Vikes Sweep Desert Rival
Barstow, Ca-
The Vikings completed the series sweep of high desert rival and former Foothill Conference opponent Cerro Coso. The Vikings won 5-3 at home on Tuesday and complete the series sweep with a 14-7 win Thursday night in Ridgecrest.
Tuesdays affair was a rare pitcher's duel that neither team expected. Coming into the game the Coyotes lead the state with a .351 team batting average and the Vikings ranked 14th in the state at .298. Pitching dominated the game however as runs were difficult to come by. Both teams traded runs in the first inning, the Vikings scored another in the 3rd. Cerro Coso took a lead by scoring single runs in the 6th and the 7th. The Vikes tied it in the 7th and scored two to take the lead for good in the 8th. David Hodge pitched 6.2 innings allowing just 2 earned runs. Gabe Olvera picked up the win with two scoreless innings.
Thursday's night game in Ridgecrest saw the Vikings win in dominant fashion. The Vikings never trailed and jumped out to a 5 run lead after a big 2nd inning that was sparked by 2 RBI double off the bat of Sophomore Kalyn Kimmel. The Coyotes battled back to grab 2 runs in the bottom of the 2nd but it was all Vikings from that point forward. The Vikings offense notched runs in every inning from the 5th on including a dagger three runs in the 9th. Osvaldo Escoabr scattered 12 hits in 7 innings to pick up the win, his third of the 2017 campaign.
On the week the Vikings pitching staff dominated the top hitting team in the state. In 18 innings of work Viking pitchers issued ZERO base on balls and only 9 hitters got to a 3-ball count. Vikings pitching coach Rickey Walker said, "It was nice to see us compete, it all came together this week... hopefully it's a sign of things to come."
Vikings resume Western States Conference play with another rival, Victor Valley, on April 18th, 20th and 22nd.
http://www.cccbca.com/sports/bsb/2016-17/boxscores/20170411_asw3.xml
http://www.cccbca.com/sports/bsb/2016-17/boxscores/20170413_szn8.xml