By Rick Peterson
TopSports.news
After struggling offensively in a 2-1 nine-inning, second-game loss to Lansing on Tuesday, Seaman's baseball team struggled to get runs home again early in Friday's home non-league game against Tonganoxie.
But the Vikings came to life just in time, rallying from a 3-0 deficit to take a 5-3 win over the Chieftains.
Seaman junior Holden Finley (4) hit the tie-breaking home run in the sixth inning as the Vikings rallied to take a 5-3 non-league win over Tonganoxie Friday at Seaman. [File photo/TSN]
The come-from-behind win could loom large for 11-2 Seaman, a perennial Class 5A contender, which is fighting for a top postseason seed in 5A.
"I think it was big just because of coming off a loss, you want to get that taste out of your mouth,'' Seaman coach Trent Oliva said. "They have a big weekend as high school kids -- it's our prom weekend -- so that's another thing as a coach you worry about them getting focused on the wrong things and being in the right spot and I think this kind of showed us a little bit of toughness on their part, just being able to get plugged back in to do those things to be able to mark in the fourth, fifth and six innings.''
Tonganoxie, the 4A state runner-up last season, took advantage of a brisk wind to score their three runs on a pair of home runs -- a two-run shot by Brock Gibbs in the top of the second and a solo round-tripper from Brendan Briley in the fourth.
Seaman, which stranded 11 baserunners, finally got on the board in the bottom the fourth, however, with the Vikings taking advantage of a costly Tonganoxie error with two outs to push two runs across.
Viking sophomore catcher David Dobbs was hit by a pitch to reach first and pinch-runner Bryer Finley came around to score while senior Gabe Hernandez doubled and scored.
Seaman tied the game at 3-3 in the fifth, with junior Kaiden Griffin doubling and scoring on a groundout, and the Vikings took the lead in the bottom of the sixth when junior Holden Finley led off the inning with a solo home run.
The Vikings added an insurance run later in the inning, with sophomore Max Huston reaching on a single and scoring on a passed ball.
B. Finley came on in relief of senior starting pitcher Kiernan Meredith in the fifth and shut out the 7-5 Chieftains over the final three innings to pick up the win.
"Bryer's come in and done a great job on the mound,'' Oliva said. "He's had some opportunities here and there and so far he's doing everything we've asked him to do on the field.
"And Kiernan did a nice job, too. They were able to hit a few balls that were able to sneak over the fence, and no fault of his own, it was just one of those things that happens, and he did a nice job of keeping them at three.''
The Vikings will return to United Kansas Conference play next Friday, traveling to De Soto for a league showdown.
SEAMAN 5, TONGANOXIE 3
Tonanoxie 020 100 0 -- 3 5 1
Seaman 000 212 x -- 5 10 0
McGraw, Crowley (5) and Wake. Meredith, B. Finley (5) and Dobbs. W -- B. Finley. L -- Crowley. 2B -- Tonganoxie: Plake. Seaman: H. Finley, Hernandez, Griffin. HR -- Tonganoxie: Gibbs, Briley. Seaman: H. Finley.
