Vikings hand Cherryvale 18-run defeat

“It was a close loss to Fort Scott when we played a great game on Tuesday. So we were ready for Cherryvale coming into today,” Parsons head coach Josh Robertson said. “We hadn’t seen them before and we came out and made some plays.”

Henry Keal got the win on the bump for Parsons, pitching two no-hit innings.

“Henry Keal pitched great and we loved to see that,” Robertson said. “We want to see him more on the mound.” 

Tra Mack also blasted a home run in the game for the Vikings.

Cherryvale plated three runs in the bottom of the third.

“You saw in the third inning, we put together some good at-bats and scored three runs,” Cherryvale head coach John said. “That’s what matters. You’ve got to compete.”

The win improved Parsons’ record to 4-4 on the season. Six of Parsons’ eight games have ended by the run-rule — three wins and three losses.

“We talked about being on one side of the spectrum or the other,” Robertson said. “We’ve got to have closer ballgames and stay locked in. We have to play good baseball. We’re starting to see better pitching and we’re minimizing errors. And we’re starting to gel more.” 

Cherryvale dropped to 1-5 with the loss.

“We’ve had our ups and downs,” John said. “We’ve just got to get our confidence up. When you’re not filling up the strike zone, your defense gets tired of standing there. We’ve got to make sure we’re working quicker on the mound.” 

Up Next

Parsons has three games next week — at St. Mary’s Colgan on Monday before hosting Chanute and Coffeyville on Tuesday and Thursday, respectively.

“We’ve been keeping up with Colgan in the CNC and we know what that league is like,” Robertson said. “We’ve got to keep minimizing our errors. And we can’t sleep on anybody in the SEK League. Our goal is to go 3-0 and win the week.” 

As for Cherryvale, it travels to Fredonia on Tuesday.

“We’re going to be competitive with them,” John said. “In our first seven, eight games, we’ve played a tough schedule. That’s by design. Some of these young kids have never had failure before. It’s good for them. Now we need to build their confidence back up.” 

Parsons 21, Cherryvale 3

Parsons: 1371 — 21

Cherryvale: 003 — 3

Notes

Parsons: H. Keal 1 H, 1 R; T. Phillips 2 H, 1 RBI; L. Fugate 3 R; B. Boss 1 H, 3 R; B. Myers 1 h, 3 R, 2 RBI; J. Shaw 1 R; L. Wheat 1 H, 2 R, 2 RBI; J. Kendrick 2 R, 4 RBI; M. West 1 H, 2 R, 1 RBI; C. Manners 1 RBI; M. Ramsey 2 R, 1 RBI; T. Mack 1 H, 2 R, 3 RBI; H. Keal (W) 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 3 K; W. Elliott 1 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 1 ER, 3 K

Cherryvale: J. Knight 1 H, 1 R, 1 RBI; C. Ellis 1 H, 1 R, 1 RBI; P. Modich 1 H, 1 RBI; T. Grimm 1 R; E. Schierlman (L) 0.1 IP, 2 H, 7 R, 6 ER, 4 BB; E. Umbarger 0.1 IP, 1 H, 6 R, 3 ER, 5 BB; L. Umbarger 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R; B. Raida 1.1 IP, 5 H, 8 R, 0 ER