North Park spotted Benedictine an early 3-0 lead, came back with six runs of their own and held on for a 6-5 victory Wednesday afternoon at the Holmgren Athletic Complex.
The Eagles came out swinging against Viking starter Kenny Blanchard. Matthew Higgs led off with a triple to straightaway center; Justin Kovalsky singled him in and later scored on a double by Brandon Villanueva for a quick 2-0 lead. A run-scoring double by Ryan Mullin put the Vikings in a 3-0 hole going into the bottom of the third.
The North Park offense finally got on track against Benedictine's Ryan Rickert. Zak Worsley singled, stole second and scored on a base hit by Eric Sousanes. After Sousanes swiped second, he raced all the way around to score when a Tommy Endres' groundball was misplayed. The Vikings tied the game in the fourth when Mike Coduto walked, stole second, and rode home on a double by Mario Creecy. They took the lead with three runs in the fifth: Sousanes was hit by a pitch, stole second, took third on a wild pitch, and scored on Endres' sacrifice fly. Joe Belmonte then singled and Brett Bernal doubled, and both came in on a double by Coduto.
In the fifth, Blanchard made way for reliever Alex Vannucci, who worked out of a bases-loaded jam in fifth and stranded two more in the sixth. After giving up an unearned run in the seventh but taking advantage of a double play, Vannucci turned the ball over to Merrick McGrady, who fanned the first batter he faced to end the threat. Two errors and a groundout brought the Eagles to within a run in the eighth, but McGrady eluded further damage with a groundout to end the eighth and another in the ninth to end the game.
Vannucci (1-0) picked up his first career victory with 2 2/3 innings of three-hit relief while McGrady earned his first save of the year after 2 1/3 innings of one-hit work. Coduto was a perfect 3-for-3 at the plate with two doubles and two RBIs. Belmonte was the only other Viking with multiple hits, finishing 2-for-5. North Park was particularly aggressive on the base paths with eight stolen bases and 61 on the season.