Sophomore pitcher Evan Vasquez threw a complete game in which he struck out six Mounties and gave one run on four hits.
Vasquez was in a rhythm all game. He worked quickly on the mound while mixing up the timing of his leg kicks.
His offspeed pitches were lethal as he had hitters off balance in the box.
“It’s a mind game…If you’re only throwing a fastball, it’s pretty easy for the hitter to piece you… I try to keep everybody off balance,” said Vasquez.
He generated 16 ground ball outs in his nine innings of work and a lot of those were thanks to hitters reaching for sliders and changeups outside of the zone.
Freshman first baseman Ryan Geck drove in the first run of the day for the Vikings on a line drive double to left field, scoring freshman shortstop Olin Snakenborg from first base, giving the Vikings a 1-0 lead after two innings.
The next Viking runs would come in their half of the third inning thanks to perfect execution of small ball by freshman outfielders Danny Rodriguez and Xander Mclaurin.
Rodriguez led off the inning with a textbook bunt down the third base line that fired up the Viking dugout.
Vikings head coach Casey Crook called a hit-and-run during the at-bat, and Mclaurin executed with a ground ball back to the pitcher. The speedy Rodriguez, running on the pitch, beat the throw to second leaving runners on first and second.
“Our speed is something we’ve got to use and is probably our biggest offensive weapon right now,” said Crook.
With sophomore catcher Malik Clayton at bat, Crook called his second hit and run of the inning.
Clayton lined a single into right-centerfield and a bobble from the Mountie center fielder would allow both runners to score, extending the Vikings’ lead to 3-0.
A leadoff triple from Mounties’ sophomore first baseman Travis Hobbensiefken in the top of the fourth inning gave them some life.
Hobbensifken would come around to score on a ground ball to the second baseman bringing the score to 3-1 Vikings.
From the fifth inning on Vasquez dominated. He only allowed two baserunners who never made it past second base.
Weak contact was a common theme for Mountie hitters facing Vasquez.
Vasquez said that “weak contact is everything and I know we have a great defense, so all I’m trying to do is throw strikes.”
The Mounties shut out the Viking offense the rest of the game, but it was not enough as LBCC hung on with a 3-1 victory in game one.