Viks baseball wraps up regular season, will face North Valley to open playoffs

May 19, 2023 — [EDITOR'S NOTE: The Vikings (15-9) found out Thursday evening that they will open the OSAA 3A Baseball State Championship tournament at North Valley (13-11). The Knights, of Grants Pass, are the 5th place team from the Far West League. The game will be Monday, May 22 at 4:30 p.m. The winner of the game between Siuslaw and North Valley will move on to face the #1 ranked team in 3A, Cascade Christian, on Wednesday, May 24.]

The Siuslaw baseball team wrapped up the 2023 regular season on May 15 with a non-league game against Cottage Grove. Though the Viks lost in extra innings 5-3, the team has hopes that their season will continue with announcement of the brackets for the OSAA 3A Baseball State Championships to be announced on Thursday, May 18, after press deadlines.

Siuslaw finished the season with a 15-9 overall record and 11-7 record in league play. Depending on the outcome of a doubleheader between Pleasant Hill and Creswell the Viks could end up in either third or fourth in the Mountain Valley standings. If they finish third, they ensure themselves a spot in the postseason. If they finish fourth they will have to wait to see if they are one of three at-large teams chosen for the playoffs.

The Viks finished the league season on May 12 with a home doubleheader against Pleasant Hill. They lost the first game 9-1 but bounced back for a 13-4 win in game two. 

According to Siuslaw Coach Tom Shinn the Viking’s found their groove in the second game of the night.

“The bats really woke up in the second game,” said Shinn. “Noah Dotson went 4 for 4 and drove in 3. Ian Sissel was stellar at the plate as well, going 2 for 2 with an RBI and scoring 3 times. He also stole 4 bases. Micah’s [Blankenship] bat was lively going 2 for 4 with a triple and pushing across 2 runs while scoring twice himself. Joel Sissel pitched very well in relief, striking out 7 and allowing only 1 hit.”

The Viks found out their postseason fate last night (Thursday) at 10 p.m. To find out if/when they will begin their playoff journey go to www.osaa.org/activities/bbl/brackets.