The Latta Vikings moved into the top spot in Region 8-A on Wednesday night as they defeated local and regional rival Lake View 4-2 in varsity baseball action.

The Wild Gators went three up, three down in the top of the first, but kept Latta off the scoreboard, despite a single from Cledus Williams and a walk for Daniel Khalil. In the second, Lake View struck out, ground out, and flew out to send the Vikings to bat, where Austin Miller hit a double. Caleb Mishue made a sacrifice bunt to advance Miller, and after McLeod Carmichael struck out for the second out, Brady Hatchell singled to score the runner. Eric McGirt followed with a double that helped bring Hatchell home for a 2-0 lead before Williams ground out.

In the third, Lake View’s Connor Anderson hit a double and advanced to third on a wild pitch, but a grounder and two outs ended the inning quickly for the Gators. In the bottom of the inning, Jackson Williams singled for Latta and stole second and third. John Kever Love struck out, and Williams was caught stealing home for out number two, with Dalton Lane striking out to end the inning.

In the top of the fourth, Carson Rogers reached on an error and stole second on an error, but Josh Price and Justin Elliott both flew out and Brent Herlong struck out to send the Vikings to bat. Latta opened the bottom of the inning with a double from Miller, who advanced on a sacrifice bunt from Carmichael. Hatchell singled to bring him home for a 3-0 lead before McGirt flew out to end the inning.

Lake View again went up and out quickly in the top of the fifth with Nick Collins and Luc Newell both flying out and Anderson striking out.With one out in the bottom of the inning, Jackson Williams singled and stole second, and Khalil drew a walk. Lane singled to advance the runners and Williams scored on an error. Miller struck out, and Mishue flew out to end the inning with a 4-0 lead and two runners stranded on base.

In the top of the sixth with one out, Lake View’s Weston Rogers drew a walk and stole second, and Carson Rogers reached on an error. Price struck out, but a single from Elliott helped bring in both runners to leave the Gators trailing 4-2 before Herlong struck out.

The Vikings led off the bottom of the sixth with singles from Carmichael, Hatchell, and McGirt to load the bases. Hatchell got caught out and Cledus Williams flew out, but Jackson Williams reached on wild pitch before Khalil ground out to end the inning.

In the top of the seventh, Love put away Collins and Newell, but Anderson reached on a single. But Love struck out De’Ante Bridgett for the third out to seal the win for the Vikings.

Love earned the win on the mound, pitching a complete game for three hits, two runs, one walk, and one wild pitch, striking out 12. Price took the loss for Lake View, pitching 4.1 innings and giving up nine hits, four runs, three earned runs, and two walks, striking out five. Carson Rogers pitched 1.2 innings for the Gators for two hits, one walk, and one out.

At bat for the Vikings, Brady Hatchell went 3-for-3 with two RBI and one run scored; Austin Miller went 2-for-3 for two doubles and two runs scored; Eric McGirt went 2-for-4 with a double and a stolen base; Jackson Williams went 2-for-3 with three stolen bases and one run scored; Dalton Lane went 1-for-3 with one RBI; Cledus Williams went 1-for-4; McLeod Carmichael went 1-for-2 and also made a sacrifice hit; John Kever Love reached on two walks; and Caleb Mishue made a sacrifice hit. The Vikings had 12 hits and three errors in the win.

At bat for the Gators, Connor Anderson went 2-for-3 with a double; Justin Elliott went 1-for-3 with two RBI; Weston Rogers reached on a walk and scored one run; and Carson Rogers reached on errors with a stolen base and one run scored. The Gators had three hits and two errors in the effort.

Latta improves to 8-4-2 overall and 5-0 in Region 8-A, while the Wild Gators are 17-5 overall and 6-1 in the region.

Lake View was scheduled to host Green Sea-Floyds on Friday night and will host Latta tonight at 5:30 p.m. Make plans to attend for some of the best baseball action in the state!

Photos by Betsy Barfield Bridgers. Click the images below to view at full size!