By CHARLES SPURLOCK
TopSports.news
The Seaman Viking baseball team opened the home portion of its 2026 season Tuesday with a doubleheader with United Kansas Conference foe Basehor-Linwood, winning 8-5 in Game 1 and dropping Game 2, 5-1.
The Vikings were able to jump out to an early 5-0 lead over the first two innings while only getting one hit. They were aided by four walks and three hit batsmen.
“It was nice to put up three in the first and two more in the second,'' Seaman coach Steve Bushnell said. "Their starting pitcher (junior Sam Porterfield) struggled with his control, but to come out early and get a lead with Axton Brewer (junior starting pitcher) on the hill, certainly allowed us to get comfortable and settle in.”
Following a couple of runs by the Bobcats in the top of the third inning to cut the lead to 5-2, the Vikings responded with a run in the bottom of the fourth.
Viking senior third baseman Cooper Hayes hit a fly ball over the left-fielder for a triple and came home to score on an error on the throw back to the infield from the left-fielder.
The Vikings tacked on two more runs in the bottom of the fifth inning to extend their lead to 8-2, thanks to another triple from junior Bryson Fehr and a single from senior Cole Rosenberger.
Bobcat senior first baseman Steven Zimbelman hit a two-run homer in the top of the seventh off of sophomore relief pitcher Michael Dobbs, who picked up the win.
Basehor-Linwood dominated the second game behind strong starting pitching from senior Steven Zimbelman, who struck out nine Vikings over the first five innings.
“Offensively, we didn’t have much going on and we weren’t much of a challenge at the plate,'' Bushnell said. "Defensively, we didn’t control the ball well, provided some extra outs and they took advantage of it.''
The Bobcats scored single runs in three of the first five innings, taking a 3-0 into the bottom of the fifth. With Zimbelman starting to tire, the Vikings were able to draw three walks along with a base hit, but were only able to muster across one run in the inning, making it 3-1.
The Bobcats finished the scoring with single runs in the sixth and seventh innings, wrapping up the 5-1 victory.
Bushnell described what Seaman, now 2-2, will be working on over the next week.
“We definitely need the practice time,'' he said. "It was good to open up early, but at the same time, it was kind of nerve-wracking because you feel like you’re not quite prepared.
"I shared with the guys that we didn’t play defense at a very high level. We provided too many extra outs and we didn’t play fundamental baseball. We need to own who we are right now and get better.”
Seaman will return to action next Tuesday with another doubleheader, hosting United Kansas Conference foe Turner Bears at 4 p.m.
Game 1
SEAMAN 8, BASEHOR-LINWOOD 5
Basehor-Linwood 002 001 2 — 5 5 0
Seaman 320 120 x — 8 6 1
Porterfield, Fizer (2) and Puderbaugh. Brewer, Dobbs (4) and Moe, Sextro (7). W — Dobbs. L — Porterfield. 3B — Seaman: Hayes, Fehr. HR — Basehor-Linwood: S. Zimbelman.
Game 2
BASEHOR-LINWOOD 5, SEAMAN 1
Basehor-Linwood (1-2) 110 101 1 — 5 9 1
Seaman (2-2) 000 010 0 — 1 6 2
S. Zimbelman, C. Zimbelman (6) and Puderbaugh. Hayes, Jessop (5), Cole Rosenberger (6) and Sextro. W — S. Zimbelman. L — Hayes. 2B — Basehor-Linwood: C. Zimbelman, Sharp.
