The Latta Vikings traveled to Lake View on Tuesday night for an 11-1 win over the Wild Gators in varsity baseball action.
Lake View scored first in the bottom of the first inning with Weston Rogers reaching on an error and stealing second before scoring. Latta responded by picking up one run in the top of the second as Caleb Mishue tripled and came home on a single from McLeod Carmichael.
The Vikings scored again in the top of the third with Jackson Williams hitting a single, stealing second, and advancing on a single from Dalton Lane to give the Vikings a 2-1 lead.
In the fourth, Latta picked up three more runners with Brady Hatchell drawing a walk and Eric McGirt getting a triple. Cledus Williams singled, advanced on a single from Jackson Williams, and scored on a wild pitch to put the Vikings up 5-1.
The Vikings held off the Gators throughout. In the third, Weston Rogers drew a walk and Justin Elliott reached on an error, but Josh Price flew out and Latta’s John Kever Love struck out Brent Herlong and Nick Collins to end any threat. In the fourth, De’Ante Bridgett reached on an error and advanced to second but two grounders and an out ended the inning.
Both teams went three up, three out in the fifth inning, but Latta broke loose with six runs in the top of the sixth. McGirt reached on an error and stole second before scoring on a double from Cledus Williams. Jackson Williams reached on a walk, and a single from Lane scored both runners. Austin Miller reached on a walk and stole second, and a single from Mishue allowed Miller to score. Mishue scored on a single from Daniel Khalil. Carmichael drew a walk to leave two runners on base as McGirt struck out and Cledus Williams hit a grounder to end the inning for the Vikings. Love wrapped up the game in the bottom of the inning as Herlong ground out and Collins and Connor Anderson were both struck out.
Love got the win on the mound, pitching six innings for two hits, one run, two walks, and one hit by pitch with 10 outs.
Carson Rogers took the loss on the mound, pitching three innings for five hits, three runs, three earned runs, one wild pitch, and three walks, striking out four. Herlong pitched two innings for three hits, four runs, two earned runs, and one wild pitch, striking out three. Weston Rogers pitched two-thirds of an inning for two hits, one run, one earned run, one walk, and one out, and Collins pitched one-third of an inning for one hit, three runs, two earned runs,two walks, and a wild pitch, striking out one.
At bat for the Gators, Elliott went 1-for-3; Bridgett went 1-for-2 with a double; Herlong reached on a hit by pitch; Weston Rogers reached on an error and scored one run with a stolen base; and Price reached on an error with one stolen base.
For the Vikings, Mishue went 3-for-4 with a triple, a stolen base, one RBI, and two runs scored; Lane went 2-for-4 with three RBI and one run; Cledus Williams went 2-for-4 with a double and two RBI; Jackson Williams went 2-for-3 with three stolen bases and two runs scored, also reaching on a walk; McGirt went 1-for-4 with a triple, one RBI, a stolen base, and two runs scored, also reaching on a walk; Miller went 1-for-3 with two stolen bases, one walk, and one run scored; Carmichael went 1-for-3 for one RBI and also drew a walk; Khalil went 1-for-1 with one RBI; Hatchell scored one run on walk; and Jonathan Ray scored two runs.
Latta improves to 9-4-2 overall and remains undefeated at 6-0 in Region 8-A. Lake View slips to 18-6 overall and 7-2 in the region.
The Vikings will be at home tonight to host the Dillon Wildcats at 5:30 p.m. Latta won their first encounter 10-3 on March 11. Next Tuesday, the Vikings will be on the road for a double header at Creek Bridge.
The Gators will travel to South Robeson tonight at 6:00 p.m. and will be back at home on Tuesday to host Carvers Bay at 5:30 p.m.
