SOUTH LAKE TAHOE — The South Tahoe softball team played on its home field for the first time in 2015 last Friday — and celebrated the occasion with an emphatic win. The Vikings beat Truckee 13-2 in five innings to open a three-game set against the Wolverines.

South Tahoe trailed early in Friday’s contest, and broke it open with a big second inning. The Vikings scored eight runs in the bottom of the second to take an 8-1 lead, including seven runs as part of a two-out rally.

After drawing a pair of walks to lead off the inning, a bunt from third baseman Sativa Chambers scored first baseman Brooke Erdody and made it 1-1. Four batters later, the Vikings took a 2-1 lead on an RBI single from second baseman Drue Chapman.

In the next at-bat, sophomore Kendra Conard gave South Tahoe control of the game. With the bases loaded, Conard launched a 1-0 pitch over the center field fence for a grand slam that made it 6-1 — the Vikings added two more runs before the end of a frame that saw 12 batters come up to the plate.

In the bottom of the third, South Tahoe scored four runs on three hits to open up a 12-1 lead. The Vikings’ bottom of the third featured run-scoring singles from Bailey Barcellos, Conard and catcher Haley Crowson.

Truckee made it a 10-run game in the top of the fourth, but South Tahoe answered with a Barcellos RBI single to make it 13-2. In the top of the fifth, Conard ended the game by escaping a bases-loaded jam — she struck out Truckee pinch hitter Evelyn Pena to enact the 10-run rule and secure the win.

Conard starred for South Tahoe in the circle and at the plate in Friday’s win. She went 2-for-3 with a team-high five RBIs and two runs, and pitched a complete game — in five innings, she allowed two runs on five hits while striking out 10 and walking one.

Chapman led the Vikings with three hits in Friday’s game, finishing 3-for-4 with an RBI and two runs. Barcellos and Chambers each had two hits, two RBIs and a run and Crowson finished with a hit, RBI and run — center fielder Nina Barnhart and pinch hitter Sam Kallas added an RBI apiece.

After winning their home opener Friday, South Tahoe couldn’t keep the momentum rolling into Saturday’s doubleheader. The Vikings suffered a pair of defeats to the Wolverines, falling 3-2 in the opener and 12-5 in the series finale.

In the first game of the doubleheader, the Vikings lost a defensive struggle 3-2. South Tahoe opened the scoring with a run in the bottom of the first, but Truckee went in front with a run in the second, third and fifth innings — STHS scored a run in the bottom of the sixth, but its comeback attempt eventually fell short.

In the second game of the twinbill, Truckee (2-6-1, 2-4 I-A Northern) captured the series with a 12-5 win over the Vikings. The Wolverines broke open a one-run game by scoring six in the top of the fifth — and South Tahoe (2-7) couldn’t recover on the way to a second straight loss.

South Tahoe returned to action Tuesday when it hosted Dayton. The Vikings travel to Lowry for a three-game series beginning Friday — the first game starts at 3 p.m. with the first pitch for Saturday’s doubleheader scheduled for 11 a.m.