Mike Vukovcan The Hopewell Vikings baseball team opened their 2025 season but unfortunately, things didn’t go entirely as planned.
The Vikings pitchers performed as expected but the bats were held silent by Shenango pitcher Joey Campoli, as Hopewell fell 2-1 at Chuck Tanner Field.
Hopewell softball and youth baseball is sponsored by Lisa McCoy, your neighborhood State Farm agent.
The left-handed pitched a complete game, allowing only 3 hits, 4 walks and 8 strikeouts.
Senior David Medich got the start for Hopewell and almost matched Campoli’s outing. Medich went 5 innings, allowing only 2 hits, 1 run, 3 walks, while striking out 9 strikeouts.
Offensively for Hopewell, junior Kingston Krotec went 2-4 with an RBI while Ben McDonald came off the bench and provided a pinch hit double. McDonald didn’t start because of an undisclosed lower body injury.
Medich pitched an efficient 1st inning as he needed only 13 pitches while striking out 2 batters.
Shenango struck first in the second inning as the leadoff batter reached on a hit by pitch. Then with 1 out, the next batter walked followed by an RBI single. Shenango led 1-0.
In the Hopewell top of the 3rd, Collin Davis led off and reached on an error. Davis was sacrificed to second but was stranded there.
Shenango threatened in the bottom of the 3rd as they loaded the bases with 2 outs but Medich escaped by coming up with a strikeout to get out of the jam.
The 4th inning was uneventful for both teams as Hopewell was retired 1-2-3 and Medich recorded 2 more punch outs.
Same thing in the 5th inning as Medich retired Shenango 1-2-3 by getting a groundout to Davis at second, Medich fielded a ground ball at the mound and 1st baseman Brody McCullough caught a pop up at first.
Krotec led off the 6th inning with a single, which was Hopewell’s first hit of the game. Charlie Smetana followed that by drawing a walk so Hopewell had 2 on with 0 out.
After 1 out, a wild pitch moved runners to 2nd and 3rd, which was followed by Drew Donovan drawing a walk. Hopewell had the bases loaded with 1 out but couldn’t plate a run. Shenango continued to lead 1-0.
Shenango extended their lead to 2-0 courtesy a 2-out RBI double.
Hopewell threatened in the final inning but eventually came up short.
McDonald led off the 7th inning with a double and then with scored on a 2-out single by Krotec but that’s all the Vikings offense could come up with.
Hopewell (0-1) is next in action on Tuesday at home as they host Riverside.
