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North Branch 21

Mora 0

The fact that North Branch defeated Mora on Monday, April 25 21-0 was impressive enough. The fact that they scored their 21 runs by collecting only six hits is mind-boggling.

Thanks to 26 walks surrendered by Mustang pitching, the Vikings enjoyed their most dominating offensive explosion in recent years, at least when it comes to runs scored.

The Vikings scored two in the first, two in the second, seven in the third and 10 runs in the fourth. The end result was a 21-0 win.

Things were so bad for Mora pitchers that the first five Vikings reached base in the first, all by walks. Tiffany Good and Maggie Johnson each picked up RBI’s in the inning.

It was more of the same in the second. This time four batters reached base in the inning, once again, all on walks. North Branch added two more runs to grab a 4-0 lead through two.

Meanwhile, Stephanie Saxe, the starting pitcher for North Branch, was right on all day. Saxe mowed down the Mustangs in order in the first and second, striking out four of the six batters she faced.

In the top of the third, pitching with a 4-0 lead, Saxe slowed down the Mustangs again, picking up two more strikeouts. Everything was going right.

And it continued to go that way. The Vikings offense blew the doors off in the bottom of the third with seven runs on just one hit. The first three baserunners gained a free pass via walk, setting up Danni Sonnenfeld who cleared the bases with a three run double. It was the Vikings first hit of the game. Leading 8-0 at that point, North Branch plated three more runs in the inning thanks to six more walks and no hits, increasing their lead to 11-0.

Leading big and looking for more, North Branch finished the Mustangs off with 10 more runs in the bottom of the fourth on five hits. Ashley Klein, Desiree Nelson and Maggie Johnson each picked up RBI’s on hits. In all, 16 batters came to the plate for the Vikings in the fourth and 13 reached.

Not that she had to, pitching with a 21 run lead, Saxe finished the game the same way she started by shutting the Mustangs down. Saxe gave up her first and only hit of the game in the fifth and struck out two more to complete the win. For the game, Saxe finished the game with 11 strikeouts, one walk and only one hit allowed.

Sonnenfeld and Johnson each finished the game with two hits apiece. Sonnenfeld led the team with four RBI’s. All nine Vikings in the line-up picked up at least one RBI in the game.

It marked the second win of the season for North Branch, putting them at 2-7 overall. The victory also improved the Vikings conference mark to 2-3.

North Branch 21

Mora 0 (5 innings)

R H

Mora 000 0 0 0 1

North Branch 227 0 10 21 6

North Branch

Saxe 0-2, 3 R, RBI

Sonnenfeld 2-2, 4 RBI, 5 R

Hoveland 0-3, RBI, R

Good 0-0, 2 RBI, 3 R

Johnson 2-2, 3 RBI, 2 R

Zentner 0-2, 2 RBI, 2 R

Klein 1-2, 3 RBI, 2 R

Nelson 1-3, 2 RBI, R

Peterson 0-0, 2 RBI, 2 R

WP: Saxe

5 IP, H, 11 K, BB

North Branch 10

Zimmerman 0

For the second straight game, the Vikings hit double digits in runs. For the second straight game, North Branch got an amazing performance from their pitcher. Most important, for a second straight game, the Vikings picked up a win.

Taking on Zimmerman last Thursday at home, North Branch used the bottom of the second to take control of the game for good by scoring seven runs.

After leaving the bases loaded in the first, the Vikings made sure history didn’t repeat itself. Helped by three walks, three singles and a double, North Branch got their runs. Dottie Graff opened up the scoring with an RBI single, followed by a two-run single by Megan Ranger and another RBI single by Heather Hoveland. Leading 4-0, the Vikings finished the inning with three more runs, highlighted by a Danni Sonnenfeld RBI double. The flurry of runs put North Branch in front for good.

Making sure the lead stayed in tact, Tiffany Good continued to throw bullets on the mound, holding Zimmerman to just four hits in the game. All four hits by the Thunder were singles. Good worked all five innings, striking out four batters and walking one.

In other words, North Branch had more than enough to put Zimmerman away.

And they did by scoring two more runs in the fourth and one in the fifth to complete a 10-0 win.

Batting in the fourth, Hoveland tripled and scored on a sacrifice, making the score 8-0. Gabi Olson then doubled in Maggie Johnson for the ninth run of the game.

The 10th and final run came in the bottom of the fifth thanks to a single by Ranger, scoring Desiree Nelson.

The Vikings finished with nine hits in the game, including two each by Graff, Ranger and Hoveland. Ranger added three RBI’s while Hoveland, Good, Sonnenfeld and Olson each picked up one RBI.

The victory improved the Vikings record to 3-7 overall. In addition, the win evened their mark in the Rum River Conference at 3-3.

North Branch 10

Zimmerman 0 (5 innings)

R H

Zimmerman 000 00 0 4

North Branch 070 21 10 9

North Branch

Saxe 0-3, R

Graff 2-2, R

Ranger 2-2, 3 RBI, R

Hoveland 2-2, RBI, 2 R

Good 0-2, RBI, R

Johnson 1-3, R

Sonnenfeld 1-2, RBI

Olson 1-3, RBI, R

Klein 0-2, R

Nelson 0-0, R

WP: Good

5 IP, 4 H, 4 K, BB

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