Photo by Bruce Johnson Casey Everson slides into second at a recent home game. Everson and his teammates had a good warm up for playoffs when they faced a Thunder Bay team on May 12.
The Cook County baseball team had a rare week off from Section 7A competition, so the Vikings scheduled a doubleheader with a club team from Thunder Bay on Tuesday May 12. TheThunder Bay club team is a collection of their area’s best baseball players who are 19 years of age or younger.
In the first game, Sammy Warren took the mound for the Vikings. Warren looked sharp on the mound, striking out four hitters after three innings of shutout work.
With a scoreless tie in the bottom of the third inning, Wade Hoffer started a two-out rally with a hard-hit single. After Taylor Baham drew a walk, Jacob Rude came through with a RBI single to give the Vikings a 1-0 lead.
Warren then mowed down three straight batters and the Vikings were back at the plate. Warren led off the bottom of the fourth with a single. Darryl Hansen and Drew Holmen then each collected singles to load the bases with no outs. Casey Everson came through with the Vikings’ fourth consecutive single, scoring Warren on the play. Colin Everson, who was pinch-running for Hansen, was thrown out at the plate, however, as the Vikings only collected one run in the inning, taking a 2-0 lead.
Following a scoreless fifth inning, Warren came to the mound in the top of the sixth and still looked strong, only facing four batters despite giving up a hit and issuing a walk.
The Vikings’ offense came alive in the bottom half of the sixth when Miles Drake led off the inning with a single. Warren followed with a single and Hansen also singled, scoring Drake. Holmen then doubled, scoring Warren as the Vikings had yet to make an out. Casey Everson then connected on Cook County’s fifth consecutive hit for a RBI single that scored Hansen. Cody Everson then grounded out to third, but his sacrifice scored Holmen and gave the Vikings a 6-0 lead after six innings of play.
Thunder Bay scored two runs in the seventh, but it was too little, too late as the Vikings won 6-2. Casey Everson and Hansen both had two hits and two RBIs for the Vikings while Warren added two hits and two runs scored.
In the second game of the double header, senior Wade Hoffer took the mound for Cook County. He wasted no time getting warmed up, getting three quick outs for the Vikings.
Baham and Rude both scored for the Vikings in the bottom of the first to give Cook County an early 2-0 lead. Cook County took advantage of two hit batters and a walk while also stealing three bases in the inning.
After scoreless second and third innings, Thunder Bay led off the fourth with a triple. Thunder Bay then scored a run on a single, but despite issuing two walks, Hoffer avoided further damage, as Cook County held on to a 2-1 lead.
Neither team scored again until the bottom of the sixth when Rude and Drake both scored for the Vikings, giving Cook County a 4-1 victory. Warren and Hansen each collected two hits in the game while Rude added two runs scored for the Vikings.
Cook County traveled to Two Harbors on Tuesday, May 19 and then to BEST (Babbitt-Embarrass-Soudan- Tower) on Thursday after this edition went to press. Look in next week’s edition for all the scores and highlights.
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