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Pine City 9

North Branch 5

Back-to-back-to-back losses right before sections?

Doesn’t matter. According to the North Branch baseball team, what does matter is how they played in those losses.

Case in point, May 21 versus Pine City, a make-up game from earlier in the season.

The Vikings jumped in front in the top of the first thanks to a RBI single by Dominic Stahley. However, the Dragons used the second and third to take control of the game, scoring eight runs to grab a 8-1 lead.

Eight runs? Not good, but not bad either. The Vikings didn’t commit an error during that stretch. It was simply Pine City’s ability at the plate that made the difference. The Dragons brought their A-game. The Vikings can live with that.

“They hit the ball hard. They have been a good team all year,” said Troy Walker. “They’re a solid team. We didn’t play bad at all. Pine City was just the better team that game.”

That’s not to say the Vikings gave up. Down 8-1 in the fourth, North Branch rattled off three runs, highlighted by a Nick Aaland RBI double, trimming the deficit to 8-4. Matt Fletcher then followed that up with an RBI single in the fifth, making it 8-5. However, Pine City shut the Vikings down the rest of the way, winning 9-5.

“I really thought it was an okay game for us minus those two innings where they scored those eight runs,” remarked Walker. “We kept chipping away, but like I’ve told the guys all year, you can’t expect to chip away in the sixth and seventh and expect to win. We have to start earlier than that.”

Jake Anderson started the game and took the loss. Offensively, Patrick Ryan and Dominic Stahley each had two hits.

The loss snapped the Vikings two game winning streak, dropping their season record to 7-11.

Pine City 9, North Branch 5

R H E

North Branch 100 310 0 5 9 2

Pine City 053 001 X 9 9 2

Ryan 2-5, R

Aaland 1-3, RBI, 2 R

Warren 1-4

D. Stahley 2-4, RBI

Savage 1-4

Anderson 0-1, R

Ranger 2 BB

Gray 0-4

Meier 0-1

R. Stahley 1-2

Fletcher 1-2, RBI, R

LP: Anderson (4-6)

Aaland

5 IP

Centennial 15

North Branch 5

While the second and third meant the difference between a win and a loss against Pine City, last Tuesday against Centennial, the second and seventh hurt North Branch, leading to a 15-5 loss.

How influential was the second and seventh? Consider that the Cougars scored 14 of their 15 runs in those two innings and were outscored 5-1 the rest of the game.

“They had a couple of hits, then a walk, then a couple more hits,” remembered Walker. “No question, those two innings were the story in the game, but they were a solid team. They could really hit the ball.”

While Centennial scored in bursts, the Vikings were consistent, grabbing one run in the first, second, third, fifth, and seventh.

In the first, Nick Aaland smoked an RBI double, while Eddie Meier produced an RBI single in the second. The rest of the offense was provided by Dominic Stahley who had two RBI’s in the game on two hits.

“They were just a solid team. We started Matt Warren on the mound to try something different. It’s hard to play with him there because he’s so important in the field,” commented Walker. “We competed. Again, if you take away those two innings, were right there. I thought we played pretty well.”

Meier, Aaland, and Stahley each finished the game with two hits. As a team, the Vikings had seven. Meanwhile, Warren fell to 1-2 on the season with the loss.

Centennial 15, North Branch 5

R H E

Centennial 071 100 7 15 12 0

North Branch 111 101 0 5 7 1

Ryan 0-1, R

Aaland 2-3, RBI, R

Warren 0-3, R

D. Stahley 2-3

Savage 0-4

Ranger 0-2

R. Stahley 0-4

Anderson 0-1, R

Meier 2-3, RBI

Gray 1-2, R

Novak 0-2

Fletcher BB

LP: Warren (1-2)

St. Francis 2

North Branch 1

With two losses in a row under their belt, the Vikings coasted into their last game of the season against St. Francis last Thursday, hoping to play their best game of the year with sections right around the corner.

They responded by playing their second best game of the season, second only to their 7-1 win over Chisago. However, North Branch still lost, falling 2-1.

It was a pitching duel from beginning to end. Not only did the two teams combine for only three runs,but they also combined for just six hits. Only two came from the Vikings.

Led by the arm of Jake Anderson the two teams were scoreless through two before a force out allowed Marty Savage to score in the top of the third, giving the Vikings a 1-0 lead.

That’s when St. Francis charged back, scoring one in the third and one in the fourth to grab a 2-1 lead. That lead held up the rest of the way, giving North Branch their third consecutive loss. Still, there were more positives than negatives that Walker and company took away from the game.

“Jake was solid. He didn’t walk anyone, and when he and Nick Aaland don’t walk anybody, we’re always in games,” replied Walker. “Three losses in a row wasn’t what I wanted to see heading into sections, but it was a great game. We played probably our second best game of the season even though we lost. Everyone is very positive right now because we know what we can do.”

Despite seven strong innings of three-hit baseball, Anderson dropped to 4-7 on the season while the Vikings wrapped up their regular season schedule with a 7-13 record.

Up next, North Branch will face Grand Rapids in the first round of the section 7AAA north sub-section tournament. The top two teams in the north advance to the section tournament, meeting the top two teams from the south.

St. Francis 2, North Branch 1

R H E

North Branch 001 000 0 1 2 1

St. Francis 001 100 X 2 4 0

Ryan 0-3

Fletcher 0-3

Aaland 0-3

Warren 0-3

D. Stahley 1-3

Ranger 0-2

Gray 0-3

Savage 1-1, R

Meier 0-1

LP: Anderson (4-7)

6 IP, 4 H

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