North Canton 13U Vikings Baseball Team Shuts Out Tuscarawas County 11-0

Going into Wednesday night's game, the coaches for the Vikings 13-and-under  team wondered how the boys would bounce back from their first loss of the season Sunday in extra innings in a tournament semifinal game.

Five runs on six hits in the bottom of the first for the 13U Vikings quickly put aside any concerns of a letdown as North Canton would go on to dominate the Tuscarawas County Rebels 11-0 at North Canton's Junior Field.

Assistant Coach Joe Schatz was proud of how his team rebounded from the tough tournament loss.

"The boys came back tonight composed and focused to get back to winning ways," Schatz said.

Vikings starter Nick Hillyer kept the Rebels' hitters off balance all night, only surrendering a double to left center by Koby Cool in the second inning. The Rebels loaded the bases on walks in the fourth inning but were unable to score.

Hillyer finished the game with seven strikeouts and improved his record to 2-1 on the season. Hillyer felt the key to his success was his off-speed pitches.

"I had difficulty working the corners of the plate so I went to my off-speed pitches to get my pitches over and it worked," Hillyer said.

The 13U Vikings' offense collected a total of 15 hits off of four different Tuscarawas County pitchers. Right fielder Matt Hilinski was one of the hitting stars with three hits.

"Since I hit in the middle of the order, I just try to make contact, get on base and move the base runners," Hilinski said. "So far my approach has worked well since I have only struck out three times all season."

The 13U Vikings return to action tonight when they travel to Fairless for a District Four game in Brewster, OH.