On Friday, May 1, 2026, the Vikings baseball team secured the win against the Arlington Eagles to place second in WESCO behind the Glacier Peak Grizzlies. The Vikings showed an impressive outing with both offensive and defensive standouts this season.
Pitching in the final game was monumental, with senior Emmitt Linehan on the mound. Going into the determining game, Linehan was looking to stay in the zone and throw three pitches for the out. Linehan threw six and one-third innings, striking out five and allowing one hit with zero earned runs. Linehan stayed committed to working ahead in counts, facing little to no challenges. When problems arose, he stuck to his plan.
“Attack with fastball, trying to get up in the count so I can take control of the at-bat,” Linehan said.
Offensively, the Vikings racked up 14 hits with eight RBIs. Junior Blake Moser and sophomore Jacob Heston secured a multi-hit game. Moser went three for four with two runners batted in and scored twice. In the previous game versus Arlington, Moser hit a walk-off single, giving him an extra ounce of confidence. Not trying to do too much, Moser was looking for contact.
“Find that fastball in the middle of the zone because I knew with their pitcher I was going to get it, and I could hit it down in the zone and stay up the middle. Go for singles,” Moser said.
Similarly, Heston was seeing the ball well and was getting the fastball early in the count. Heston went two for four with two singles and an RBI.
“We’re getting into playoffs, and we’re getting hot at the right time,” Heston said.
Over the regular season, Lake Stevens collected 156 hits and scored 145 times. If they can keep this up, they will have a long postseason run.
Looking forward, the team will need a lot of commitment, which starts at practice and the boys’ willingness to work as a whole. The team’s leadership has taken many different forms, from captains to players stepping up on the field. Lake’s pitching rotation, defensive backup and the offensive performance give high hopes for what the team has in store.
The Vikings lost their first playoff game on Saturday, May 9, 2026, vs. Skyline 5-1. Now Lake will play on Thursday, May 14, 2026, vs. Jackson High School at Funko Field at 7 p.m.
