Viking baseball had a rough week with three losses on the road. Above: Baseball Coach Arleigh Jorgenson and sophomore pitcher Dylan Quaife talk strategy. Left: Determined ninth grader Colin Everson at bat.
The Cook County baseball team had a tough week of competition losing three straight Polar League match-ups. The week started with a 7-5 loss to Silver Bay. Thenext day the Vikings traveled to Moose Lake where they were thumped 19-4. In the week’s final contest, Cook County traveled to Esko and lost 7-3. The Vikings now have a 4-7 record with five regular season games remaining.
Silver Bay
On Monday, May 3, the Vikings traveled to Silver Bay to play the Mariners. In their previous game, the Vikings lost 10-6. Junior Dene Taylor took the mound this time around for Cook County.
Following a scoreless first inning, the Mariners struck first in the bottom of the second, scoring five runs on four hits and two Vikings’ fielding errors. Silver Bay hit around their lineup before senior Jacob Rude took the mound. TheVikings finally recorded the third out of the inning and were now trailing, 5-0.
In the top of the third, Kale Boomer walked to start the inning. Next, Jesse Johnson hit a double to put runners on first and second with no outs. Senior Drew Holmen then ripped a double to score Boomer. On the play, however, Johnson was gunned out at home by Silver Bay’s left fielder. Jacob Rude then hit a two-run home run to bring the Vikings within two runs, 5-3.
Rude continued on the mound in the third inning and despite only facing five batters; the Mariners added a run to take a 6-3 lead.
With two outs in the top of the fourth, Cook County started a rally when Johnson singled. After a wild pitch, Johnson advanced to second base, Holmen hit his second double of the game to score Johnson and bring the Vikings within two runs, 6-4.
The Mariners hit a two-out homerun in the bottom of the fourth to extend their lead to 7-4. Neither team could score in either the fifth or sixth inning.
Trailing by three runs, the Vikings started a seventh-inning rally when Groth led off the inning by drawing a walk. Darryl Hansen then ripped a double to put runners on first and second with no outs. Following a Vikings strikeout and infield ground out, Colin Everson walked to load the bases. Groth then scored on a wild pitch as both Hansen and Everson advanced. A fly out, however, ended the rally and Silver Bay held on to win, 7-5.
Holmen and Rude each had two RBIs in the game.
Moose Lake
Senior catcher Drew Holmen scored in the top half of the first inning to get the Vikings off on the right track in Moose Lake. TheCook County highlights wouldn’t last, however, as the Rebels scored 16 runs in the first two innings to take a 16-1 lead.
Cook County scored three more runs and the Rebels matched those with three runs of their own to win 19-4 in a five-inning blowout. The Vikings only managed to get four hits in the ball game.
Esko
Two days later the Vikings were hoping to regroup after their lopsided loss to Moose Lake. After the first two innings of play in Esko, the Eskimos scored five runs off of six singles and two walks. The Vikings, however, had opportunities to score, but were unable to put any runs on the scoreboard.
Following scoreless third and fourth innings, Cook County started in the top of the fifth when Groth reached base on an Eskimo fielding error. Another error put Vikings on first and second with only one out. Jacob Rude was walked and the bases were loaded for Will Petty. Petty grounded out, but drove in Groth in the process. Centerfielder Dylan Quaife came through with an RBI single that scored two more runs and the Vikings now trailed 5-3.
Esko answered with two runs in the bottom of the fifth to extend their lead to 7-3. TheVikings were unable to score in the final two innings and Esko held on to win, 7-3. Quaife led the Vikings with three hits and two RBIs in the game. Groth added two hits in the contest.
The Vikings are now 4-7 on the season. Cook County played at home on Monday, May 10 against Floodwood and then traveled to Cotton on Tuesday. Look in next week’s edition for all the scores and highlights.
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