Northview had lost three straight at home, but on Thursday they dropped down to 7-7 to make it four. They fell just short of the Layton Lancers by a score of 6-5. The Vikings were given a dose of their own medicine in this game as the Lancers apparently hadn't forgotten their defeat the last time these teams played back in March of 2025.
Fernando Casas was huge while hitting and pitching even without the win. On the mound, he struck out seven batters over five innings while giving up just two earned runs off five hits. Casas was also solid in the batter's box, going 1-for-2 with one home run.
In other batting news, Bobby Granados made the most of his time in the batter's box despite the final result and got on base in all four of his plate appearances with two runs and two doubles. Jaime Gallardo was another key player, going 1-for-3 with one home run and two RBI.
As for Layton, the victory made it two in a row for them and bumps their season record up to 5-3. They've had to fight for that success though, as they only beat their opponents by an average of one runs across that stretch.
Like Northview, Layton also got a great game from a two-way player: Cruz Hinkle. He tossed 5.2 innings while giving up three earned runs off four hits. Hinkle was also big at the plate, going 2-for-3 with one double. Those two hits gave him a new career-high.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Nik Bielaczyc, who went 3-for-4 with three runs and two doubles. He has become a key player for Layton: the team is undefeated when he posts at least two runs, but 1-3 otherwise. Another player making a difference was Jowell Dasni, who went 1-for-4 with two RBI, one run, and one double.
Northview and Layton should be looking forward to their upcoming games as both have a sizable advantage in their respective state rankings. The Vikings (ranked 136th) will meet Covina (ranked 667th) at 3:30 p.m. on Wednesday. Meanwhile, Layton will challenge Capistrano Valley Christian at 3:30 p.m. on Friday with a big rank advantage (22 vs. 372).
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
