by Jefferson Freeman
Orcas High School Student
After some delays and postponement, Viking baseball finally kicked off its league schedule with a home matchup against the Darrington Loggers.
Both the Vikings and the Loggers entered this game looking to get an early leg up in the league in hopes of sparking a push to the playoffs. The game started off poorly for the Vikings as a three-run top of the first put Darrington in the driver’s seat. A one, two, three out first inning by the Viking offense had Orcas looking a little sleepy out of the gates.
The second inning saw the Loggers scoreless and the Vikings adding three of their own to even the score. The third inning saw Darrington’s bats light up again and make the score 6-3. Orcas was able to get one back, but the Loggers led 6-4 after three innings. One more Darrington run made it 7-4. The Loggers got runs across in the fifth making it 9-4. This also ended the day for Viking starter Hayden Shaefer with four strikeouts over four innings.
The Vikings faced a five-run deficit with three innings left. They were able to get one in the fifth making 9-5 and chased the Loggers starter from the game. Joe Stephens was the replacement pitcher for Shaefer and kept the Loggers scoreless for the first time since the second inning. The Viking offense finally found its spark, adding three runs to bring the game within one. Orcas had momentum but the Loggers battled to get two more runs to make it 11-8. In the bottom of the 7th, a stunning rally of six straight Orcas batters reached base to tie the game. And after an injury to Eddie Cunnigham, Justin Derr stepped in and ripped a base hit to cap off the Vikings’ comeback victory. The final score was 12-11. Stephens threw three innings with five strikeouts.
The Vikings will face La Conner at home on Tuesday and then travel to league rival MVC on Saturday.
Corey Wiscomb/contributed photo Remy Lago blazes his way across home plate to score an important run in the late innings during the Vikings’ comeback victory on Friday.
