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North Branch 4

St. Michael-Albertville 3

The Vikings certainly enjoyed returning to North Branch as pinch runner Eric Frich scored on a wild pitch in the bottom of the sixth inning and the Vikings held on for a 4-3 victory over the St. Michael-Albertville Knights Tuesday, May 10, at Albertville. And starting pitcher Matt Warren did it all for the Vikings, pitching a complete game and hitting a three run homer in the victory.

The Knights scored one run in the first inning to take the early lead. The Vikings came back to score three runs in the third as Justin Novak singled and Marty Savage reached on an error. Warren then strode to the plate and provided a three-run blast to give the Vikings a two-run lead.

The Knights tied it up in the top of the fifth as they started the inning with a single and a walk. A sacrifice bunt moved both runners and they both scored on a base hit to knot the score at three runs apiece. The Vikings answered in the top of the sixth. Delaney walked, and Frich pinch-ran for him. Frich moved to second base on a wild pitch. Frich moved up to third when Ed Meier reached on an error and scored on a wild pitch. Warren held the Knights scoreless in the bottom of the seventh as the Vikings won 4-3.

“We were able to take advantage of a couple of fielding errors,” said coach Schlagel. “And Matt’s homerun was huge. But we are still putting ourselves in a tough position because of our errors. Luckily, we have been able to get the win because of making the play when we absolutely need it.”

The Vikings have a busy schedule here at the end of the baseball season, with five games between Tuesday, May 17 and Monday, May 23.

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