Vinton County outlasts Waverly 6-3 in 12 innings

Vinton County needed 12 innings, two clutch hits and one defensive break to shake Waverly and leave with a 6-3 nonconference win that pushed the Vikings to 9-8 overall. The game stayed tied 3-3 from the seventh inning until Chase Elliott finally broke it with a single that brought David Northam home.

The Vikings had built an early edge by scoring twice in the first inning and once in the second, but Waverly answered with runs in the first and sixth before tying the game in the seventh. From there, the contest turned into a test of patience and pitching, with neither side able to separate until extra innings. Waverly finished 11-10.

Northam was at the center of the breakthrough all afternoon, finishing with three hits and two RBI. Jase Moore also delivered at the plate, going 3-for-6 with an RBI, and he later became the deciding pitcher. After Elliott’s run-scoring single in the 12th, Garrett Martin singled to drive in Donovan Holcomb, and Elliott scored again when Waverly committed an error, turning a one-run lead into the final margin.

Wyatt Channell gave Vinton County a chance to win long before the 12th inning arrived. He struck out 12 batters over nine innings and did not factor into the decision, but his work kept the Vikings in position through the late stalemate. Moore then took over in the 10th and finished the job, holding Waverly scoreless over the final three innings while allowing just one hit.

The result fit a Vinton County team that was finding ways to survive close games and cash in when the opening came. The Vikings were scheduled to host Adena on Monday, May 12, and followed this one with another extra-inning win, beating the Warriors 7-6 in 10 innings. Against Waverly, the combination of Channell’s strikeouts, Moore’s relief work and timely hitting from Northam, Elliott and Martin turned a tight road game into a momentum-building victory.