Sports : Vikings lose two at Indee; many experience field turf for first time

Out at the plate: Mustang catcher Luke House tags Viking Blake Bohnsack Friday in Independence.

Out at the plate: Mustang catcher Luke House tags Viking Blake Bohnsack Friday in Independence.

The Vinton-Shellsburg Viking baseball team lost two games on the new field turf at Independence on Friday. An 8-inning 2-1 Mustang win preceded a 3-1 victory for Independence, which was honoring its five seniors.

While Viking infielders say the new turf was a bit faster, the base runners were the ones who noticed the difference.

“You slide a lot farther,” said Blake Bohnsack, who came in a couple times as a pitch runner, and advanced from first to third in Game 1 before being thrown out at the plate on an attempted double-steal play.

“It looks like they are sliding on linoleum,” said one VS parent.

The Vikings (22-15) wrap up regular-season action on Monday at Oelwein and Tuesday vs. Waverly-Shell Rock. They host Benton Friday, July 15, at 7 p.m. in the District opener.

See the VS stat page HERE.

See more photos HERE.