Vikings split in doubleheader against Wenatchee
CALEB PEREZ | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 1 year, 4 months AGO
Vikings JT Penrod (31) celebrates his homerun hit with his teammates Sean Bang (13) and Tyler Langer (17).
CALEB PEREZ/COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD
Cole McKinnon pitched seven of nine innings in the second game for the Vikings where he collected one strikeout.
The Vikings had multiple key catches in the outfield including one from Oak Held.
Blaine MacDonald said he feels confident in his team as they are moving toward another doubleheader against Wenatchee Valley.
MOSES LAKE – Big Bend Community College Vikings split victories in their doubleheader against Wenatchee Valley winning their first game 6-5 and coming up short in the second game 1-4.
“Just a lot of different situations where we could have done some damage and maybe put a run up here and there and make it a different game, but just falling short,” said Vikings catcher Blaine Macdonald. “I feel like our pitching was good, our defense played well, (we had) a lot of clutch catches in the outfield but just couldn’t bring it all together.”
In the first game the Vikings took a big lead early on putting them up 4-0, but over the second, third and fourth innings Wenatchee Valley put up five runs to take the lead. They came back with a run in the fifth inning and took the win with a final run in the ninth.
“We were able to play pretty consistent throughout the first game,” said Vikings head coach Chase Tunstall. “We had a couple of miscues there defensively, but I was proud in the first game.”
The Vikings’ ability to hold their ground in the first game and come up late in the game to make some big hits and take advantage of the opportunities they had been given was a major factor in their success. The fight the team showed in game one was something Tunstall was particularly pleased to see, he said.
In game two the Vikings struggled to put things together, which has been an issue they have had consistently in doubleheaders this season, said the coach.
“Offensively we just kind of went through the motions a little bit early in that game and didn’t really turn it on until late,” said Tunstall. “At that point it was a little too late for us to come back and get after it.”
Big Bend had only two hits in game two with one by Macdonald and the other being the only score for the Vikings which was a homerun by JT Penrod in the bottom of the seventh.
Tunstall said the one thing the team should take as a lesson from this game is that they need to improve on their consistency.
“That’s the biggest thing is just putting together a consistent 18 innings and being able to put our best shot on the field for that whole day instead of just half of the day and one game,” he said.
Tunstall said the team will need to work on their mental approach as they prepare for another doubleheader against Wenatchee Valley tomorrow. They look to put together 18 innings.
“I feel pretty confident,” said Macdonald. “This week we’ll prepare ourselves better and come out on top.”
“We’ve just got to keep grinding, hopefully get things right and put together some good games here down the stretch,” said Tunstall.
The Vikings will be on the road to face Wenatchee Valley for another doubleheader tomorrow with the first game starting at 1 p.m.
BBCC Baseball Roster
Name, Jersey
Blaine Macdonald, 1
Camron Fleck, 2
Rory Swanson, 3
Davis Chakos, 4
Kason Bleckert, 5
Ricardo Leon Guerrero II, 7
Brendan McKinley, 8
Rylan Osbjornsen, 9
Oak Held, 11
Garin Gurtler, 12
Sean Bang, 13
AJ Glenn, 14
Aaron Mills, 15
Alex Hirai, 16
Tyler Langer, 17
Joseph Valenzuela, 18
Spencer Mahn, 20
Kenyon Johnson, 21
Roman Basurto, 22
Brady Sprague, 23
Dylan Turrentine, 24
Dallas Boler, 25
Nicholas Kemker, 26
Connor Christensen, 27
Nolan Webster, 28
Nolan Soderstrom, 29
Jesse Brown, 30
JT Penrod, 31
Owen Relkoff, 33
Dylan Schaefer, 34
Nelson Ahumada, 35
Chase Fleming, 36
Ryley Doig, 37
Jacob Kanaly, 38
Garrison Garton, 39
Talan Wright, 41
Jacob Viera, 42
Domenic Di Palma, 43
Cole McKinnon, 45
Cole McKinnon pitched seven of nine innings in the second game for the Vikings where he collected one strikeout.
The Vikings had multiple key catches in the outfield including one from Oak Held.
Blaine MacDonald said he feels confident in his team as they are moving toward another doubleheader against Wenatchee Valley.ARTICLES BY CALEB PEREZ
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