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10-run inning seals Vikings’ win

Sports

Written by Gene Morris

Friday, 15 May 2009 08:00

As the first five innings in Tuesday’s Pioneer League baseball championship game passed, it appeared it was going to take only one hit or one mistake to turn the momentum of a 1-all game completely in either Central Heights’ or Prairie View’s favor.

“I told one of my coaches that one run is going to win this game,” Prairie View coach Jose Cornejo said. “Whoever scored the first run was going to win this game. That was my gut feeling.”

Cornejo’s instinct proved to be correct. Unfortunately, for his Buffalos, it was miscues by his team that shifted momentum to the Vikings.

Two walks, two hits and two errors — a wild pitch on a third strike to Masen Robertson, which allowed him to reach base — by Prairie View in the sixth inning allowed Central Heights to take control. The Vikings scored two runs and added 10 more in the seventh to pull away for a 13-1 title victory.

“A simple mistake here and there can cost you the game,” Central Heights coach Jason Brown said. “Our guys did a nice job the whole time of keeping their heads in the game.”

Toby Cornejo got the Buffalos off on the right foot. He launched a two-out solo home run in the first for a 1-0 lead.

Central Heights responded in the top half of the second. Adam Horstick struck out, but reached base on a ball that skipped past Prairie View catcher Devon Minckley.
Horstick later scored on an RBI ground-out by Isaac Delatorre to tie the game.

For the next three innings, Cornejo and Horstick kept the game under wraps. Each team had runners in scoring position on at least two separate occasions. Nathan Sommer reached on a two-out single in the third and then stole second base. Cornejo followed with a walk, but Horstick induced a fly ball to end the threat. Aaron Schaefer led off the Viking fourth with a double, but was left stranded as Cornejo induced a ground-out and fly-out before striking out Delatorre to end the inning.

Cornejo had a two-hitter working through the first five innings. Horstick allowed three hits before giving way to Ryan Schaub after 4 2/3 innings.

Schaub allowed only one walk and hit one batter.

Central Heights took control in the sixth.

Bob Wolfe led off with a walk, launching a domino effect. Two batters later, Schaefer was hit by a pitch. Horstick followed by reaching on an error. Sommer looked to start a double play, but the ball bobbled out of his hands. Two batters later, Delatorre was hit in the helmet by a Cornejo pitch. Delatorre was fuming as he trotted down the first-base line, but base coach Doug North calmed him down. After one run was scored on the play, Horstick scored a second when Robertson reached on a third strike as the ball got away from Minckley for a 3-1 lead.

All the momentum had shifted.

The Vikings went on to tack on 10 runs on seven hits in the seventh to blow the game wide open. Schaefer started the scoring with a two-run double and Horstick ended it with a two-run single. It took three Buffalo pitchers to get out of the seventh.

Viking softball

Meanwhile, the Central Heights softball team (12-4) won its fifth-place league matchup against Anderson County 1-0.

The No. 2 seed in 3A regionals, the Vikings will face No. 7 Allen-Northern Heights at 4:45 p.m Monday at home in the first round.

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