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Vikings win 20th game of 2024 baseball season
The North Boone Vikings picked up their 20th win when they battled through one of the busiest weeks of the 2024 baseball season. With five games in six days, the Vikings rattled off five consecutive victories. That includes three road victories over Winnebago, Lutheran and Harvard.
The Vikings traveled to take on the Winnebago Indians on Thursday, May 2. Prior to that game, North Boone held an overall record of 17-8, having won their last two games played.
The Vikings’ bats led the way to victory over Winnebago. They combined for 11 hits and 10 runs in a game that saw them score in six of their seven at bats. After going scoreless through the first, they scored in six consecutive innings to end the game.
Winnebago jumped out to an early lead when they scored a run in the bottom of the first. The Vikings would tie the game in the top of the second. Eli Lopez doubled to center, driving in Owen Meridith for their first run.
North Boone took their first lead in the top of the second. Chris Doetch doubled up the middle to lead off the inning. Eventually, Doetch and RJ Wolski scored to put the Vikings up 3-1.
The Vikings went on to pick up a 10-3 victory in the end. Gage Vermett had a quality start on the mound, tossing five innings with eight strikeouts and one earned run allowed. Ben Neri had an excellent inning of relief, striking out two of the three batters he faced.
At the plate, Lopez had a big day, going three for four with a run scored and one RBI. Doetch led the way, going two for three with one walk, two runs scored, and three RBIs.
The very next day, the Vikings made the trip to face off with Lutheran in a May 3 matchup.
The Vikings combined for 18 hits and two six-run innings as they routed Lutheran 19-6. JJ Ford got the win on the mound. In four innings, Ford allowed one earned run off seven hits and three walks, while striking out seven.
Offensively, Grady Condon was perfect on the day, going three for three with a walk, two runs scored, and one RBI. Doetch was also a tough out, going two for two with a walk, three runs scored, and two RBIs. Matt Self was two for two with a walk, two runs scored, and two RBIS, as well. In total, the Vikings combined for five walks in the win.
On Saturday, May 4, the Vikings closed out the week with another road game as they traveled to take on Harvard. At that point, North Boone had won four consecutive games. Winning their fifth would mean they also captured their twentieth victory of the regular season.
Harvard trailed big from the start. The Vikings hopped off the bus and into the scoreboard as they combined for five runs in the top of the first. Vermett and Meridith hit back-to-back singles to lead off the game. An error by Harvard’s pitcher allowed Vermett to score the game’s first run.
Ford and B Neri eventually put the Vikings up 4-0 as they hit back-to-back doubles. Before the end of the first, Lopez scored on a wild pitch.
With the early lead, the Vikings never looked back. Harvard made an attempt to keep pace with three runs in the bottom of the second. However, it wasn’t enough to keep up with the Vikings, who scored in all seven innings of the game.
North Boone went on to pick up a 15-8 victory, improving their record to 20-8 on the year. Condon got the win on the mound. In three innings, Condon allowed one earned run off three hits, while striking out three. Meridith was dominant in relief. In two innings, Meridith struck out four while allowing just one hit and zero earned runs.
At the plate, the Vikings combined for 15 hits. Neri led the way, going three for five with one run scored and five RBIs. Meridith went two for five with a run scored and two RBIs. Vermett went three for five with two runs scored. Ford was two for four with three runs scored in the victory.
On Thursday, May 9, the Vikings close out the regular season with an away game against Oregon at 4:40 p.m.
