Sports : Ervin\'s pitching leads Vikings to District win over Grinnell

Coach Jim Struve, catcher Aaron Henderson and the Vikings congratulate Daniel Ervin on his victory.

Aaron Henderson scored one of the Vikings' three runs vs. Grinnell.

Griffon Williams fields a bouncer hit to short.

Luke Moen squeezes the baseball as he records the final out in the Vikes' win over Grinnell.

Daniel Ervin on the mound; finishes the last month of his HS career with an ERA of around 1.

Senior Daniel Ervin pitched his second consecutive complete game, giving up just one run to the Grinnell Tigers, as the Vinton-Shellsburg Vikings extended their season and came one game closer to going to the State Tournament. The Vikings defeated Grinnell, 3-1 on Friday.

Playing on the Benton Community field -- where both district games and the Sub-State game are scheduled -- the Viking offense relied on small ball, getting batters on base and advancing them with bunts and sacrifice flies. Ervin kept the Tigers scoreless unitl there were two out in the seventh. Over his last six games, Ervin has pitched 38 2/3 innings and only given up seven earned runs.

Grant Sagan and Tayler Dinderman each recorded two hits and one run; Aaron Henderson, who plays catcher when Ervin pitches, had one hit and scored one run.

See complete stats HERE.

The Vikings play in the District final at 7 p.m. Monday.

The other two teams remaining in Substate 5 are Clear Creek-Amana and Wiliamsburg. The Vikings, throughout the course of the 2013 season, have won and lost games against all three teams.