SOLON — The Spartan boys came away with a hard-fought sweep in their doubleheader outing against the Vinton-Shellsburg Vikings, keeping their control in game one and letting their offense run loose in game two.
Game One: Solon 4, Vinton-Shellsburg 3
The Spartans executed on walks, top-notch base-running, and a solid pitching performance from Luke Deike to grind out a 4-3 victory in the opener.
Solon’s first run of the game came in the bottom of the second inning when Ty Bell was hit by a pitch, advanced on a fly out, and scored into home on a sacrifice fly from Deike.
After breaking the ice in the second, Solon was ready to take charge as the defense looked poised in the top of the third, recording an out on every Viking at bat. As the Spartan batters took the field, it felt as if they couldn’t be stopped, recording hits from the likes of Dylan Gorham and Luke Merrick. Along with a few walks, the hits brought Solon’s lead to four.
The stellar defense continued through the game, but Solon seemed to step off the gas pedal in the top of the sixth when Deike threw more pitches than he seemed to like. An error from the Spartans and continuous hits by Vikings batters brought the score to 4-3, giving the Spartans visual discomfort.
After another unsuccessful offensive try, it was time for the defense to step up, and they did just that with Tyler Greazel relieving and some close outs thrown at first and second base, ending game one.
Game Two: Solon 12, Vinton-Shellsburg 0
Game two was a much different story as the Spartans never let off the gas right out of the gate.
Solon batters were hitting all over the diamond, never stopping to look back as they scored four in the first inning, one in the second, five in the third, and two in the fourth.
Tate Miller pitched an excellent shut out game and the rest of the defense followed suit, never allowing a run through five innings of ball, frustrating the Vikings players and crowd alike.
In the end, Solon seemed to barrel up the ball on nearly every pitch thrown by the Vikings, accounting for a total of 12 runs through a five inning run-rule victory.