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After winning four of their last five contests, including their last two straight, the Hounds turned around and lost out on a slugfest to the Southland Vikings on Thursday night. What looked to be an early blowout, the Vikings jumped out to an 8-0 lead after three innings of play. The Hounds however never let the early deficit get them down as they chipped away at the lead all throughout the game. DuPage had tightened the gap after the fifth where the score stood at 9-6. Unfortunately, that deficit was about as close as they’d come in the ballgame as they ultimately dropped the ballgame by a score of 10-8.

 

Dane Toppel continues to be one of the elite lead off men in the MCL as he started off the top of the Hounds lineup by reaching base three times in his five trips on two walks and single. The Hounds offensive MVP on the day was Matt Bottcher who slugged three singles in his five trips while also driving in three runs.

 

Joe Engel continues to solidify the middle of the Hounds order as he went two for four with two singles out of the three spot. He also reached base a third time via the base on balls. Despite not recording a hit, Ryan Krob drove in two runs on the day while in cleanup duty. 

 

Tyler Tesmond kept his RBI streak alive after going one for four at the plate with a one-run base knock. He also reached based a second time after drawing a walk. Mike Roberson reached base twice in his five trips on a walk and an absolute blast of a homerun that came in the form of a solo shot. Finally, Zach Girard continues to do an excellent job of turning the DuPage lineup over as he reached base twice in his four attempts on a walk and base hit out of the nine hole.

 

Hounds starter, Cole Berry fell victim to the hot Southland bats early on in the contest as the Vikings chased Cole out of the ballgame after just three innings in which he surrendered eight runs (five earned) on eight hits while striking out two. Bryan Bund helped limit the bleeding in his one and two thirds innings of work in which he allowed just one run on two hits while striking out three. The Hounds star of the day came in the form of Ben Simpson who allowed no runs on just one hit while striking out three in his three and one thirds innings. Finally, the Vikings grabbed a crucial insurance run off Austin Lukaschewski in the ninth after he surrendered four hits while striking out one. 

 

The Hounds next ballgame is Friday, July 1st at 7:20pm at Oil City Stadium against the NWI Oilmen. Thank you for your continued support of the DuPage Hounds and we look forward to seeing you all soon!