MOUNT BERRY, Ga. - Viking baseball faced off against top-five opponent Belhaven, where they fell short by a final score of 11-6 in game one of the Berry Invitational.
Cam Welsh began the game on the mound for the Vikings with a solid first half inning, allowing just one hit to send the Blazers into the field scoreless.
Welsh got some early run support, fueled by a leadoff double from Garrett Lang that set the tone for the bottom of the first. Riley Uhls followed up with a single through the left side of the field to give the Vikings a 1-0 lead. Xavier Byams came in to keep the party alive, as he drilled a ground ball up the middle to score Uhls and give Berry a 2-0 lead. The early fireworks led to Chance Edmonds stepping up to knock through another run that gave Berry a 3-0 lead over the nationally ranked Blazers.
Welsh continued his stellar start, sitting the Blazers down in order to set up more Viking offensive production. Another Riley Uhls single scored Tanaka Mukono to push the Berry lead to 4-0 at the end of the bottom of the second frame.
Another scoreless inning spearheaded by Welsh held the game at 4-0 in the third after Berry's offense stalled.
The number four ranked Blazers woke up their bats in the top of the fourth, to make it a 4-2 ball game. Riley Uhls did not waste any time getting Berry back on the board, though, as he nailed a double to right field, scoring Garrett Lang who had singled in the second at-bat of the inning.
A bunt single from Belhaven in the top of the fifth set up another base hit for two runners on with just one out, as Welsh looked to continue his solid day on the mound. A couple more hits would send Welsh away after a solid 4 innings and some change. Brady Greene entered in a tough spot, as Belhaven had the bases loaded. The floodgates opened for the Blazers, as they plated five runs to take a 7-5 lead, as the momentum pendulum swayed entirely in favor of the visitors.
After Xavier Byams earned his way on base and worked his way to third off a couple of groundouts, Ethan Finch delivered an RBI single to cut the lead to just one run.
The Blazers delivered a terrific top of the sixth as well, as they plated three runs in the top of the sixth to take a 9-6 advantage headed into the final three frames.
The score held true in the 7th and 8th, before a run from Belhaven pushed their lead to 10-6 at the top of the ninth. The Vikings were unable to get anything going in the bottom of the ninth, as they fell. By a final score of 10-6.
Berry is back in action for a matchup against Cortland at 6 PM in the second game of their showing at the Berry Invitational.
