Stanton gets win over Clarinda Academy

STANTON—The Stanton Vikings picked up their first win of the season Friday night when they defeated Clarinda Academy 10-6, in Corner Conference baseball action.

Stanton jumped ahead early, scoring four runs in the first two innings and never looked back from there. Their highlight inning was in the fifth when they recorded four runs.

Greg Focht had a big game for the Vikings as he was 3-for-4 at the plate with his first home run of the season, as well as a double, two runs scored and three RBI.

Several other batters had two-hit games, including pitcher Jeff Marshall, who was 2-for-2 with three runs batted in. Andrew Cerven and Tyler Walter were the other batters to finish with two hits.

Marshall was credited with the win as he went 5 1/3 innings, giving up three earned runs on nine hits, while striking out nine Clarinda Academy players.

Last Tuesday, Stanton played their home opener against the Villisca Blue Jays, losing 13-10 in nine innings.

The difference in the game was Villisca scoring five runs in the top of the ninth inning to take a 13-8 lead. Stanton had scored seven runs in the bottom of the seventh inning, thanks to several bases loaded walks, as well as a couple of hits.

Stanton was able to get on base 14 times in the game, thanks to walks. The Vikings were able to score the seven runs, after the Blue Jays posted four in the previous half inning to take a 8-1 lead.

Cerven had a busy day at the late as he was 1-for-3 with two runs scored and two more batted in. Chris Hawkins and Cade Confer were both able to score runs for the Vikings. The game between both teams lasted several hours, not ending until after midnight.

Stanton will play three of their next four games on the road. It all starts Tuesday night when they travel to Malvern to play the East Mills Wolverines. Wednesday night, they’ll face Orient-Macksburg in Orient. Stanton is back in the conference Thursday night with a trip to Hamburg and an encounter with Nishnabotna. Finally on Friday night, Stanton plays Essex/South Page at home.