With both teams lying in the middle of the pack in the CCIW Conference, the Vikings will look to take the series against their rival Illinois Wesleyan to continue to climb up in the CCIW standings.
Everyone knows this is a crucial series for both teams and when talking to Junior Mike Powers about his team’s mindset going into the matchup, Powers and the rest of the Vikings were ready to go.
“We’re excited for the challenge. Wesleyan is a fun rival to play and we know the atmosphere is always electric when we get together. Our mindset has always been to just stay even-keeled and never ride the ups or downs. I think we’ll come out fired up and ready to go on Saturday,” Powers said.
When talking to Powers about what the Vikings were going to do in practice to prepare for Illinois Wesleyan, Powers had nothing but good things to say about his team’s preparation.
“We’ve been preparing hard in practice all week getting ready for the games. Everyone has things they can work on to get better, whether it’s taking care of their swing mechanics, pitching mechanics, playing solid defense, or just trying to stay healthy. This season has been a grind with the weather, but it hasn’t affected our guys at all. We show up every day at practice ready to work and get better,” Powers explained.
The Vikings know that Illinois Wesleyan will be a tough matchup and when talking to Sophomore Griffin Schuster about what the Vikings need to do in order to have success this weekend, Schuster kept it simple.
“In order to have success, we need to put the ball in play as much as we can. We want to put pressure on them to make plays. If we put the ball in play a lot today we have a good chance to win,” Schuster explained.
When talking to Schuster about what helps his team have success on the field, Schuster gives a lot of credit to the teams’ chemistry.
“We all have each other’s backs, and will always cheer each other on. I think team chemistry has been a major factor in our success this season,” Schuster said.
The Vikings will be back in action again next Wednesday as they take on North Central who is currently first in the CCIW Conference standings.

Photo above:  Chris Refka, sophomore, pitches the ball towards Illinois Wesleyan. Photo by Chelsea Meyer.