The South Tahoe baseball team recently wrapped up play at the annual Lions Tournament held in San Diego, April 10 through 12, going 1-2 overall.

In its three games, the Vikings were matched against Foothills Christian Knights, of El Cajon; the Hoover Cardinals, of San Diego; and the Placer Hillmen, of Auburn. The final scores were a 12-9 loss, a 9-4 win and a 13-6 loss, respectively.

Game one was a battle the whole time, with each team swapping the lead every other inning. By the top of the third inning, South Tahoe had three runs on the board and had held Foothills Christian’s bats to nil —but Foothills was finally able to make contact with Viking’s pitcher Christopher Pfister and tie the game at 3-3 in the bottom of the third inning.

South Tahoe quickly answered back in the fourth inning, putting up three runs to make it a 6-3 game, but like clockwork, the game was tied yet again by the bottom of the fourth. The Vikings did manage to leave Foothills scoreless in the fifth inning with a little help from relief pitcher sophomore Kevin Lehmann—leaving the Vikings with a 9-6 lead. Foothills was on the Viking’s heels yet again to tie the game.

Having the game tied at 9-9 in the top of the seventh, South Tahoe was unable to add any more runs, opening the door for Foothills’ offense, who brought three men home to close the game at 9-12. Coach Starbuck Teevan said it was a tough loss for the team and it came down to walks and errors playing a large role in them not being able to sustain a lead.

After a day’s rest, the Vikings came back more determined in game two against Hoover. South Tahoe had their bats cranked up quickly, putting together a 6-0 lead by the second inning. Sophomore Cameron Johnson helped the Vikings offense, going 1-for-3, with a double for two RBIs. Senior Tristan Deatherage had a hit for two RBIs and senior Ben Bushrow had a hit for an RBI.

Senior Garrett Harley helped lead South Tahoe’s defense with one of his best games of the season. Harley left the game in the fifth inning with a 1.4 ERA. Teevan remarked that Harley was able to focus and control the strike zone much more efficiently that he has all season. He recorded five strikeouts in the game and was relieved by sophomore Auston Burdick. Teevan said that the pitching plus making fewer mistakes defensively helped the team come away with the win.

Things were looking promising for the Vikings in the final game, having a 6-2 lead all the way to the fourth inning. Seniors Caleb Bray and Alex Aguirre both singled for an RBI each in the game.

South Tahoe lost steam after their second inning rally of six runs and couldn’t get their bats back in action. Placer finally broke the tie in the fifth inning and ultimately shut the door on South Tahoe with an additional four runs in the sixth inning to finish the game at 13-6. South Tahoe will next play at Lowry High for a three-game series finishing on April 15.