Softball Preview: North Branch Vikings vs. Cloquet Lumberjacks
The North Branch Vikings will head out on the road to challenge the Cloquet Lumberjacks at 4:30 p.m. on Thursday. The last three games North Branch has played have been within two runs, so don't be surprised if it's a close one.
On Tuesday, it was close, but North Branch sidestepped Cambridge-Isanti for a 5-4 win.
Hannah Bernier spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: she surrendered four runs (all of which were unearned) on three hits and racked up six Ks. She has been consistent recently: she hasn't pitched less than six innings every time she's pitched this season.
At the plate, North Branch's victory was truly a team effort as five different players contributed at least one hit. One of them was Makayla Mihajlovich, who went 2-for-2 with two RBI. The team also got some help courtesy of Victoria Thurmer, who scored two runs and stole a base.
Meanwhile, Cloquet didn't have quite enough to beat Proctor on Tuesday and fell 2-1.
North Branch pushed their record up to 6-11-1 with that win, which was their third straight at home. As for Cloquet, their defeat dropped their record down to 9-7.
North Branch came out on top in a nail-biter against Cloquet in their previous matchup back in May of 2023, sneaking past 8-7. The rematch might be a little tougher for North Branch since the squad won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
