After splitting the Saturday doubleheader with the Majors, the Berry Vikings left little doubt in their offensive prowess in the rubber match game. All told, an 18-hit performance, which saw four long balls leave Twenty Field in Jackson, Miss., shot the Vikings past Millsaps by a final score of 15-7. Wesley Wade himself went 3-for-6 with two home runs, four RBIs, and three runs scored.
Right out the gate Berry's offense was electric as Spence Johns cranked his first homerun of the year over the right center field wall, a two-run blast that scored Jack Poist. In an encore performance, Wesley Wade sent a solo shot over the center field wall the very next at-bat, giving the Vikings some breathing room early. The 3-0 lead would soon diminish however, as Millsaps matched the Vikings with three runs of their own before the beginning of the third inning.
A combination of walks and errors from the Majors defensively obliged the Berry lineup, as two more runs scored effortlessly for the Vikings in the fourth and fifth. However, it wasn't until the seventh inning that the Vikings would flex their muscles at the dish. A walk to Spence Johns and a single from Joey Garcia proceeded a three-run bomb from Levi Cloud deep to left field, his first of 2022 to make the score 8-5.
The following inning with the score 8-7, a host of Berry baserunners once again cleared the runway for Wade to leave the year for the second time of the afternoon, driving in three runs and widening the gap 12-7 over the Majors. Runs 14 and 15 came in the ninth when RBI singles from Johns and Garcia added the finishing touches to what was a dominant day at the plate for the visiting Vikings.
Spence Johns made his first on the mound in over two years, going three innings, allowing just three earned runs and striking out two. Charles Stephenson pitched the sixth inning to become the pitcher of record for the Vikings and improved to 2-1 with the win today. Mark Swett and Mason Carnes hurled the last three innings for the Vikings and only gave up one hit combined to close out the game.
Jack Poist, Spence Johns, Wesley Wade and Joey Garcia all tallied three hits on the day. The one through five batters for the Vikings went a combined 14-for-25 in the third and final game of this series, with nine RBIs and 11 runs scored.
The Vikings will return home to take on Maryville College on Tuesday. The first pitch against the Scots is scheduled for 3 p.m.
