The Grand View Vikings (20-16, 11-6 MCC) baseball team took on Midwest Collegiate Conference opponent Waldorf College (13-22, 3-12 MCC) in Des Moines on Wednesday afternoon. The Vikings went into extra innings for the second straight game, but this time the Vikings were able to get the timely hitting to gain a important 6-4 victory over the Warriors.
A ninth inning home run from senior Chris Cutler set the stage for the fireworks that ensued in the bottom of the tenth inning. Cutler's home run came with one out and with the Vikings trailing by one run. With the score knotted at 4-4, sophomore Brady Wathen drew a walk which set the stage for senior Jeff Brooks. Brooks sent Waldorf's Mike Karp's pitch over the outfield fence, giving Brooks and the Vikings the walk-off home run.
The Warriors put the first two runs on the board; the first coming in the top of the second and the second run coming in the following inning. With the score 2-0, Grand View started getting offensive and put their first run on the board in the bottom of the third. Curtis Quijano came to bat with the bases loaded and walked on four pitches. In the bottom of the sixth inning, Brooks came to the plate with nobody on base and hit a solo home run giving Grand View their first lead of the game at 3-2. Waldorf came through with a run in the top of the seventh to tie the game. The Warriors took the lead in the top of the ninth inning when Donny Phillips singled to right field to score A.J. Rivera, which allowed for the Vikings' ninth and tenth inning heroics.
Brooks finished the game with two hits, both home runs, and three RBIs. Marc Mericle and Dunn also ended the game with two hits to lead the Vikings offensive attack. Sean Wright came in to pitch 1/3 of an inning to get the victory for the Vikings.
Grand View will host a three-game series with Ashford University in Des Moines on April 17th and 18th. On April 17th the Vikings will take part in a double-header with the first game starting at 1:00 p.m. The final game of the series will take place on April 18th with the first pitch scheduled for 12:00 p.m.
