Vikes Walk Off Wenatchee

After taking it to Wenatchee Valley College on Wednesday, the Vikes hosted the Knights at Viking Field to wrap up the four game set on Saturday April 10th.

Saturday began with Brendan McKinley getting the call as the game one starter where he tossed an absolute gem. From pitch one, McKinley appeared to have everything working throwing 7 strong innings while striking out 3 and only surrendering a single run. With BBCC pitching dominating the Viking offense simply needed to execute. Opportunity after opportunity came and went where the Vikes could have blown the game wide open but ended up with a mere 2-1 lead as McKinley exited handing the ball to Nolan Soderstrom. Soderstrom came in and was not as sharp as he had been in past outings. After hitting the first batter followed by a base hit, the Knights were threatening with two on and nobody out. A critical defensive sequence arose and the Vikes were not on the same page, as a throw from third baseman Kyler Nilson went to an unoccupied base resulting in the Knights plating both base runners and taking a 3-2 lead. BBCC was unable to answer resulting in another heartbreaking 1 run loss. 

Game two was a test for the Vikes. Playing in must win ball games has become a reality for BBCC as they have dropped a handful of tight ball games early in conference play. Dylan Schaefer was handed the ball in game two for his first collegiate start. Schaefer struggled with his command but was able to navigate the self made traffic going four innings of 1 run baseball before sophomore James Macrae took over. The steady sophomore did what he does taking the game one batter at a time. Entering the 9th inning the Vikes found themselves in yet another nail biter tied up at two a piece. Unable to return the favor with a 9th inning walk off as the Knights did to Big Bend on Wednesday, this one would require extras. Macrae continued to work the 10th and 11th. The 11th inning had the Knights threatening yet again with two runners on and two outs. A base hit to right field had the go ahead run rounding third coming for home but Ryley Doig came up throwing and was able to cut the runner down at the plate to keep the game knotted at two. Doig led off the bottom of the 11th with a hit by pitch, followed by a Ben Schnurman hit by pitch and a Blaine MacDonald walk giving freshman centerfielder Roman Basurto a chance with bases loaded nobody out to walk it off. Basurto took four straight balls resulting in a 3-2 walk off win for the Vikes. Head Coach Chase Tunstall had this to say regarding the series split.

"We're starting to show signs of playing quality baseball. We're still shooting ourselves in the foot far too often making games more difficult than they should be. Our defense has taking huge strides over the past week and our offense has put us in a spot to put up big numbers but we have been one swing away more often than not. I tip my cap to our pitchers as they have been able to weather the storm throughout this season keeping us in basically every ball game. We have another huge series next versus Walla Walla where we need to take care of business."

BBCC heads to Walla Walla, WA on Wednesday to begin the four game set versus the Warriors. 

As always, keep up with the Vikings on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, as well as through the NWACSports Network's livestream video platform, where available.