Baseball Game Preview: Monticello Magic vs. North Branch Vikings

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Previous Games

04/24/25 - Home	12-1 W
04/25/24 - Away	7-2 W
05/09/23 - Home	2-0 W
05/09/23 - Away	14-4 W
05/10/22 - Home	8-4 W
+ 5 more games

Monticello is 9-1 against North Branch since May of 2018 and they'll have a chance to extend that dominance on Friday. The Magic will be playing in front of their home fans against the Vikings at 4:30 p.m. The timing is sure in Monticello's favor as the team sits on seven straight wins at home while North Branch has been banged up by three consecutive losses on the road.

On Tuesday, Monticello beat Chisago Lakes Area 7-2. The Magic haven't had any issues with the Wildcats recently, as the game was their fifth consecutive win against them.

Carson Deibele spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: he surrendered two runs (both of which were unearned) on four hits and racked up seven Ks. He has been nothing but reliable: he hasn't given up a single earned run in six consecutive appearances.

At the plate, Brock Holthaus was excellent, going 2-for-3 with three runs, one stolen base, and one double. The team also got some help courtesy of Cale Holthaus, who went 2-for-4 with one stolen base, two RBI, and one run.

Meanwhile, North Branch came up short against Hermantown on Wednesday and fell 6-1.

North Branch's loss dropped their record down to 3-14. As for Monticello, their victory bumped their record up to 11-4.

Monticello took their win against North Branch when the teams last played back in April by a conclusive 12-1 score. Will the Magic repeat their success, or do the Vikings have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.