The Hounds defeated the Vikings 16-2 in a 6 inning slaughter today. The Hounds batsmen used a mix of aluminum and wood to knock out 17 hits, while walking 6 times, and reaching safely on 5 Viking errors. The Vikings were not sharp, as they had a total of 8 errors on the day.
On the other hand, Brian Hearns (#30, P) looked quite sharp on the hill on his way to his 3rd win of the 2017 campaign, pitching 5 solid innings, giving up 2 earned runs as the Hounds played error free baseball today. Hearns struck out 7 on the day, and only allowed 6 baserunners.
Keith Richardson (#17, LF/P) made a 1 game return to the Hounds after moving to Cleveland in the offseason. Richardson was flawless in left field, had a double, a stolen base, and scored a run, and closed the game with a 1-2-3 inning on the mound.
Matt Burch (#6, 1B) reached safely in all 5 plate appearances, with 3 singles, a walk, and he reached base on a strikeout/error–he also had an RBI. However, he used an aluminum bat. Kyle Hanson (#2, 2B) singled all 4 times with a wood bat, stole 3 bases, scored three runs, and had an RBI. Matthew Steffens (#5, SS) returned to the team after a 2-game vacation in Cape Cod and had a single, double, triple, and reached on an error (all with a wood bat). Steffens scored all 4 times and had 4 RsBI.
TJ Rinaldi (#1, CF) also tripled with a wood bat, and added a single and 2 walks. Tim Riggenbach (#8, RF) tripled, singled, reached by an error, and scored a run (aluminum Tim). Alex Garcia (no number, EH/LF) tried both wood and aluminum, but didn’t need either as he walked 3 times, stole 2 bases, and scored 3 runs. Nolan Bielinski (#4, C) singled twice, reached on an error, and scored 3 runs (all with wood). Brent Schoenbach (#7, 3B) used a wood bat, as did Tony Correa (#13, DH). Mitch Gauen (no number, DH) used aluminum.
The Hounds took the season series from the Vikings today (2-1), and look to sweep the Red Sox at their next game on Thursday July 6 at Winnemac at 5:50 pm. Hope to see you there, and have a great Fourth of July!