Two Rallies Come Up Short for the V-Hawks

MITCHELL, SD. – The Viterbo University Baseball team fell to Valley City State University (ND) in a pair of NSAA conference games on Wednesday afternoon, 4-5 and 8-12. The V-Hawks fall to 4-26 (3-3 NSAA) on the year, while the Vikings improve to 10-17 (2-4 NSAA).

The V-Hawks would start the game by loading the bases, and Kyle Sontag but the V-Hawks on the board with an RBI bunt. However, three runners would be stranded on base. Two more were left on in the second, and the Vikings took the lead in the third with two runs. They would extend the lead in the fourth and the fifth with a single run in each. Sontang recorded a solo homer in the top of the sixth, but VCSU matched it in the bottom of the frame. Spencer Hans doubled in the top of the seventh, bringing in Blake Warner and Ryan Mesa, but the rally would fall short there, 4-5.

Brett Stuessel led the V-Hawks with two hits, Sontag had two RBIs, and Warner scored two runs. Dustin Mertz had two hits and three RBIs for the Vikings. Anthony Sanchez (L, 0-5) Struck out six batters, Hunter Magnuson (W, 3-2) retired nine, and Connor Nelson earned his second save of the season.

The Vikings jumped out to 4-0 lead over the first two innings of the second game. Warner hit a solo home run in the top of the third to get Viterbo on the board, but Valley City added four more in the bottom of the inning. A two-run homer in the fourth for VCSU brought the score to 10-1. A wild pitch in the fifth brought in Chad Herrera, followed by a Gavin Daneil RBI walk bringing in Warner. Warner then singled in the following inning to score Herrera and Monaghan, and Daniel recorded his second RBI walk. However, this time Valley City would match the two runs with a two-RBI double. In the eighth, Warner led off with a solo home run, and Sontang added one of his own in the ninth, but the V-Hawks would get no closer, losing 8-12.

Warner led the V-Hawks, going 5-of-6 with four RBIs and scoring three runs. Mertz was 3-of-3 for VCSU. Brett Stuessel (L, 0-1) had three strikeouts, the most of the V-Hawks six pitchers. Connor Nelson (W, 1-3) struck out four.

The series concludes on Thursday, March 21 at 1 and 4 pm.