Posted: 4/18/07
Boys winless during first week of play
 Senior DJ Charley waits for a pitch during a game against Cloquet April 14 in North Branch. |
By Steve Morris
The Viking boys came up empty handed in the first three games of the season and caved to Chisago Lakes, Hermantown and Cloquet.
Versus the Wildcats, the Vikes lost a hard-fought battle that lasted eight innings. The Wildcat's experience proved to pay dividends down the stretch as they pulled off the 4-3 win.
Danny Ginal got the starting job for the Vikes and picked up his first loss along the way. He went eight innings, striking out four and giving up four earned runs.
Head coach Steve Christenson said Chisago Lakes has a tough team.
"Ginal pitched well," he said. "We just couldn't provide the offense needed to counteract our mistakes."
Tony Dahlberg, DJ Charley and Chris Becklin all hit doubles in the loss.
On April 14 the boys hosted a double-header, where they met up with Cloquet and Hermantown.
Versus Cloquet, Kirk Dahle was the starter on the mound.
The Lumberjacks did their damage in the fifth inning, as they scored four runs and pulled away from the Vikes.
Third baseman Jeff Olson had a solid outing defensively, fielding several balls that went his way.
Dahlberg, Mark Johnson and Ginal went 2-4 at the plate.
Not helping the Vikings cause was the three defensive errors they committed. In the end, North Branch was dealt a 4-8 loss.
In their final game of the week, the Vikes lost to the Hermantown Hawks, also by the score of 4-8.
Getting his first start of the year was Tony Dahlberg.
"Tony didn't pitch that bad against Hermantown, they are a tough hitting team," Christenson said. "He just left a couple of balls up in the zone that got hit."
Comment from Elaine Ginal, 4/24/07
Why do our boys have to play baseball without a scoreboard? I have inquired but no one seems to be able to answer my question properly. I would think that our school would want to have a working scoreboard for our team. Can anyone from the school answer my question?
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