VALLEY CITY – Viking pitchers combined to allow just six hits and two runs Sunday afternoon as the Valley City State baseball team completed its fall season with a 5-2 victory over Mayville State.
The Vikings scored single runs in the second, third, and fifth innings to build an early 3-0 lead they would not relinquish. Freshman
Anthony Madsen had three hits and three RBIs to pace the Viking offense, which totaled five runs on nine hits.
Christopher Dietrich started on the mound and went 5 2/3 shutout innings, allowing just three hits. He struck out eight while walking just two batters.
Jay Mendez pitched 1 2/3 innings of relief, allowing one earned run and three hits.
Takao Cookson went the final 1 2/3 innings for the save. Cookson struck out three batters and did not allow a hit.
Valley City State finishes the fall baseball season with a 3-3 record. Two of the three losses came in extra innings. The Vikings will resume their season in late February.
VCSU's
Cam Pero started the scoring Sunday with an RBI groundout in the second, scoring
Anthony Madsen for a 1-0 lead. Madsen drove in the next two runs with an RBI single in the third inning – scoring
Jaden Babiuk – and an RBI double in the fifth that scored
Justin Rogers to make it 3-0.
Mayville State's Avery Kirkup hit a solo home run in the top of the seventh, trimming VCSU's lead to 3-1.
The Vikings answered back immediately with two runs in the bottom of the seventh inning, including a pinch-hit RBI single by
Jay Greuel that put VCSU ahead 5-1.
The Comets pushed across an unearned run in the eighth and had two more on, but Viking pitcher
Takao Cookson worked out of the jam with back-to-back strikeouts to preserve the Viking lead.
Madsen's three-hit day paced VCSU's offense, which finished with nine total hits.
Justin Rogers and
Daegen Morcom each had a pair of singles and scored two runs each.
Jaden Babiuk and
Jay Greuel each had one hit, and Greuel drove in a run.
Up next: The Vikings are scheduled to resume the season Feb. 24-25 with games in Kansas City, Mo.
