After falling behind 1-0, the Vikings ripped off six unanswered runs, and backed by a dominant performance from Kade Neuenschwander never looked back in a 9-2 win over the New Mexico Thunderbirds to open the Regional V Tournament.
Neuenschwander was dominant from the games first pitch; getting two strikeouts and a routine fly ball out to end the first inning. 
New Mexico struck first in the second inning, scoring on a Viking error to jump ahead 1-0, but the lead was short lived.
Jacob Lang led off the inning with a single, and Sloan Barrett moved him to second on another single. Walker Polk tied the game with an RBI double to center, while Tyler Brodrick and Brandon Seidmeyer each hit a sacrifice fly to put Grayson up 3-1. 
Neuenschwander faced the minimum number of Thunderbirds in the third and fourth innings, while the offense continued to produce. 
Barrett connected on a one out single in the fifth inning, stole second and came around to score on an RBI single from Brodrick to extend the Viking lead to 4-1. 
New Mexico loaded the bases with one out in the fifth, but Neuenschwander induced an infield popup, and struck out the final batter to leave the bases loaded. 
In the top of the sixth, Mason Ruiz was hit by a pitch, and Blake McCarthy hit a no doubt home run to left to push the lead to 6-1. 
The Thunderbirds came back with a run in their half of the sixth, but the Vikings answered right back with an RBI single from Lang to score McCarthy, who reached on a one out single. Cylan Madden hit a sharp single, and he scored on a passed ball later in the inning. Polk drove in another run with a single to give the Vikings a commanding 9-2 lead. 
Chase Davis and Beau Beaty combined for three innings of shutout baseball, giving up just one hit to send the Vikings to the second round, as they seek a Region V Title and a trip to Colorado for the World Series. 
Five different Vikings (Barrett, Polk, Brodrick, McCarthy and Lang) finished with multi-hit games. Polk had three hits to lead the team. McCarthy, Polk and Brodrick each drove in a pair of runs. 
Neuenschwander threw six innings giving up just one earned run, and striking out six. 

Next up for the Vikings will be a showdown with regular season champion Weatherford. First pitch is set for 4 pm Saturday, May 11 from Bosque River Ballpark in Waco.