Published: March 25, 2008 03:25 pm         

Viking varsity ties Montgomery County 6-6 in scrimmage

Junior Varsity falls 3-2 in shortened game

Rowan County jumped out to a 4-0 lead over Montgomery County on Friday afternoon at the Morehead City Park, but the Indians slowly chipped away at the margin and the exhibition game ended in a 6-6 tie. In the nightcap the junior varsity dropped a 3-2 decision in five and a half innings.

The teams were scheduled to play a pair of seven-inning contests with both squads rotating its varsity, junior varsity and freshman teams into the mix. The Vikings played their varsity five innings in the first game, then their junior varsity the final two innings of game one and the first two innings of game two. Rowan County’s JV2 batted in three innings and played two innings in the field.

The Vikings broke through to get on the board first in the matinee. Dustin Caudill and Matt Prater earned back-to-back walks to start off the third inning. Nathan Miles followed with an RBI single to right field to score Caudill. Then Nick Duff walked and Derek Stafford reached base on a fielder’s choice, on which Prater was thrown out at the plate. After Montgomery County picked up its second out, JD Patrick earned a bases loaded walk and Laken Johnson drove in two runs with a double to left field.

Duff started the game on the mound and pitched three scoreless innings, before yielding to Johnson. The hard-throwing senior struggled in the fourth inning allowing the first five batters to reach base without getting a hit. The Indians picked up a run in the frame before Johnson retired the final two batters.

The Vikings continued to put the bat on the ball in the bottom of the fourth inning. Caudill reached base on an error. Then Duff started a two-out rally with an RBI infield single that scored Caudill. Stafford followed with a single to right field and he and Duff executed a perfect double steal that allowed Duff to score. Adams walked before the inning ended.

The Indians added a pair of unearned runs off Blake Pettit in the fifth to close the deficit to 6-3. The Vikings turned to their junior varsity players in the bottom of the frame, but were unable to add to their total.

In the sixth inning, Rowan County sent Andy Russell to the hill and the visitors picked up two more runs off one hit.

Kyle Bradley and Trevor Stone notched a pair of singles in the sixth, but the Vikings left both stranded.

The Indians tied the score in the top of the seventh after collecting two hits and two runs off Jesse Alfrey. However, only one run was earned.

The Vikings were unable to break the tie in their final at bat.

Rowan County finished with a 6-3 edge in hits. On the mound Pettit finished with two strikeouts, while Duff, Johnson and Russell each had one.

The hosts’ pitching was the story in the second game. The Vikings struck out 15 of the 26 Indians who came to the plate and only allowed one hit. Each of Rowan County’s six pitchers had at least one strikeout.

Montgomery County got on the board with three runs in the second inning. The Vikings’ T.J. Chin picked up a leadoff single in the second, but the hosts ended the inning with the bases loaded and no runs.

Bradley doubled to lead off the third inning. Brandon Goodpaster and Josh Harney followed with back-to-back walks to load the bases, and Jon Stacy drove in Bradley and Goodpaster with a single to close the gap to 3-2.

Montgomery County had only one hit, a fifth-inning single, the rest of the way. The Vikings, too, were unable to generate much offense in the latter innings, although Wade Cottle and Cova Cornett each singled in the fifth.

The teams agreed to stop the game after each squad had used its full compliment of pitchers, therefore the Vikings did not bat in the bottom of the sixth even though they were trailing.

Each Rowan County pitcher threw one inning. Jared Stacy and Dakota Gilkison each struck out the side; while Chin and Jon Stacy also recorded three strikeouts. Starter Jacob Grindle had two and Harney had one. Both runs were earned off Chin and he was saddled with the loss.

Jon Stacy, Chin, Bradley, Cottle and Cornett each recorded hits for the Vikings.