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The season has started rocky for the North Branch softball team. The Vikings faced 5 opponents in the opening week of play and came away with 5 losses.
North Branch opened the season April 12 against Princeton, falling 15-5 in five innings.
Junior Dottie Graff started the game with a lead-off single for the Vikes. She advanced on a single from senior Abby Fairbanks and scored on an error.
Senior Shannon OíHern doubled to score Fairbanks. Megan Ranger singled to send OíHern home and give North Branch an early 3-0 lead.
The Tigers answered with a run on a walk and an error in the first and another on a single and two walks in the second to cut the lead to 3-2 after two innings.
Maggie Johnson singled to start things off for the Vikes in the third and came around to score on consecutive singles from senior Katie Paulson and Ranger. Paulson then scored on a single from Destiny Croes.
North Branch watched a 5-2 lead vanish in the bottom of the third as Princeton racked up 11 runs. North Branch had 4 errors in the inning.
The Tigers added 2 more runs in the fifth on 2 hits to win by the 10-run rule, 15-5.
Senior Anna Johnson pitched 2 and one-third innings for the loss. OíHern and Johnson shared the pitching duties for the rest of the game. The three combined to give up 11 hits while striking out 8.
Graff was 3 for 3 with 3 singles in the game and Ranger was 2 for 2.
ìWe were playing well and did have 10 hits in the game,î Head Coach Larry Brodin said. ìBut we had too many errors in the field and more mental mistakes that made it worse.î
Big Lake 9 North Branch 1
The Vikes went on to face Big Lake April 13, coming away with a 9-1 loss.
The Hornets took a 2-0 lead after one inning before both teams locked into a pitcherís duel. OíHern shut down the Big Lake batters in order through the second and third innings and kept the Hornets from scoring in the fourth.
Trailing 2-0, North Branch put its lone run on the board in the fifth. OíHern started the inning with a single and advanced on a wild pitch. Croes delivered a two out single to score OíHern. Croes advanced to third on a single from Laura Hubbards but was stranded there.
Big Lake sealed the win with 7 runs in the sixth inning, coming off 6 hits, 1 walk and 2 errors.
The Vikes struggled at the plate, coming up with only 2 hits ñ singles from OíHern and Croes, while striking out 18 times.
OíHern pitched a strong game for the loss, allowing 10 hits and striking out 5.
ìWe played much better and we are improving,î Brodin said.
STMA 11 North Branch 0
On April 15, the Vikes were shut out in the home opener to St. Michael-Albertville by an 11-0 score.
St. Michael took an early 2-0 lead in the first and never looked back, adding 7 in the third and 2 more in the fourth.
North Branch made several scoring threats but were unable to advance runners home.The Vikes had 4 hits in the game, coming from Croes, Maggie Johnson, OíHern and Ranger.
Anna Johnson took the loss, pitching 3 innings. She gave up 5 earned runs on 8 hits, walked 1 and struck out 1. Maggie Johnson pitched the final 2 innings, giving up 1 run on 3 hits.
ìWe are still struggling to get consistency in the field and we need to find some players who can come through in the clutch at the plate,î Brodin said.
Virginia 4 North Branch 0
The Vikes hosted Virginia and Proctor in Saturday afternoon games April 17 and were left still searching for win No. 1.
Against Virginia, both teams were held scoreless until Virginia brought in 1 run in the third. The team capped off the win with 3 more runs in the seventh, coming on 3 Vikings errors and 1 hit.
North Branchís best opportunity to score came in the fourth inning, as OíHern, Ranger and Paulson singled to load the bases.
The Vikes also had runners in scoring position in the third, fifth and sixth innings.
ìWe had a chance to win this one, if we had hit like we had in some of our other games,î Brodin said. ìWe just need to figure out how to pick one up and then maybe it will get us going.î
OíHern pitched the loss, giving up 7 hits while striking out 3 and walking 4.
The Vikes had 8 hits in the game. Graff was 2 for 4 and Ranger was 2 for 3 including a double.
Proctor 12 North Branch 1
After a 1-2-3 inning for Proctor in the first, the Vikes scored as Graff opened with a single, stole second and scored on a ground out from OíHern.
The 1-0 lead lasted only until the next inning as Proctor came up with 2 runs. The Rails added 5 in the third, 2 in the fourth and 3 in the fifth for the 12-1 win in five innings.
North Branch had 4 hits in the game, coming from Graff, Maggie Johnson, Ranger and Kassy Hoppe.
Maggie Johnson pitched the first 4 innings for North Branch, striking out 4 and walking 5 while giving up 7 hits. Anna Johnson pitched the final inning.
At 0-5, the Vikings will look for their first win as they face Rum River Conference foe Chisago Lakes Thursday, April 22 at home. On Saturday, April 24, the squad hosts Hermantown and Cloquet.
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