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Chisago Lakes 4,

North Branch 3 (8 innings)

The snow pushed the season opener back a day, but it was worth it as fans were treated to an extra-inning game full of good pitching, timely offense and great defensive plays. With the Wildcats leading 3-2, the Vikings tied the game with a rally in the bottom of the seventh. But the Wildcats came right back to score a run in the top of the eighth to beat the Vikings 4-3 Friday, April 20 at North Branch.

The Vikings' Chris Becklin was hit by a pitch from Bob LeVasseur to lead off the bottom of the seventh. Ben Meemken sacrificed him to second. Becklin advanced to third on Mark Johnson's grounder. With two outs, LeVasseur got the count to 1-2 and the Vikings were down to their last strike. LeVasseur's next pitch sailed low and far outside, going all the way to the backstop. Becklin scored easily to tie the game. Olson struck out to end the inning.

The Vikings got two quick outs in the top of the eighth. Second baseman Mike Welle drilled a single to left and Andrew Verhey came in to run for him. On the second pitch to Eric Reed, Verhey took off for second attempting to steal. The catcher's throw sailed into right center field. Verhey never broke stride, rounded third and beat the throw home to put the Wildcats up 4-3.

In the bottom of the eighth, with the heart of the Viking batting order coming up, the Wildcats shifted their outfielders and infielders way to the left. Dahlberg hit a long fly ball to right center. Wildcat right fielder Tom Fitzer was right there to catch it for the first out. Then, on a 1-1 count, DJ Charley hit the hardest ball of the game toward the right center field gap. But the shift worked again, as Fitzer didn't have to move and caught the ball for the second out. Dan Ginal then hit a ball into short left center that looked like it was going to drop in and keep the inning alive for the Vikings. But Wildcat center fielder David Willhite raced in, dove and snared the ball to end the game and give the Wildcats a 4-3 win.

The Wildcats got on the board early. With one out in the top of the first, Fitzer bunted for a hit. Adam Gemuenden then drilled a single to right. The ball got by the right fielder. Fitzer scored and Gemuenden moved to third. Gemuenden scored on Jeff Hollister's double to left center to make it 2-0 Wildcats. Mike Welle then hit a ball over the infield into short right center that looked like it was going to drop for a hit. Viking left fielder DJ Charley made a nice diving catch and Ginal struck out Eric Reed to end the rally.

The Vikings got on the board in the second. JT Lindholm singled to lead off the inning. Kirk Dahle forced Lindholm with a fielder's choice. Becklin then doubled to the wall in left to score Dahle and close the gap to 2-1.

The Wildcats added another run in the fourth. Jeff Hollister led off the inning with a single, stole second and scored on Dan Kaiser's single to make it 3-1.

Kaiser struck out the side in the fifth, but the Vikings got their second run with a two-out rally in the sixth. Charley and Ginal walked, and Lindholm singled to right to drive Charley in and make the score 3-2. That set the stage for late game heroics by both the Vikings and the Wildcats.

Both Ginal and Kaiser pitched well. Ginal pitched all eight innings for the Vikings and kept the Vikings in the game after they fell behind early.

"Before the season," said Wildcat head coach Pat Collins, "I asked the players what special skills they would bring to the team. Andrew Verhey mentioned his speed and we certainly saw that today. Adam (Gemuenden) had a nice rip in the first inning today, and David (Willhite) made a nice catch in center to end the game. Our first five hitters did what they were supposed to do, getting seven of our nine hits. And after going 1-7 in one-run games last year, it's nice to start off the season with a one-run victory against our biggest rival."

North Branch 010 001 1 0-3

Chisago Lakes 200 100 0 1-4

Battery: CL Kaiser, LeVasseur (6) and Reed; NB Ginal and Lindholm

CHISAGO LAKES BATTING

AB R H RBI

LeVasseur, ss, p 4 0 1 0

Fitzer, rf 4 1 2 0

Gemuenden, 1b 4 1 1 0

Hollister, 3b 3 1 2 1

Welle, 2b 4 0 1 0

Verhey, pr 0 1 0 0

Reed, c 4 0 0 0

Kaiser, p 3 0 1 0

Slagle, ss 0 0 0 0

R. Rivard, lf 2 0 0 0

Willhite, cf 3 0 1 0

2B-Hollister (1); SB-Hollister (1), R. Rivard (1), Willhite (1), Verhey (1)

NORTH BRANCH BATTING

AB R H RBI

Johnson, lf 4 0 0 0

Olson, 3b 4 0 0 0

Dahlberg, ss 4 0 2 0

Charley, rf 3 1 1 0

Ginal, p 2 0 0 0

Lindholm, c 3 0 2 1

Dahle, dh 3 0 0 0

Bajor, 2b 0 0 0 0

Becklin, 1b 2 0 1 1

Johnson, pr 0 1 0 0

Meemken, cf 2 0 0 0

2B-Dahlberg (1), Becklin (1), Charley (1)

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