Shortstop Eshua Desai batting in the first run and center fielder Danny Rodriguez consistently defending the outfield helped the Vikings get a series sweep with a 15-6 win on Tuesday against the Mt. San Jacinto Eagles.
With two outs in the first inning, and left-fielder Caleb Brandon on second, Desai was up to bat and hit a single, which allowed Brandon to make it home.
Outfielder Caleb Brandon slides into third base attempting help the Vikings get another run. (Brianna Apodaca)
After right-fielder Sabin Tomlinson made a walk to first, pitcher Aaron Mingo made a single, advancing Desai to third base.
With second baseman Cross Stephens at bat, the Eagles’ catcher failed to catch the fourth pitch, however Desai and Tomlinson managed to steal home plate and brought the score up to 3-0.
Starting pitcher Aaron Mingo preparing to throw a pitch to opposing team batter. (Brianna Apodaca)
In the third inning, Desai was batted in by a double from Mingo, earning another run.
Desai maintained this energy playing in the infield, specifically in the second and third innings when he quickly tagged out two runners on second base.
He revealed that his performance in this game is the result of improvement.
“I’ve been struggling lately but I’m picking it up at the bat and on the field. It feels good to be able to help my boys,” Desai said.
First baseman Max Ghiglieri runs to home plate to get a run for the Vikings. (Brianna Apodaca)
Meanwhile, Rodriguez got seven Mt. San Jacinto batters out throughout the game by catching fly balls that were hit to the outfield.
This included a diving catch in the eighth inning.
However, Rodriguez revealed that he feels more pride for his hitting in this game.
“I think I did better at hitting today than catching. I think I had a lot of good at bats today, two doubles,” Rodriguez said.
Rodriguez made five hits during the game, including two doubles.
Outfielder Danny Rodriquez celebrates with teammate Sean Lovett after getting a run for the Vikings. (Brianna Apodaca)
At the bottom of the eighth inning, with Tomlinson’s help, Rodriguez was batted in for the final run of the game, bringing the score up to 15-6.
Despite these highlights, the Vikings struggled in the fifth, sixth, and seventh innings, particularly with pitchers not being able to strike out the Mt. San Jacinto batters, and many failed catches by the infielders.
This was especially the case in the seventh inning when the Eagles scored four runs.
Aaron Mingo revealed that the team struggled mainly with defense.
“We need some more energy. The defense tends to fall asleep a little bit. We score a lot in the first four (innings) and then we go into the fifth and we kinda get lazy a little bit. If we stay a little better throughout the whole game with good energy we’ll be fine,” Mingo said.
Despite these setbacks, the Vikings came out on top.
With this win, Vikings Baseball now has an overall record of 19-13 and is in third place of the South Coast Conference with a record of 12-6.