MADISON, S.D. (vcsuvikings.com) – The Viking baseball team scored four runs in the top of the seventh inning Monday, rallying for a 9-7 victory in the series finale at Dakota State University.
VCSU trailed 6-1 early in the game and 7-5 entering the final inning before completing the comeback victory. JT Reed opened the inning with a solo home run to cut the deficit to one run. Drew Nixon‘s RBI double tied the game at 7-7, and then Chase Feller and Jayden Shipman each had RBI hits to give the Vikings the lead.
Dakota State won game one on Monday, holding off a late Viking rally in a 12-11 game. The Vikings and Trojans split the four-game series to start conference play.
Valley City State is now 9-16 overall and 2-2 in conference play. Dakota State is 9-9 overall and 2-2 in the NSAA.
Up next: Valley City State travels to Dickinson State for a four-game conference series on Friday and Saturday. The Vikings were supposed to play Wednesday at Concordia-Moorhead, but that game has been canceled due to weather.
Dakota State 12, VCSU 11
A seventh-inning rally fell one hit short Monday as the Viking baseball team dropped a high-scoring game one, 12-11.
The Vikings scored four runs in the top of the seventh inning, but left the bases loaded to end the game.
The game had several momentum swings and big innings. The Vikings started fast with four runs in the first inning, capped by a two-run home run from Dustin Mertz. Dakota State responded with seven runs in the bottom of the first inning to take a 7-4 lead.
VCSU tied the game in the third inning when Ryan Reynolds went deep for a three-run home run. Dakota State then scored three runs in the fourth and two in the fifth to take a 12-7 lead into the final inning. Jorun Hamre hit a two-run home run to start VCSU’s final push, and Drew Nixon‘s pinch-hit RBI double put the go-ahead run in scoring position. Dakota State worked out of the jam though, getting a pop out and ground out to end the Viking threat.
Hamre finished the game 3-for-4 with three runs and four RBIs to lead the Viking offense, which collected nine hits. Mertz was 1-for-2 with two walks, three runs and two RBIs. Reynolds went 1-for-3 with two runs and three RBIs, and Gedeon Ellis added two hits and also drew two walks.
Matthew Suda started on the mound and took the loss, giving up nine hits and 10 runs over three innings of work. William Hlady pitched two innings in relief, allowing three hits and two runs. Chase Feller pitched one scoreless inning out of the bullpen.
VCSU 9, Dakota State 7
The Vikings trailed 6-1 after two innings, but scored four runs in both the third and seventh innings to complete the comeback.
Dustin Mertz hit a three-run home run in the third inning, cutting VCSU’s deficit to 6-5. After the Trojans tacked on an insurance run in the sixth, the Vikings rallied in the last inning. JT Reed‘s solo home run – his second of the game – made it 7-6, and then RBI hits from Drew Nixon, Chase Feller and Jayden Shipman finished off the rally. William Hlady then pitched a scoreless seventh inning to seal the victory.
Hlady pitched the final 1 2/3 innings and allowed just one hit as he picked up the win. Marcus Niemann started on the mound and went 5 1/3 innings. He struck out three and allowed nine hits and seven runs – only one of which was earned.
The Viking offense finished with 15 hits in the win, including three each by Mertz and Reed. Mertz went 3-for-4 with two runs and three RBI. His three-run home run was his second of the day after he hit his first career home run in game one of the doubleheader. Reed hit two solo home runs as he went 3-for-4 with two runs and two RBIs. Reed has now hit four home runs in the past five games after hitting zero home runs in his first 36 games as a Viking.
Jorun Hamre, Feller and Carter Dodd each added two hits in the victory.