MOUNT BERRY, Ga. - The Vikings opened up their season with a doubleheader at home against the LaGrange Panthers under first-year Viking head coach, Meredith Mills, who led Berry to the first two victories of her Berry career, 3-0 and 12-4.
Before the Vikings took the field, Berry College President, Dr. Steve Briggs threw the first pitch to open up the season.
Game One (3-0):
Hannah Gore claimed the first win of the season and held LaGrange in check on the scoreboard, allowing zero runs in her first action of the 2024-2025 campaign.
The action started out slow, as both pitchers were able to get the best of their opposing batters in the first two innings of the game, allowing only two total hits.
The action picked up in the third inning as the Vikings' bats began to heat up. Singles from Bradynn Belcher and Brooke Thompson opened up the floodgates for the Berry offense. A double from Ava Fouts resulted in Belcher just nearly being tagged out at the home plate. That did not stop the inevitable though, as Paige Bennet blasted a ball to right center and bought Brooke Thompson home for the first Viking run of the year.
Later in the inning, Latifa Madesko stepped up to the plate with fire in her eyes and crushed a ball to left field that resulted in Paige Bennett and Ava Fouts scoring to give Berry a 3-0 lead, as the third inning came to a close.
Once Gore was ahead, she did not look back. Hannah held the Panthers to just two hits in the final four innings to seal the Vikings' first victory of the season.
Game Two (12-4):
Berry took their momentum into the second game, this time with Ava Fouts in the pitching circle. After allowing a runner on due to an error, the Vikings responded with poise, as Fouts struck a Panther out and then relied on her field. Her field orchestrated a double-play, as Katie Parker tagged third base and sent a laser to first to complete the double-play.
The bottom of the first inning began in a big way, as Paige Bennett doubled to left center to get things in motion for the Viking offense. On the next at-bat, Madesko brought Bennett to home plate with a single to left field. Later in the inning, Madesko would score to extend the lead to 2-0 at the end of the 1st inning.
After another scoreless inning from the Panthers, the Vikings capitalized as freshman Kensi Ody scored the first run of her career after singling to center and being bought in by Madesko.
Fouts finally gave the Panthers an inch as they would score in the top of the third to give themselves life heading down the stretch of the game. With no plans to allow the Panthers back into it, the Vikings drove in Katie Parker and Elly Bennett, courtesy of two RBIs from Erica Bennett, making the score 5-1 at the end of the third inning.
In the fourth inning, LaGrange got the best of the Vikings, as they mustered up three runs to make the score 5-4, after the Vikings failed to get anything going in the bottom of the fourth.
That outburst from the Panthers awakened the beast within the Viking hitters in the bottom of the fifth. The Vikings slammed the door shut on LaGrange, pouring in a total of 7 runs to close out the game in style and earn their second win of the year, 12-4.
Catch the Vikings in action again on Sunday February 16 at Maryville College for a doubleheader at 2 PM and 4PM ET.
