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Viking baseball team wins season-opener

Huntington North's Derek Snyder takes a cut at a pitch in the Vikings' season-opening baseball game against visiting Blackford on Tuesday, April 2. The Vikings won 5-2.
Huntington North's Derek Snyder takes a cut at a pitch in the Vikings' season-opening baseball game against visiting Blackford on Tuesday, April 2. The Vikings won 5-2. Photo by Steve Clark.

Junior Connor West pitched two-hit ball over four innings and struck out eight to help lead the Huntington North High School baseball team to a season-opening 5-2 win over visiting Blackford on Tuesday, April 2.

West didn't walk a batter in his outing and left with a 4-0 lead before Blackford reached reliever Kory Goodrich for two runs in the fifth inning. Austin Hale pitched hitless ball over the last two frames to get the save.

Braydin Stell had two hits and two runs batted in to lead the Vikings, and West and Devon Goelz also had two of the nine HNHS safeties.

The Vikings scored two runs in both the third and fourth innings and added an insurance tally in the fifth.

Goelz's one-out hit got HNHS started in the third, and Caleb Richison followed with a single of his own. Derek Snyder moved Goelz to third on a flyout, and came home to score as Richison stole second. Stell singled home Richison.

Andrew Broderick started the fourth with a walk and Thomas Parker pinch-ran. After Hale forced Parker at second, Matt Hogan singled and Goelz singled to load the bases. A two-out walk to Snyder brought in one run, and the second run scored when the Blackford shortstop bobbled Stell's grounder.

Goelz knocked in the Vikings' run in the fifth.