Above: Daniel Lunde, a senior, had a great game against the Thunder Bay Lakers on May 7. Lunde made his first start as a pitcher and gave the Vikings a stellar performance on the mound. Here, Lunde cracks a key single in the third inning that helpedtheteamtoa9runinning. TheVikingswonthefirst game of the double header 15-4. Right: Kale Boomer, a sophomore, pitched the second game of the double header against Thunder Bay last Saturday. While Boomer pitched a solid game, he was up against Thunder Bay’s ace, and the Vikings fell to the Lakers 5-2. Boomer also batted well in the two game series and the Vikings as a team played their best ball of the year.
The date is May 2 and the Vikings have traveled to Barnum hoping to pick up their first win of the season. With Alex Murray on the mound, they looked for a quick start.
After the first inning the Barnum Bombers were up 3-0 on the Vikings, but that was all about to change. Junior Dylan Quaife took over the pitching duties after the first inning. With a couple of walks and a few singles in the 2nd inning the Vikings threw 7 runs onto the board.
In Quaife’s first couple of innings pitching, the Bombers scored 4 runs, but that was all she wrote. After Quaife got into the zone, he didn’t let another run score. With the Bombers unable to make a play in the field and the Vikings getting some timely hits, the Vikings pulled out a victory after 5 innings, winning 17 -7.
Silver Bay rematch unsuccessful
Next up, the boys got a rematch with their North Shore rivals, the Silver Bay Mariners, on May 5. The Mariners’ starting pitcher was dealing with yet another sloppy day at Cook County. The weather was once again cold and very wet.
In the first 5 innings, the Vikings were only able to produce 2 runs against a very good Mariner pitcher, who kept the Vikings off balance with an attack of well-placed fastballs and a very confident curveball. The Vikings used three pitchers on the day, Alex Murray, Michael Sjogren, and Colin Everson. With the Vikings allowing 14 walks, 9 hits, 6 errors and 15 runs, it’s hard to get a win. The Vikings fell, 15-4, to a very good Mariners team.
Thunderous play against Thunder Bay
After a pep talk from Coaches Arleigh Jorgenson and TJ Super and a great practice on Friday, the Vikings looked to turn things around in a double header against the Thunder Bay Lakers on Saturday, May 7. In the first game of the doubleheader, the Vikings sent senior pitcher Danny Lunde to the mound for his first start of the season. Entering the 3rd inning the Vikings were up 5-1. Lunde was on the mound, seemingly possessed by the spirit of hall of fame flame-thrower Walter Johnson. Lunde struck out the side, giving the boys confidence to explode in the bottom half of the third inning.
With Will Petty, Mike Sjogren and Joe Borud all reaching on errors, the bases were loaded for Lunde. Lunde delivered a single followed by a Murray double, and the Vikings scored 3 runs with nobody out, and the hits just kept on coming. The Vikings drew a couple more walks in the inning and with some timely hits by Kale Boomer and Joe Borud, the Vikings erupted with 9 runs in the bottom of the 3rd. With Lunde doing his best Walter Johnson, the Vikings win 15-4 in 5 innings.
Game 2 against the Thunder Bay team didn’t come as easy. The Lakers sent their flame-thrower of a pitcher to the mound to shut down the hot bats of the Vikings. The Vikings countered with sophomore Kale Boomer. With the Lakers’ pitcher throwing absolute heat, the Vikings are only able to score 2 runs in the first 6 innings.
Boomer, not pitching poorly himself for four innings and with Dene Taylor pitching 2 and Murray pitching 1, the Vikings entered the bottom of the 7th inning down 5-2. Luke Fenwick got on by walk and Quaife blooped a single over the infield, bringing Lunde to the plate with 2 outs. With a great swing, Lunde launched a line drive which would have been a double to right-center field, but the Lakers’ centerfielder (who hadn’t made a play all afternoon) made a diving catch to end the game. Final score: 5-2.
So with the Vikings playing well this last week, they hope to keep the trend going against Two Harbors, Esko and Floodwood in the upcoming weeks. Go Vikes!
Leave a Reply