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Mississippi 8 Conference favorite Becker took it to North Branch in the one game the Vikings got in last week between the junky weather.

North Branch squeezed the home game in on Tuesday, April 12 and they actually jumped out to the early lead with two runs in the bottom of the first inning. Nate Skiba had drawn a walk and Andrew Orf belted out a single. A wild pitch moved them both up before Reed Jacobsen stroked a single to score both runners against Becker’s starter Nolan Murphy.

But, those were the only baserunners Murphy would allow over the next five innings as the Bulldogs scored one in the second inning, three in the third and then one each all the way through the seventh to run away with the 8-2 lead.

North Branch had only three hits on the night as Jacobsen got another one against relief pitcher Hayden Harmoning.

Loghan Croal was saddled with the loss for North Branch, as he went two innings and gave up five runs on six hits and four walks.

The Vikings got an extended break because of the late week snow. They took on county rival Chisago Lakes on Tuesday, April 19 and will face Monticello and Grand Rapids at home this week.

For a full recap of those games, check out next week’s Chisago County Press.

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