CLARKSVILLE, TN (CLARKSVILLE NOW) – The Northwest Vikings traveled to Cheatham County High School on Tuesday night for a spring break matchup with the Cubs. The Vikings used a consistent offensive approach and solid defense to earn a 12-3 victory, which marks their first win of the season.
The Vikings recorded seven runs in the first three innings, but it was due to nothing flashy. They consistently worked the count to be walked when they needed to and found gaps in the defense to slowly build their lead.
“We did a lot of things well, with a lot of things to clean up,” Vikings head coach Chris Benne told Clarksville Now. “We’re trying to get into our approaches and play the game the right way. We were able to not hurt ourselves defensively. There wasn’t anybody that particularly stuck out, and that’s not a bad thing when you’re doing the routine things the right way.”
The Vikings’ offense went quiet in the fourth and fifth innings, but thankfully, Northwest pitcher Lucas Parker was dealing throughout his outing.
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Parker had a no-hitter going through the sixth inning and finished the night with only two hits and nine strikeouts in 6.1 innings of work. The strong pitching performance, paired with a few insurance runs in the back half of the game, secured the Vikings their first win of the year, and one Benne hopes to build off of.
“Lucas just competes with all his pitches, he’s a really good player, and he’s grown up a lot as a pitcher the past few years,” said Benne. “Our record wasn’t great (entering the contest), but we challenged ourselves with great competition. I told the guys before the game that we might be the best 0-8 team in the state. Playing games over the break is crucial for us. Being able to find a way to win, mature, and grow up, and continue to find that throughout the year, I think if we do that, we will be just fine.”
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