DANVILLE, Ky. - The Vikings took the field at Centre for a doubleheader with the Colonels of Centre College, where they were victorious in game one by a final score of 4-3 and are knotted in a 3-3 stalemate in the sixth inning that will resume tomorrow before the final game of the series due to lurking inclement weather.
The Vikings controlled the pace of the game from the start, outhitting Centre 9-6 out-pitching the Colonel's pitching staff with seven strikeouts, courtesy of Mason Snyder. Leadoff man Alex Knapp led the way in the batter's box for the Vikings with 2 hits that resulted in two runs scored for the centerfielder.
Berry wasted no time getting down to business in the opening inning, as Joey Garcia scored off of an Andrew Pendleton RBI single that gave the Vikings a 1-0 lead.
Despite allowing a hit against his first batter, Snyder found his rhythm and collected two straght strikeouts to keep the Colonels scoreless heading into the top of the second inning.
Both teams would go away in order to preserve the Viking lead at 1-0 with the top of the third inning incoming. Knapp then got the Vikings back in rhythm with a single through the left-field. A stolen base by Knapp placed him at third base later in the inning and led to him scoring his first run, off yet another Pendleton RBI to give Berry a 2-0 lead.
Snyder continued his dominant start in the bottom of the third, sending the Colonels away in order.
The action cooled down offensively until the top of the sixth inning, when the Vikings had three batters reach on walks, with Brunswick finishing off the inning strong with a run to make it a 3-0 ball game in favor of Berry.
The ninth inning started with Knapp cruising to first base with another base hit. Later, after Knapp and Garcia reached second and third base, Pendleton stepped up and delivered another RBI sacrifice fly to extend the lead to 4-0.
The Colonels did not go away though, as they gave the Vikings a run for their money with a three-run homerun. Relief Pitcher Cole Porter came in to close out the game following that sequence in the final half inning. He would dig his heels in and earn the final three outs of the game to close out the huge 4-3 victory.
The Vikings will conclude game two and play game three against Centre tomorrow, times are TBD.
