After a tough week on the road, Viking softball battled back the Floodwood Polar Bears for a win on May 10. Ninth-grader Signe Larson bunted and then stole second base to score on a Chelsey Sorenson hit in the bottom of the fourth.
The Cook County softball team had a busy week of action, playing in four games over seven days. The Vikings first traveled to Silver Bay where they were rudely greeted with a 0-14 loss. Thenext day Cook County traveled to Moose Lake where they lost 0-10 in five innings of play. In their third road trip in four days, the Vikings lost to Esko, 4-15. After the Duluth Marshall Tournament was cancelled due to winter-like weather conditions, the Vikings rested over the weekend. On Monday, May 10, the Vikings shined in their last home game of the season by beating the Floodwood Polar Bears, 9-4.
Silver Bay
On Monday, May 3, the Vikings traveled to Silver Bay to take on the Mariners. Silver Bay, who entered the game with a 9-1 record and ninth in the Class A state polls, wasted no time getting on the scoreboard as they opened the game with an 11-run first inning.
“The only highlight for Cook County was eighth grader Anna Carman’s single in the top of the fifth inning, which broke up Silver Bay pitcher Nikki Babbitt’s attempt at a no-hitter. Silver Bay would have to settle for a one-hit shutout in the 0-14 victory.
Eighth-grade catcher Anna Carman hustles to get the ball to the outfield.
Moose Lake
The next day, Cook County made the long trip to Moose Lake. The Rebels entered the game with a 6-3 overall record. One of those losses came from a three run loss to Silver Bay earlier in the season.
Moose Lake scored four runs in the first two innings as they took advantage of two Viking fielding errors. Trailing 0-4, the Vikings didn’t manage to get a hit until the top of the fourth inning when Brea Boomer and Carly Puch hit back-to-back singles to start the inning. The Vikings couldn’t manage to score either runner, however, as Cook County was unable to score.
The Rebels scored six runs in the bottom of the fifth inning to 10-run the Vikings, 0-10. For the second straight game, Cook County was shut out with singles from Boomer and Puch being the only offense generated by the Vikings.
Esko
On Thursday, May 13, the Vikings played in their third straight road game and took on their second straight Class AA opponent in Esko. Following a scoreless first inning, the Eskimos struck first in the bottom of the second inning, scoring five runs on four hits to take a 5-0 lead.
When the Vikings couldn’t answer in the top of the third, Esko scored five more runs in the bottom half of the inning to take a 0-10 lead after just three innings of play.
In the top of the fourth, senior centerfielder Carly Puch stepped up and started the inning off with a single. Chelsey Sorenson then got a one-out single and Sammy Jacobsen walked to load the bases for the Vikings. After a fly out led to Cook County’s second out, Carman came through with a single to score Puch and give the Vikings their first run in three games. Freshman Rachel Wieben then hit a hard shot to the Esko shortstop who couldn’t handle the play. Sorenson scored on the play and the Vikings now trailed 2-10.
Esko continued their great play at the plate, scoring five more runs in the bottom of the fourth inning to increase the lead to 2-15. TheVikings would need to score at least four runs in the top of the fifthto keep the game alive.
Boomer and Kristina Rude both scored, but the Viking rally ended there, as Cook County lost to Esko, 4-15. Sorenson led the Vikings with two hits, a run scored, and an RBI.
Floodwood
After three tough road losses, the Vikings looked to turn things around at home against Floodwood. In the bottom of the first inning, Boomer led things off by drawing a walk. Puch then laid down a nice bunt and outran the defense to put runners on first and second with no outs. After a Viking strikeout, Rude hit an RBI single to score Boomer. Jacobsen followed with another single to score Puch. Rude then scored on the next play to give the Vikings an early 3-0 lead.
Following a scoreless second inning, Jacobsen hit a single with two outs in the bottom of the third. Jacobsen stole second base and then scored on a CeCe Schnobrich single. Schnobrich scored on a Taryn Logan single and the Vikings had a 5-0 advantage.
Rude continued to dominate on the mound retiring all three batters she faced in the top of the fourth inning. Cook County added a run in the bottom of the fourth when Signe Larson laid down a beautiful bunt single. She then stole second base and scored on a Sorenson hit. TheVikings now led 6-0.
In the top of the fifth inning, Rude ran into a bit of trouble when she gave up four straight singles. All four hits were ground balls that just happened to be hit in the infield gaps. Rude recovered to get the final two outs, but the Polar Bears were now trailing by just two, 6-4.
The Vikings were unable to score in the bottom of the inning and Floodwood was handled easily by Rude in the top of the sixth. Cook County was back to the plate and started off the bottom of the sixth with a single by Carman. Larson laid down another great bunt and beat out the throw for another infield single. On the overthrow at first base, Carman scored and Larson advanced to second base. Boomer walked and Larson scored when Floodwood tried to throw out Boomer stealing second base. Puch then walked to put runners on first and third. A Kristina Rude groundout scored Boomer and gave the Vikings a 9-4 advantage.
TheVikings defense held off the Polar Bears in the seventh inning to claim a 9-4 victory, in what may have been Cook County’s best all-around game of the year. Cook County shined on defense where Jacobsen made three fantastic catches from her third base position. The play of the night may have been in the sixth inning when Carly Puch ran back to make an over-the-shoulder catch in deep left field.
Cook County is now 3-10 on the season. Look in next week’s edition for all the highlights of this week’s action.
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