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The North Branch baseball squad earned a pair of wins last week over Rum River Conference opponents, gaining momentum going into the final week of the regular season.
The Vikings pummeled Foley in an 11-2 win May 18 and earned a 7-1 win May 20 against Chisago Lakes.
Senior Patrick Ryan set the tone of the game against the Falcons. He led off the top of the first with a homerun to give the Vikes a 1-0 lead.
After sophomore Marty Savage reached on an error and senior Jake Anderson singled, senior Joe Ranger knocked in 3 runs with a homerun in the second inning. Ryan followed it with a triple and scored on a double from senior Nick Aaland for a 5-0 Vikings lead.
The squad added 3 more in the third on a double from Ryan, singled from Anderson and walks to Savage and sophomore Dan Gray.
Foley answered with 1 run in the third for an 8-1 Vikings lead after three innings.
The Vikes added 1 in the fifth before the Falcons added their second run in the inning. North Branch sealed the win with 2 runs in the seventh.
Ryan was 3 for 3 including a homerun. Aaland pitched the complete game for the win and was also 3 for 4 at the plate. Anderson was 2 for 3 with 2 RBI.
The Vikes downed Chisago Lakes 7-1 last Thursday. Anderson pitched the complete game for the win, striking out 2.
North Branch started quickly again, with 2 runs in the first on a homerun from Warren and singles from Aaland and Savage.
The Wildcats made it a 2-1 game with a run in the bottom of the inning before the Vikes added 2 more in the second on another homerun from Warren.
The North Branch defense held Chisago scoreless through the rest of the game, as the Vikes added 2 in the fifth and 1 in the seventh.
Warren tallied 2 homeruns, 3 RBI and 2 sacrifice bunts in the win. Aaland was 2 for 4 including a triple and RBI. North Branch had no errors in the game.
The Vikes played Centennial Tuesday and round out the rgular season on the road Thursday, May 27 against St. Francis. Subsection quarterfinals start Tuesday, June 1 for the Vikings.
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