The Grayson Vikings continued rolling as they swept sixth ranked Trinity Valley on Monday, Feb. 23. The pitching was particularly dominant, giving up just three hits in two games.
Game one
Grayson claimed the 5-0 shutout behind another one hitter from Natalie Moreaux.
After a scoreless first inning, the Viking offense got going in the second inning. With two outs, Layla Sons ripped a single to center field. Maile Larsen and Aniyah Pequeno drew walks to load the bases. Matti Matthews drove in a pair with a single to put the Vikings ahead 2-0.
In the third inning, Mia Krueger hit a two strike solo home run for her fifth long ball of the season to go up 3-0.
In the fourth inning, Larsen led off with a single and later scored on a double by Matthews to go up 4-0. Needham followed with a single, moved to second on the throw and scored on a single from Krueger for the fifth run.
The run support was more than enough for Moreaux in the circle. She struck out 10 over seven innings with the lone hit coming in the third inning on a double by Kenzie Hess.
Offensively, Matthews finished 3-4 with the double and three RBI. Krueger was 2-4 with the home run and RBI single.
Game two
The Vikings finished off the sweep with a 10-1 run rule victory.
After a scoreless top of the first, the bats picked up where they left off in game one. Pequeno drew a lead off walk and moved to third when Krueger reached on an error. Needham followed with a single and two batters later, Willa Ford cleared the bases with her third homer of the season and the Vikings led 4-0.
In the second inning, Layla sons drew a leadoff walk and took second on a wild pitch, before getting thrown out on a ground ball by Pequeno. Matti Matthews followed with a single and Krueger drove in a run with a single and a 5-0 lead.
Ford's second homer of the day pushed the lead to 6-0 in the third inning, but the offense wasn't done yet. Jaclyn Draeger followed with a walk and advanced to second on a single by Sons. Maile Larsen followed with a line drive single for a 7-0 lead.
In the fourth inning, Needham and Addisyn Cox both hit singles and Draeger followed with her second home run of the season, to give the Vikings a commanding 10-0 lead.
A homer by Trinity Valley ruined the shutout in the fifth inning, but Riley Mays shut the door and completed the sweep.
In the circle, Mays threw five innings, giving up two hits and one run while striking out four. Offensively, Ford finished 2-3 with the mult-homer game, while driving in four. Draeger drove in three runs, while as a team the Vikings finished with 11 hits.
