Baseball: Valparaiso gets offense rolling against South Central

Updated: April 9, 2012 9:08PM

VALPARAISO — Before Valparaiso begins Duneland play today against Merrillville, the Vikings got prepared by slugging away against South Central on Monday.

The 4:30 p.m. game started nearly a half hour behind schedule because the visiting Satellites arrived late. But the Vikings wasted little time sending them back home with a 14-4 victory.

Valparaiso’s Devon Bafia finished with four RBI and three hits; a home run shy of the cycle during the windy five-inning game. Junior Alex Bales allowed three hits and only got tagged with one earned run in his first start of the year.

“I’m real happy with our pitching staff right now,” head coach Dave Coyle said. “Alex threw very well. Stayed ahead of the batters and at times when he got in trouble, he threw strikes and let his fielders help him out and get him out of a couple of jams.”

By the looks of the joyous dugout afterwards, Valparaiso appeared ready for all comers in the DAC.

“We feel like we have something to prove,” Bales said.

The Vikings (4-1) scored in every inning, tying the score at 1-1 after the first. Then, after a leadoff walk to Renee Lozano, Bafia drove him home with a double to start the three-run second inning. In the third, with the bases loaded, Bafia hit a single that chased home Joe Gallinatti and Greg Thome. Besides the four team singles, Valparaiso hitters stayed patient to work three walks in the inning and score six more runs.

“I got a lot of confidence with our hitting, I think they feel real good at the plate,” Coyle said. “This has been a nice, little trial run for us. Conference starts (today) and obviously, I think it’s one of the best conferences in the state hands down. We’ll get a big measurement where we’re at.”

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