm.