Viking bats coming alive in first win, host Hale
by Peter Jakey, Managing Editor
The Posen baseball team is back on the home field today hosting a team considered to be a front-runner for the North Star League title. Hale has some quality pitching and will pose a challenge to the Vikings, who are off to a 1-5 start, including a 1-1 split Monday at Au Gres. Hale also will be hungry to right their ship after getting swept by Hillman earlier this week. After managing only four hits in a 3-2 loss in game one against Au Gres, two of which came from the bat of Justin LaPointe, the Vikes came back in game two with 12 hits and won their first game of the season, 11-6.
?WE REBOUNDED in the second game,? said head coach Pat Kowalski. ?Our bats saved us.? LaPointe led the squad with three hits in four plate appearances, including a double. Shane Hentkowski?s bat was making noise as well with a 3-for-4 game (2 R
Hentkowski allowed one hit in two innings of work. He started game one and took a heartbreaking loss in allowing only one hit, said Kowalski. The junior struck out eight and walked three. All three runs were unearned. ?We didn?t execute fundamental plays,? said Kowalski. Nine Posen batters went down swinging. ON APRIL 14, Posen and Rudyard could only get in one game, a 9-5 loss. The Vikings couldn?t hang on to a 4-2 lead in the contest.
The Bulldogs have a quality program and came back to tie the game at five after five and pushed across four in the top of the sixth. Kowalski believes his club played well, however, a few walks and errors hurt. The Vikings are at the Rogers City Invitational Saturday and off to Alcona Tuesday, so there is a lot of action on tap.