A five-run second inning propelled Niles to a 7-3 win over visiting South Bend St. Joe Thursday.

The win snapped a three-game losing streak for the Vikings, who are now 9-3 on the year.

“This takes a little bit of the sting out of the last five days,” Niles coach Mike Vota said. “This was a good win for us. It was a good win because we responded against a pretty good pitcher (James Whiteman). I think we would have struggled against him if we hadn’t faced the competition that we faced the other day. Our guys are prepared for that level now.”

After a scoreless first inning, Chris Frantz got Niles going with a leadoff triple. Wyatt Thornton hit a ball to the St. Joe’s Matthew Porter who decided to try to cut down Frantz at the plate.

His throw alluded Indians’ catcher Tyler Kleva allowing Frantz to score the game’s first run.

Back-to-back walks to Cody Thornton and Bryce Lake loaded the bases for Cody Glick, who singled to centerfield to score both Thornton and Lake as the Vikings’ lead increased to 3-0.

Following a strikeout, Drew Huffman doubled to score both Cody Thornton and Glick.

St. Joe was finally able to stop the bleeding with a ground out and a strikeout to end the inning.

“We came out a little flat,” St. Joe coach John Gumpf said. “And when you come out flat against a great program like Niles, they’re going to flat out beat you and that’s what they did. Hopefully, we’ll learn from this.”

The Vikings added two runs in the fifth inning on a run-scoring triple by Cody Thornton and sacrifice fly by Lake.

The Indians (7-2) averted the shutout with a three-run sixth inning.

St. Joe used two Niles errors, a double by Daniel Torres and singles by Wesley Short and Matthew Potter to score its runs.

Frantz went the first six innings, allowing three runs on six hits with three strikeouts to pick up the victory. Huffman worked the final inning to earn the save.

James Whiteman went four and a third innings, allowing seven runs on six hits and took the loss. Ryan Fraser worked the final inning and two-thirds of scoreless baseball.

The Vikings finished with six hits, including two by Huffman, who also drove in two runs. Wyatt Thornton and Glick both finished with pair of RBIs.

 

NILES 7, S.B. ST. JOE 3

St. Joe              000     003     0– 3 6 1

Niles                050     020     x – 7 6 2

Chris Frantz (W), Drew Huffman (7, S); James Whiteman (L), Ryan Fraser (5)

2B: Danny Torres (SJ), Huffman (N)

3B: Wyatt Thornton (N), Frantz (N)

Varsity records: St. Joe 7-2, Niles 9-3