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With back-to-back games to close out the regular season, the North Branch baseball team took a little momentum into sections with them after winning the back-half of the two-game stretch.

On Tuesday, May 20, the Vikings suffered a big setback, dropping a 13-1 decision to rival Cambridge-Isanti.

But, North Branch followed that performance up with a 13-1 drubbing of their own over Pine City on Wednesday, May 21.

Cambridge-Isanti 13, North Branch 1

The former Rum River Conference rival schools that lie only 15 minutes apart on Highway 95 duked it out for bragging rights at North Branch's home field on Tuesday, May 20.

The Vikings came in as a heavy underdog, as C-I had amassed an 18-1 record and was ranked eighth in state. North Branch's Tony Dahlberg kept the Bluejackets locked down for the first three innings, allowing only one run to score. But, then the team unraveled, and C-I pounced on North Branch and struck in every inning after.

North Branch got their first and only run of the game when Dan Ginal took a Jacket pitch off the should, and was awarded first base. A fielders choice, wild pitch and sacrifice fly later, Ginal crossed the plate to chop the C-I lead to 5-1.

In the fifth though, C-I poured it on with three runs, then two in the sixth and three more in the seventh for the 13-1 win.

The defense didn't help Dahlberg on the day, as they committed five costly errors in the loss.

The four hits on the game for North Branch came off the bat of Casey Doten, who cranked out a double, Kyle Grote, Matt Bajor and Drew Lundquist. Matt Becklin picked up the lone RBI with the sacrifice fly.

"Intensity on and off the field, the will to win and confidence at the plate and fielding are all things we've had at different times in the season," said Head Coach Steve Christensen after the 13-1 loss. "We need that from the first to last pitch if we want to win in the playoffs."

North Branch 13, Pine City 1

The Vikings got a boost in spirit heading into the postseason with a big 13-1 win over Pine City on Wednesday, May 21.

The tables were turned from the Cambridge-Isanti game, and the Vikings shot out to an early lead.

With Ginal on the mound, and the offense stomping over the Dragons like a juggernaut, the Vikings were unstoppable.

"We got on base early, and we moved runners around the bases," Christensen said. "We were aggressive and at the same time, we were patient for strikes."

The Vikings led off with back-to-back four-run innings for a quick 8-0 lead. They kept chugging along in the next innings too, scoring two in the third and three in the fourth.

Pine City put up their first run in the fourth inning, and since they couldn't chop the lead down to under 10 in the top of the fifth inning, the game was called due to the 10-run rule.

North Branch's offense came out with guns blazing in this game, with eight Vikes getting at least one hit. The charge was led by a flawless performance from Drew Lundquist at the plate, who went 4-for-4 with two runs.

Ginal and Dan Schoess were both 2-for-3 with two runs, and Ginal added two RBIs to his season total.

Dahlberg went 1-for-1 with a bases-clearing double for three RBIs.

Other Vikings gathering hits were Joe Johnson, who was 1-for-1 with one RBI, Becklin, who was 1-for-2 with two runs and two RBIs, Bajor and Grote.

Ginal went five innings, allowing only three hits and one run. He struck out 11 of the 18 batters that he faced in a masterful playoff-like performance.

"Any wins at the end of the season contribute to an upswing," Christensen noted of the team's late-season throttling of Pine City. "We've had experience playing in close ball games and winning close ball games, so we should be ready for the playoffs."

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