REDWOOD CITY -- The Vikings poured on 16 runs from the third through the fifth innings, taking advantage of an already hot offensive week in a takedown of Cañada College. The Vikings (13-5) took the games' first lead and, after scoring in the third inning, never looked back in a 17-2 takedown of the Colts.
On the road for the second time in their last three games, the Vikings jumped out to an early lead when designated hitter Parker Kristall singled to left, stole a pair of bases and came home on a sacrifice fly from David Estrada. Even though the Vikings have had some moderate success over the last couple of weeks, it's the first time they took the games' first lead since February 20 in a loss to Cosumnes River.
West Valley gave up the lead from there, however, as the Cañada (7-11) shortstop Patrick Sanchez led off with a single up the middle and came home to score on a double from second baseman Junior Malan. After a walk put runners on first and second with nobody out, Tre LaGrone III settled in, striking out the next three batters. It was evident from LaGrone's first strikeout that he got a confidence boost, picking up some sizzle on his fastball while finding more snap on his breaking pitches and generally picking up some intensity.
After the teams traded zeroes in the second inning, it seemed that Cañada starter Ethan Tondag was picking up steam as well, setting down the side in order while striking out Viking shortstop Bobby Hill. To his credit, LaGrone matched with a scoreless frame of his own in the bottom half. Tondag, the Colts' ace, had gone at least 4.2 innings in each of his starts while throwing seven shutout innings against a very good Santa Rosa squad. But the Viking bats exploded in the third inning. Kenji Colston led off by banging a ball off the fencing in left and came home to score two batters later when Joey Damelio singled him home. The Vikings' biggest swing of the inning came from Kristall, who mashed a ball over the 370-foot marker in left-center for his team-leading seventh home run of the season.
The Vikings then scored six runs in each of their next two flames without any one huge swing of the bat, instead scoring by taking advantage of Colts walks and hit batters. Hill hustled out a single to bring home a run in the fourth and Max Ghiglieri followed with one of his own to bring home another run. In the fifth, Damelio tripled off the wall in right and Kristall was hit again before Estrada brought home both with a double. The rise has continued for Estrada, now rocking a season-best five-game hitting streak in which he's hitting .533 with four doubles and 13 RBI.
Hunter Olson has established himself as a strong option at the back of the Vikings' bullpen, a streak that lengthened against the Colts. He tossed three innings of one-run ball, striking out a career-high six batters while walking only one. He's only allowed earned runs in two of his six appearances out of the bullpen this season, going deeper into ballgames the deeper his season goes. Behind him, Colin Melrose finished the game with two scoreless innings of his own, making his team-high eighth appearance while pitching for the fourth time over the last five games. Over his last four, Melrose has totaled 6.2 innings while allowing just five hits and striking out four.
Next on hand for the Vikings is another tough task: at home, but taking on No. 28 San Mateo which just took down No. 3 Ohlone in walk-off fashion. First pitch for the Vikings is at 2:00 PM.