The North Branch Vikings will take on the Hermantown Hawks at 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday. North Branch has given up an average of 7.9 runs per game this season, but Wednesday's game will give them a chance to turn things around.
North Branch fell victim to Cambridge-Isanti and their airtight pitching crew on Tuesday. They came up short against the Bluejackets, falling 11-0. The Vikings have struggled against the Bluejackets recently, as the game was their fourth consecutive lost meeting.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Hermantown). They walked away with a 13-10 victory over Superior on Monday. The win made it back-to-back victories for the Hawks.
Zach Bostrum made a splash no matter where he played. He pitched 2.1 innings while giving up no earned runs off two hits. He also tossed no earned runs, which is notable because Hermantown is 3-1 when he allows at most one earned run, but 3-6-1 otherwise. Bostrum was also stellar in the batter's box, getting on base in four of his five plate appearances with two stolen bases, two runs, and one RBI. Those two runs gave him a new career-high.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Charlie Marchand, who went 4-for-5 with two stolen bases, three runs, and one triple. Those two stolen bases gave him a new career-high. Another player making a difference was River Freeman, who went 1-for-5 with one triple, one run, and one RBI.
Hermantown always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .523. That's the best OBP they've posted all season.
Hermantown's win bumped their record up to 6-7-1. As for North Branch, their loss dropped their record down to 3-13.
North Branch came up short against Hermantown in their previous matchup back in May of 2024, falling 4-0. Will the Vikings have more luck at home instead of on the road? Come back here after the game to get an analysis of the match and other baseball content.
