Posted: 5/20/04
The North Branch softball squad is still looking for its first win in May after suffering three losses last week.
The squad fell 11-1 to St. Michael-Albertville May 11, was downed 8-3 by Princeton May 14 and started this week with a tough 3-2 loss to Milaca.
In the loss to STMA, the Vikes took a 1-0 lead in the third. Senior Dottie Graff was hit by a pitch, stole second and scored on a double from freshman Megan Ranger.
Errors and walks proved costly as the Vikings gave up 5 runs in the third. The Knights added 1 in the fourth and 5 more in the fifth for the 11-1 win.
Senior Shannon OíHern pitched in the loss, giving up 6 hits and striking out 1.
Freshman Maggie Johnson was 2 for 2 in the game. Ranger had a double and an RBI.
The Vikes tallied 7 errors in the loss to Princeton. The Tigers capitalized with 1 run in the first, 2 in the second, 1 in the third, 3 in the fifth and 1 in the seventh.
North Branchís 3 runs came in the seventh inning. On one out, senior Abby Fairbanks singled, senior Kassie Hoppe reached on an error, senior Katie Paulson walked and Graff doubled to score 2 runs. Ranger singled in another run before 2 more outs ended the Vikesí scoring run.
Graff and Ranger each had 2 hits on the day. OíHern pitched 5 innings in the loss, striking out 3.
Head Coach Larry Brodin said the Vikes played an excellent defensive game against the Wolves Monday, despite a 3-2 loss.
With the score at 0-0, Milaca scored 3 runs in the fifth on 3 hits and an error. North Branch battled back in the inning to score 2, coming on singles from Paulson and Graff and 3 hit batters. The inning ended with the bases loaded.
Graff had 2 hits to lead the Viking offense. ìThey played a pretty solid game against one of the top conference teams,î Brodin said. ìWe had chances but needed a big hit to get some runs to cross the plate.î
This week, the Vikes faced Chisago Lakes Thursday, May 20 to end the regular season. Subsection play begins May 27 for the squad.
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