Vikings score early and often to take down Royals

The Vikings struck first with the help of the Royals. A hit batter, a walk and 2 errors led to 2 runs without the aid of a hit, giving the Vikings a 2-0 lead after 1. Four straight singles in the 2nd extended the lead to 4-0, with Tim Steinhauer and Adrian Ferrer knocking in the runs. The Royals stormed back in the 3rd. Jesse Kling got the Royals on the board with an RBI double. Four consecutive walks cut the lead down to 1 run, then Chas Chambers singles to knock in 2 runs and give the Royals a 5-4 lead. The Vikings made the lead short-lived in the bottom of the innings. After a hit batter and error put two runners on base, Jose Vega tied the game with an RBI single. Josh Fishel then blasted a 3-run home run to right field to put the Vikings back ahead 8-5. Despite multiple baserunners in each of the next 3 half innings, neither team was able to score. In the bottom of the 5th, the Vikings loaded the bases with 2 outs on 2 walks and a hit batter when Erik Amspacher and Mike Freed came through with clutch singles to extend the lead to 11-5. In the bottom of the 6th, the Vikings all but locked up the game with 4 more runs, with the help of 2 more Royals errors. Ferrer had a sac fly and Jeff Tomison had an RBI single in that inning. The Royals scored 2 in the 7th when Neal Landis tripled with 2 outs and was followed by 4 straight walks, but Valentin Ramos was able to find the zone and get a ground out to shortstop to get the save and lock down the win.

In a game with 18 walks, 5 hit batters and 6 errors, only the Vikings' Erik Amspacher and Tim Steinhauer managed to get 2 hits. Josh Fishel led the Vikings with 5 RBIs, while Chas Chambers knocked in 3 to lead the Royals.

Last batter ... Royals: Chris Caldwell, Vikings: Tyler Keebler

Date: August 10, 2025     Time: 12:15pm      Venue: Pleasureville