By By ERIKA PICKLES / Niles Daily Star
NILES - East Lansing was the competition for the Niles baseball team Saturday afternoon, where the Vikings split a non-conference doubleheader.
Niles won the first game 3-0, but fell in the second 5-2.
In game one, Josh Beers claimed the win on the mound for the Vikes. Beers had eight strikeouts, six walks and allowed just three hits.
Niles scored its runs late in the game, scoring two in the fifth inning and one in the sixth.
Top hitters were Drew Donohue and Alex Welch with two singles each and Rick Storm and Tim Hardy both added a double.
For East Lansing, Eric Artman had a double.
In game two, East Lansing took an early lead, scoring one run in the second inning and two runs in the third to take a 3-0 lead.
Niles scored one run in the fourth, but East Lansing added another run in the fifth to keep it out of reach. Both teams scored one run in the final inning of the game.
Jeff Jurgonski suffered the loss at the mound for Niles. Jurgonski had three strikeouts and allowed one walk and five hits.
D.J. Wolnik also pitched for the Vikings, throwing two strikeouts and allowing one walk and three hits.
Top hitters were Welch with a triple and Storm with a double.
For East Lansing, Jesse Knight, Andy Welburn and Alex Schmidt all had one double each.
The Vikes will travel to Battle Creek Lakeview on Tuesday for a doubleheader.
Junior varsity
Niles' junior varsity baseball team picked up two wins against East Lansing Saturday.
The Vikes grabbed 6-3 and 8-7 wins.
Top hitters on the day were Andrew Brawley with a single and a double, Nick Hartman had three singles, a double and two RBIs, Billy Siderits had a single and one RBI and Sean Gordon had a home run, two singles and two RBIs.
Mike Simpson and David Ralston both took wins at the mound. Taylor Robson also pitched for the Vikings.