Photo by Bruce Johnson Drew Holmen, Viking No. 20, rounds third base in a recent home game. At press time, the Vikings were heading to Hibbing for the Section 7A semifinals.
The Cook County baseball team advanced to the double elimination portion of the Section 7A playoffs with wins over Hill City and Cherry. The Vikings opened up the playoffs with a 13-3 home win over Hill City on Tuesday, May 26. Cook County then traveled to Hermantown on Friday where they beat Cherry, 6-1, in the early game. In the evening game, the Vikings lost a heart-breaker to Deer River, 5-6. TheVikings still have one life remaining as they travel to Hibbing for the Section 7A semifinals.
Cook County hosted their first-round playoff game against Hill City. Starting pitcher Wade Hoffer made short work of the Hornets in the top half of the first inning. TheVikings struck early when Jacob Rude started things off with a one-out single. The Vikings then got five more hits in the inning and took advantage of five Hill City fielding errors to take an early 8-0 lead. TheVikings sent 12 batters to the plate in the first inning alone.
The Hornets scored a run in the second, but the Vikings answered with two more runs in the inning when Sammy Warren and Drew Holmen both scored for Cook County. The Vikings now had a 10-1 lead after just two innings of play.
Hill City scored two more times in the top of the third, but that is all the scoring the Hornets would get. Darryl Hansen made a relief appearance on the mound for Cook County and only gave up one hit in the final two innings of play. TheVikings added three more runs in the game to win 13-3, ten-running the Hornets in five innings. Rude had a great game, going three for four with two RBIs.
In the second round of section play, the Vikings were pitted up against the Cherry Tigers, who were the fifth seed in the tournament. TheTigers were the defending section champions from last season and entered the game with a 15-10 record.
The Vikings put their ace, Sammy Warren, on the mound in this crucial playoff match-up. The winner would advance to the double elimination portion of the tournament while the loser would go home.
Following a scoreless first inning, the Vikings struck first when Warren led off the inning with a double. Junior first baseman Darryl Hansen then singled to score Warren. Drew Holmen and Casey Everson then both drew walks to load the bases. James Groth then hit an RBI single as the Vikings grabbed a 2-0 lead. All runners then advanced on a wild pitch that scored Holmen. After a Viking strikeout, Taylor Baham drove in a run on a sacrifice flyto left field. TheVikings would score twice more in the inning to take an early 6-0 lead.
Neither team would score again until the sixth inning, when the Tigers managed to score one run in the top of the inning. Warren quickly put out the fire as the Vikings came away with a 6-1 victory despite some sloppy base-running and only six hits in the game.
Warren helped his own cause, going two for three from the plate and scoring twice. Warren also had the complete game win, giving up only three hits and one run in seven innings of work. Hansen also had a great game with two hits and an RBI for the Vikings.
In the second game of the day, the Vikings faced Deer River at 7:30 p.m. The Warriors entered the game as the second seed in the north with an 18-4 record.
Junior James Groth took the mound for the Vikings. Groth struck out two of the first three hitters and the Vikings went right to work when Baham led off the game by drawing a walk. Baham then stole second and third base. After two outs, Warren drove Baham in when he reached base on a Warrior fielding error. The Vikings had an early 1-0 lead.
The Vikings couldn’t score in either the second or third innings, but Deer River got some clutch hits and took advantage of some crucial Viking fielding errors to take a 1-5 lead after three innings of play.
In the fourth, the Warriors added another run, but the Vikings answered with a run of their own when Cody Everson drove in Casey Everson to keep the Vikings within four runs, 2-6.
Warren was now back on the mound for Cook County and throwing harder than ever. The Warriors were unable to score in either the fifth, sixth, or seventh innings against Warren.
In the bottom of the sixth, Drake led off the inning with a double. After two outs, Cody Everson drove in both Drake and Casey Everson on a single to get the Vikings with two, 4-6.
The Vikings scored again in the seventh when Hoffer scored on Rude’s sacrifice fly to centerfield. Cook County couldn’t get another run, however, losing a close game by one run, 5-6. Cody Everson went two for three with three RBIs.
The loss to Deer River brought the Vikings’ overall record to 17-4 on the season. Because they are in the double elimination part of the playoffs, they traveled to Hibbing on Tuesday, June 2 after this edition went to press. The Vikings played the 13-6 Northland (Remer) Eagles in the 4:30 p.m. game. Thewinner of that game went on to play the loser of the Chisholm/Deer River contest in the 7:30 p.m. game. Look in next week’s edition for all the scores and highlights.
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