June 27, 2007 — For the second matchup in a row, the Mets sent a resounding message that they are the team to beat this year, knocking off the defending-champion Vikings 6-3.
Behind young lefty Ariel Gil, the Mets — the Raphael Jackson AA Baseball league’s hottest team — beat the Vikings in a time-shortened seven-inning game Monday night at the Paul E Joseph Stadium in Frederiksted.
After a quiet first inning, the Mets scored three runs in the bottom of the second after the Viking failed to score in the top of the inning. They scored three runs on RBI singles by Edwin Derweer and Ernecido Bon and a Viking error.
The Vikings would fail to score until the sixth inning, but the Mets had no such problems. They added an unearned run in the bottom of the third to lead 4-0 at the end of three complete innings.
Two more runs in the bottom of the fourth and the Mets had all the runs they would need to win the game. They scored two runs on a bases-loaded walk drawn by Derweer and an RBI single off the bat of Juan Isaac to lead 6-0 after four.
The Mets would not score again for the remainder of the game, but they had more than enough runs on the board for their pitchers.
The Vikings finally got to Gil in the top of the sixth, plating three runs to cut their deficit in half, but that would be as close as they would get. They scored three runs on RBI singles by Rodney Raphael and Colin King and a Mets error.
The Vikings then went quietly in the seventh to suffer their second defeat in as many tries to the surging Mets.
Gil picked up the win on the hill for the Mets, while Erraine Lynch got the loss for the Vikings. Top hitters for the Mets were Derweer, 3 for 3 with two RBIs, and Tony Cruz, 2 for 4. For the Vikings, Raphael went 2 for 4 with an RBI and Collin King was 1 for 3 with an RBI.
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