Orlando FL (VCSU) – Valley City State University baseball triumphed with a 8-4 win against Cornerstone University on Monday, March 9. The Vikings improve to 10-8 overall and 4-3 during their trip to the RussMatt Invitational. Cornerstone is 4-12 to start the season with all their games to the point played in the RussMatt Invitational.
 
VCSU jumped on the board immediately in the bottom of the first inning when Hunter Logan led off with a double and later scored on a sacrifice fly by Alexis Velasco. Cody Wielgosh would also score on another sacrifice fly delivered by Kaden Rozdeba, giving the Vikings a quick 2–0 advantage after one inning.
 
Cornerstone answered with a run in the top of the second, but Valley City State quickly responded with a big inning in the bottom of the second to extend its lead. Nick Senn singled, followed by a Diesel Goya walked, Logan delivered a two-run single to score both runners. Logan later came home on a passed ball following a walk by Wielgosh, pushing the Vikings’ lead to 5–1.
 
The Vikings continued to add insurance runs in the middle innings. In the fourth, Alexis Velasco singled and eventually scored on an RBI single by Hudson Ford to make it 6–1. VCSU tacked on two more runs in the fifth as Anthony Madsen tripled and scored on Logan’s RBI single. Alexis Velasco drove in Logan with another base hit. By the end of the inning, the Vikings had built an 8–1 cushion.
 
Cornerstone went on to score three runs in the eighth inning on an RBI triple, a wild pitch, and a solo home run. However, the Vikings’ bullpen closed out the game in the ninth to secure the 8–4 win.
 
VCSU’s Hunter Logan let the Vikings hit 3/4 with three RBI’s, three runs, and earning one walk. Anthony Madsen was 3/4 with one run on the day. Grady Shipman led Viking pitchers going five innings with eight strikeouts yielding only one run and three hits. Shipman improves to 3-0 on the season. Jackson Penner, Tyler Sanderson, and Easton Francis made appearances at the mound in relief to close out Cornerstone.
 
Cornerstone’s Bobby Kelly went three innings with four strikeouts but was ultimately credited the loss moving to 0-2 on the season.
 
UP NEXT: The Vikings will face Lawrence Tech on Wednesday, March 11 at 9:00 a.m.