Left: Wearing jersey No. 11, Abbie Crawford smacked a ground ball against the Esko Eskimos. Above: Her bat ready to swing, Katie Peck keeps a keen eye on the ball coming her way.
With the snow finally melting from the playing fields, varsity softball action is in full swing, with lots of games to be played in a short period. The Vikings played three home games this past week, with two performed in time to make the paper.
Home opener
The Cook County Vikings softball team lost its home opener to Northwoods on Friday, April 13 by a score of 17-6.
Senior hurler Abby Prom took the mound to open the game, pitching well and also collecting a single in the game.
“Abby kept us in the game for the most part,” said head coach Peter Lucken. “As a coach, I should have switched pitchers sooner than in the fifth inning, but those are the breaks of the game,” he added.
Northwoods led early and never lost the lead.
At the start of the fifth inning, the Vikings were down 6-0, but they had a lot of chances to put points on the scoreboard, and they did score some runs.
“We had multiple opportunities and could have capitalized better,” said coach Lucken. “I felt the girls were hitting the Northwoods pitcher very well. We didn’t strike out very much. We just could not get the ball to fall in.”
That didn’t mean the Vikings weren’t productive.
Led by Alyssa Spry who hit a bases-loaded double which pushed three Vikings across the plate, the Vikings pounded the Northwoods pitcher for six runs in that busy fifth inning.
However, Northwoods also had a big fifth inning. The Rangers scored 11 runs off of solid hitting and a few misplays by the Vikings.
“In the fifth, the Northwoods hitters started figuring out Abby,” coach Lucken admitted. “As I said, I should have made a switch earlier.”
A lot of those runs weren’t Prom’s fault. There were catchable balls that evaded Vikings’ gloves and some errant throws. With almost no practices outside, fielding balls off of a smooth gym floor versus fielding balls off of a bumpy outside field is much different.
Despite the loss coach Lucken saw a lot of promise in his players.
“Alyssa put a charge into one in the fifth inning which was great to see. It was also great to see how the girls fought in the last inning. If we keep this up, fight and continue to make contact, things will eventually go our way,” said coach Lucken.
Vikings versus Esko
With Vikings fans bundled up in their winter jackets, hats, and gloves, eager to cheer on their Vikings, the appropriately named Esko Eskimos struck first, scoring five runs in the first inning against the Vikings in a home game played Tuesday, April 24.
The double A school never let up, going on to defeat the Vikings 15-5 in five innings. The game was called due to the 10 run rule.
“We had a rough first inning,” said head coach Peter Lucken. “We made some errors on defense that allowed them to score.”
Abbie Crawford took the mound for the Vikings and despite the score, pitched a pretty intense game. Crawford notched five strikeouts in five innings.
“Abbie pitched well for us,” said coach Lucken. “But we need to back our pitchers up a bit more.”
Against strong Esko pitching, the Vikings still managed to put up five runs of their own. Strong senior leaders led the Viking offense. Abby Prom had a double, Harleigh Lindquist had a double, Hanna Borson stole two bases, and Jamie Johnson also had a hit. But once again Alyssa Spry led Vikings hitters with two doubles as she continues to lead the Vikings in batting average and RBIs. “We know what we are doing on offense; we can put up runs, we just need to find a way to stop the opponents,” Lucken said. “Defense is a big focus for us right now.”
The Vikings played again at home on Thursday, April 26 against Moose Lake- Willow River and Friday in the Deer River Tournament.
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