Team News

Playing to the short dimensions at Homewood-Flossmoor High School, the Southland Vikings overpowered the DuPage County Hounds in a decisive 19-8 win on Saturday afternoon.

The Vikings smashed five home runs against three Hounds pitchers, including two in a seven-run 7^th inning that stretched a 12-5 lead to 19-5. Stefano Belmonte and Chris Sujka did the most damage with three-run blasts in the 1^st and 5^th, respectively. Bobby Sheppard and Jerry Houston contributed two-run homers, while Mark Munizzi hit a solo shot to start the 7^th-inning rally.

Southland (9-8) added five doubles to the homers as part of the Vikings’ 16 hits over their eight chances at the plate.

DuPage County (16-5) broke a 15-inning scoreless streak in the top of the 1^st, as Connor Kopach laced a double off the wall to score Brian Lees. The Vikings responded to the 1-0 deficit with three runs in the bottom of the inning on Belmonte’s homer.

This Hydra-esque counter attack continued in the 2^nd (Vikings up 6-2), 4^th (Vikings up 9-4), and 5^th (Vikings up 12-5) innings as the Hounds could not maintain any semblance of momentum.

Alex Cain was pulled after allowing eight runs in three-plus innings, and Josh Davis had 10 runs charged to his record after three and a third frames. Nick Alfini surrendered the last run in the 7^th before pitching a scoreless 8^th.

The Hounds were not without offensive stars of their own. Clayton Johannes socked the team’s first home run of the season, a two-run shot off the left-field light tower, in the top of the 4^th.

Kopach finished the day 4-5 with a pair each of doubles, runs, and RBIs, as well as a stolen base. Drew LaComb added two doubles of his own, driving in a run and scoring another.

Richie Gorski doubled and drove in two runs. Emerson Misch added his own double, scored twice, and drove in a run on a sacrifice fly.

With the loss, DuPage County has now dropped three of four matchups with Southland in 2014. Their next chance against the Vikings is Wednesday night at 7:00 in Flossmoor.

The Hounds get the next two days off before heading back to Sugar Grove Tuesday to ring in July with the Chicago Zephyrs. That game starts at 5:30.