The Vienna baseball team utilitzed a two-pronged attack Tuesday: The Eagles showed they could score runs with hardly any hits, and once they got the game in hand, they broke out the sticks for a big inning.
Vienna scored six runs in the first six innings with just five hits, then put together four hits in a five-run seventh to win 11-1 at Calvary Lutheran.
"I thought we started off a little sluggish, but as the game progressed, it seemed like we started playing a lot better," Vienna coach Tyler Shalbot said. "We got some big hits late in the game."
In the top of the first, Vienna scored without the benefit of a hit. With two outs, Parker Hayes walked, stole second and scored when the Calvary right fielder dropped a fly ball that would have been the final out.
The Lions tied it in the bottom of the frame with their lone run of the contest. Beau Monson and Colin Bernskoetter started the game with back-to-back singles, then moved up on a groundout. After another out, Monson scored when the Vienna second baseman misplayed what would have ended the inning.
Then in the third, the Eagles went up 2-1 when Dakota Hollis reached on a bunt single, stole second, went to third on a groundout and came home on a balk.
To that point, Vienna had twice as many runs as hits.
"It's one of those frustrating games you just have to work through and then forget," Calvary coach Rusty Bourg said.
The Eagles scored two more runs in the fourth to go up 4-1. Austin Wieberg ripped an RBI double to plate the first run, and he later scored on an error.
Hayes did most of the work to help Vienna make it 5-1 in the fifth. He got hit by a pitch, stole second, moved to third on a wild pitch and then came home on an RBI single by Wieberg, who ended up with two hits and two RBI.
"(Wieberg) squared the ball up and did a nice job for us, he really got us going early," Shalbot said.
Vienna manufactured another run in the sixth. Pinch-hitter Jacob Howard doubled, went to third on a groundout by Dalton Backues and scored on another groundout, that one by Hollis.
Vienna blew the game open in the seventh, with Hollis' two-run single being the biggest of the four hits in that frame. He went 2-for-3 with three RBI in the contest. Hayes added an RBI single in the stanza.
The Eagles also utilized one error, one hit batter, one wild pitch and three stolen bases in that inning. Vienna swiped eight bases in the victory.
"I think that puts us around 90 stolen bases on the year," Shalbot said. "We try to steal bases whenever we can. We've got some athletic, fast kids and we usually try to do it until someone throws us out, and then we back off a bit."
Bourg said the Eagles' speed was tough to handle.
"They get somebody on, and he's automatically on second," he said. "Plus when Hance (Sommerer) is pitching, that takes away our best catcher."
That was plenty of support for Braeden Patton, who threw a complete-game four-hitter and faced just one more than the minimum during the final six innings. He struck out seven and did not walk a batter.
"He's very efficient - he's only walked a handful for the year," Shalbot said. "He's pretty good as long as we make plays behind him. He's solid, he throws the bottom half of the zone and gets a lot of ground-ball outs.
Sommerer took the loss, working the first 61/3 innings. He gave up nine runs (seven earned) on seven hits while walking two and striking out six.
Jordan Duenckel got the final two outs for Calvary, giving up two earned runs on three hits and one walk.
Vienna improved to 11-5, while Calvary dropped to 6-5.
"We're still near that .500 level, which we were shooting for," Bourg said. "I would obviously like to win more than that. But I said before the spring that after losing some key players, if we could finish .500, I'd be really happy. Right now, we're there."
Calvary returns to action at 5 p.m. Thursday at Jamestown.