By: Joe Blystone
WAUSEON – On Cinco de Mayo, Evergreen made it cinco veces tres, meaning five times three in a 15-5 five inning romp over Wauseon.
“It was nice to get a win after being on a three-game skid,” said Viking coach Mark Cymbolin. “It’s nice to get a league win to get us back to even at 3-3 and a chance to finish above .500. We still have goals as we head into the tournament draw.”
Evergreen jumped out to a 4-0 first inning lead, ignited by a wild streak from Indian starter Kage Little.
A one-out hit batter and three straight base on balls with a passed ball tossed in gave Evergreen a 2-0 lead.
Connor Hewson’s groundout knocked in one more and Hunter Vaculik’s single down the right field line brought in another.
After Little retired six of the next seven, Evergreen blew the game open in the fourth with an eight spot on the board.
Vaculik led off with a walk, then Isaac Overfield’s single to left and an error loaded the sacks. Layne Vance and Cory Kanneman produced RBI singles to end the day for Little.
Tyson Rodriguez took over and walked the next three Vikings to force in three more runs, and a wild pitch added another.
Vaculik’s sacrifice fly on his second time around in the inning and Overfield’s base hit to right capped the explosion.
“Our at-bats have been getting better,” Cymbolin stated. “We had a little dink and dunk today and we had help with walks and hit batters, but we put the ball in play, only three strikeouts.”
“We aren’t striking out as much and making people get us out instead of getting ourselves out.”
Meanwhile Vance was on cruise control on the mound, not giving up a hit until Rodriguez’ line drive single in the fourth.
Brady Kanneman’s two-run single and a hit batter with the bases loaded brought home three more Evergreen runs in the fifth to make it 15-0 before Wauseon put a dent in the scoreboard thanks to some inept Viking defense.
Two errors around a hit batsman by reliever Nick Kruzel loaded the bases for Jude Armstrong’s run scoring hit, a bases loaded walk, a one out error that plated two more runs and Ryan Marks’ sacrifice fly that scored five Indian runs before Kruzel got a strikeout to end it.
“The biggest problem with us is focusing for a complete game,” Cymbolin explained of the last inning debacle.
“We have to stay in the game mentally for seven innings. We are preaching it now, we’ve been preaching it. Seven innings, seven innings. It has to be a focal point for us.”
Overfield and Cory Kanneman each had two of the nine Viking hits. Brady Kanneman had four RBIs for Evergreen.
Vance walked two, gave up one hit and struck out one in four shutout innings for the win.
EVERGREEN 400 83 – 15 9 3
WAUSEON 000 05 – 5 3 1
Records: Evergreen 9-8 (3-3 NWOAL), Wauseon 6-9-1 (1-5 NWOAL)
WINNING PITCHER: Vance (4 innings, 1 hit, 0 runs, 1 strikeout, 2 walks) Other: Kruzel
LOSING PITCHER: Little (3.1 innings, 5 hits, 9 runs, 7 earned, 2 strikeouts, 4 walks) Other: Miller, Rodriguez
LEADING HITTERS: (Evergreen) C. Kanneman – 2 singles, RBI, 3 runs; B. Kanneman – single, 4 RBIs, 3 runs; Vaculik – single, 2 RBIs; Hewson – 2 RBIs; Overfield – 2 singles, RBI
Joe can be reached at publisher@thevillagereporter.com
