After a month on the road, the Vikings returned home for their home opener against the Howard Hawks.
Game one
The Vikings started fast in the opening game, grabbing the 6-1 victory.
Blake Lewis started with a solo home run on the second pitch he saw for a 1-0 lead.
In the second inning, David Hogg II worked the leadoff walk. Reese Ogden followed with a single and JT Cienega moved them up 90 feet with a sac bunt. Lewis was hit by a pitch to load the bases and Colton Roquemore ripped a two run single for a 3-0 lead.
The score remained until the bottom of the sixth, when Hogg II led off the inning with a solo homer. Ogden and Cienega both worked walks and two batters later, Roquemore added another RBI single and Paxton a sac fly for a 6-0 lead.
Howard added a run in the seventh, but the Vikings shut the door on any more runs to take the victory.
Game two
The Hawks jumped ahead 3-0 getting a two run homer and a solo home run in the second and third innings respectively. They added a run scoring double in the fourth inning to take a 4-0 lead, but that lead didn't last long.
In the fourth inning, the Vikings loaded the bases, getting a single from Paxton, a double from Jack Casteel and a walk from Isaac Rios. David Hogg II drew a bases loaded walk, Boyd Thompson reached on an infield single and two runs scored on two errors on the ball hit by Thompson. JT Cienega tied the game with a sac fly.
A bases loaded HBP scored a run for Howard in the fifth, but a groundout from Rios in the fifth tied the game at 5-5. Caleb Watkins worked a bases loaded walk to take the 6-5 lead. Three straight singles in the Howard sixth put them ahead 9-6 and an error allowed the 10th run to come across. In the Viking sixth, Ogden led off with a single and took third on a fielding error. Cienega brought him home with a groundout. Lewis followed with a double and scored on a single from Paxton to bring the Vikings within 10-8, but they couldn't draw any closer.
Game three
The Viking offense got rolling in the bottom of the first. Blake Lewis led off with a single and moved to third on a double by Colton Roquemore. Easton Paxton reached on an error scoring a run. Two batters later, David Hogg II brought in a run on a sac fly to extend the lead to 2-0.
In the second inning, Isaac Rios drew a one out walk and scored on an RBI triple from Lewis for a 3-0 lead.
Jack Casteel hit his second homer of the season in the third inning and JT Cienega followed with his third home run in the fourth inning for a 5-0 lead.
In the fifth inning, Roquemore singled and Casteel doubled to put runners on the corners. Hogg II plated both runners with a two run double. Two batters later, Rios hit an RBI single, scoring Reese Ogden who doubled.
Kai Parker threw a one hit shutout for the Vikings striking out nine.
