The Vikings closed out their four game series with Rose State with a pair of wins to complete the series sweep on Saturday, Feb. 21.
Game one:
The Vikings rode a six run second inning en-route to an 8-0 five inning victory in the first game.
With the Vikings ahead 1-0 after the first inning thanks to an RBI single from Paisley Needham, the offense exploded in the second inning.
Jaclyn Draeger led off the inning with a double and moved to third on a single by Maile Larsen. Two batters later, Matti Matthews reached on an error, scoring a run. A sac fly from Willa Ford extended the lead to 3-0 and Needham's RBI double pushed the lead to 4-0. Addisyn Cox followed with a single and Mia Krueger cleared the bases with a three run home run to give Grayson a 7-0 lead. For Krueger it was her fourth home run of the year.
The Vikings added a run in the third with Aniyah Pequeno scoring on a passed ball.
Natalie Moreaux dominated in the circle once again, throwing another one hitter in the shutout. She walked three and struck out eight in the complete game effort.
Offensively, Krueger reached base in all three plate appearances, drawing two walks in addition to her homer. Needham had a pair of hits and a pair of RBI and Pequeno tacked on two hits.
Game two:
The Vikings withstood a late rally by Rose State to take the 10-7 victory to complete the sweep.
Grayson got the scoring started with a five run second inning in a bit of an unconventional way.
Krueger, Cox and Draeger all were consecutively hit by pitches to load the bases with nobody out. Larsen cleared the bases with a three run double for a 3-0 lead. After two straight outs, Matthews and Ford both walked to load the bases again. Needham and Krueger both drew bases loaded walks for a 5-0 lead.
In the third inning, Draeger led off with a double and Larsen reached on an error. Draeger stole third and scored on a Sydney Mann fielder's choice.
Two singles and a walk loaded the bases in the Rose State third inning. A sac fly and a two run single cut the Vikings lead to 6-3.
In the fourth inning, Cox reached on an error and scored on a double by Draeger for a 7-3 lead. Larsen drew a walk, while Mann and Pequeno both followed with run scoring singles for a 9-3 lead.
Rose State added four runs in the sixth inning to cut the Viking lead to 9-7, but Needham followed with her fourth homer of the year for a 10-7 lead.
Rose State brought the potential game tying run to the plate in the seventh, but Riley Mays got the groundout to end the game.
The bottom of the lineup carried the Vikings with Draeger (2-3), Larsen (1-2) and Mann (2-4) combining to go 5-9 with three doubles and six RBI. Needham also drove in a pair of runs in the win.
Mays threw six innings in the circle, giving up just two earned runs, walking three and striking out eight. Kynnedy Guthrie threw an inning, giving up four runs (no earned) and striking out one.
The Vikings will return home for a doubleheader against Trinity Valley beginning at 3pm on Monday, Feb. 23.
