Baseball: Vikings double up on triples, beat Whitefish

WHITEFISH — Bigfork’s Hayden Mayer and Mason Lewis hit back-to-back triples in a six-run third inning, and that carried the Vikings to a 7-5 road baseball win over Northwest A rival Whitefish Thursday at Smith Fields.

The host Bulldogs (6-5) had forged a 3-0 lead behind Tait Orme’s RBI single in the first inning and his bases-loaded walk in the second. In between, Carter Godsey hit a sacrifice fly for Whitefish. 

Bigfork (8-3) answered with a big rally. The Vikings started the third with a walk and three singles, the last by Max Schara driving in a run to cut the gap to 3-2. 

Mayer followed with his triple, scoring Rye Rodriguez and Schara to put Bigfork ahead for good 4-3. Lewis followed with another triple, and he came in on Cavin Wiest’s RBI single. 

Mayer also went the distance on the mound, scattering eight hits and seven walks in seven innings. He struck out two. 

Whitefish got two runs back in the fifth when Reyd Hobart hit an RBI single and eventually scored on a wild pitch, cutting the gap to 6-5.  

Ryder Hamilton’s RBI single provided the Vikings with an insurance run in the seventh; the Bulldogs went down in order in the bottom of the inning. 

Logan Stewart threw five solid innings in relief of Whitefish starter Cullen Wallace, allowing one run on six hits and six walks, with six strikeouts.