Vikings topple Liners, 7-2

After two days off, the Southland Vikings (18-21) used 15 hits as well as a strong pitching performance from Brandon Duplessis (4-1) to take down the DeKalb County Liners (25-15) Wednesday night.

After Demetre Taylor homered in the top of the second inning, the Vikings responded with three runs in the bottom of the inning. With two men on, Micah Rooke singled to score one run and Vince Parisi followed with a sacrifice fly. Two batters later, Elliott Armstrong doubled to add another run and give the Vikings a 3-1 lead.

The Liners added one run in the third but Rooke homered to lead off the bottom of the fourth to make it 4-2. In the bottom of the eighth, the Vikings pulled away with three more runs. After an RBI single by Parisi, Rooke scored on a wild pitch and Armstrong had another RBI to give the team a 7-2 lead, which the Vikings held on to.

All nine Vikings batters reached base with eight recording a hit. In fact, the team recorded a hit in each inning. Rooke led the way, going 3 for 4 with two runs scored and two RBIs. Parisi also stepped up as he went 3 for 3 with one run scored and two RBIs. Lastly, Armstrong finished going 3 for 5 with two RBIs.

While the offense stood out, Duplessis was stellar on the mound as he gave up two earned runs on eight hits while striking out four in eight innings of work. He picked up the win while Tanner Funke (3-5) received the loss for the Liners.

With this win, Southland extends their lead over the Chicago Zephyrs (14-24) to 3.5 games for the final playoff spot. The Vikings will head to Whiting, IN for the final time this season on Thursday when they take on the Northwest Indiana Oilmen (26-14). The Oilmen lead the series between the two teams 6-4 but the Vikings have won the last three matchups.