North Park opened up at home with a 16-2 drubbing of Dominican. The Vikings got strong pitching from Joel Bonnett and Carnell Blackmon, along with tight defense and some timely hitting.
The game got off to an ominous start, however, as Dominican’s Perry Strickland launched Bonnett’s first offering into the right-field bleachers. Bonnett settled down to allow only one more run on seven hits over seven frames. He was backed by some sparkling defensive play that featured four double plays.
The Viking offense was firing on all cylinders. Nick Marino led off the bottom of the first with a home run to right. Trevor Popp, Mike Domenick, and Andy Athans all drew walks. Ryan Javech lifted a sacrifice fly and Brian Staatz singled to put North Park up 3-1. Mike Sommerfield and Marino opened the second with consecutive singles, and the runners pulled off a double steal to plate a run. Domenick cracked a two-run homer to right center for a 6-1 lead, and Javech followed with a homer to right for a 7-1 advantage.
After the Stars scored one in the third, North Park answered with three more in the fourth on singles by Popp, Domenick, Athans, and Javech. They tacked on two more in the sixth on a run-scoring triple by Javech, who scored on an overthrow at third. The scoring was wrapped up in the seventh when Edwin Loza tripled and was along for the ride on Marino’s second home run. Carnell Blackmon worked two scoreless innings to close out the game, striking out two in his Viking debut.
Marino finished the game 3-for-6 with three RBIs, three runs scored, and two round-trippers. Javech continued his torrid hitting pace with a 3-for-3 effort and 5 RBIs, while Domenick scored a run in each of his five plate appearances. Popp, Domenick, Staatz, and Melecio chipped in with two hits apiece.
North Park (6-2) takes on Domincan in the second game of the doubleheader later this evening. |
