April 2010 News
4/28 - Northeast hits way past Northwest
Northwest went up 3-0 on Northeast in the top of the first, but the Rams answered with two in the bottom and exploded for 10 in the second to put the game away for an eventual 14-4 win. The loss drops Northwest to 11-11 overall.
With one out in the top of the first, Nathan Becker walked, stole second, and scored on a Keaton Haack single. Phillip Dixon then doubled to move Haack to third. Ben Saunders walked, followed by a Dalton Dillon walk to score Haack. Two batters later, Duncan Everett was hit by a pitch to score Dixon. The other Viking run came on a Ben Schmucker home run, his fourth in three games, in the fourth inning. Schmucker was 2 for 3 on the night also hitting a double.
| NW | 3 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
4 |
5 |
1 |
|
| NE | 2 |
10 |
1 |
1 |
X |
14 |
12 |
0 |
Leaders:
Schmucker 2 for 3, 2B, HR
Becker 1 for 2, 3B, run
Haack 1 for 3, run, RBI
Dixon 1 for 3, 2B, run
4/27 - Vikings fall to Eagles, finish conference at 5-7
Northwest came up short 6-4 to old rival East Forsyth in another classic duel between the two teams. The game was tied at 3 in the seventh before the Eagles were able to push across three runs. The Vikings scored one in the bottom and had the winning run at the plate, but were unable to push in any more runs. The loss dropped Northwest to 11-10 overall and 5-7 in the Piedmont Triad 4A conference.
Ben Saunders gave a valiant effort on the mound in the loss battling the conference leading Eagles with everything he had for 6 2/3 innings. Saunders struck out six and didn't walk any in the outing. Ben Schmucker led the offensive attack going 3 for 4 with a run and 2 RBI's.
Schmucker put the Vikings up 1-0 in the bottom of the first with a lead off home run to right field. Saunders drove in the second run of the inning with a single, knocking in Keaton Haack who had reached on a fielders choice. Haack erased Nathan Becker who had singled before him.
Northwest had opportunities in the third and fourth to add to the scoring, but left five of ten bases runners left on in those two innings. The Vikings would break through in the scoring column again in the sixth to tie the game at 3. Josh Voss singled with one out. Dalton Dillon then singled to move pinch runner Sanders Kuxhausen to third. Kuxhausen scored on a Schmucker single.
Keaton Haack and Phillip Dixon both singled to start a rally in the seventh. Haack would score on a single by Duncan Everett and cut the Eagle led to 6-4. The rally would stop there as East Forsyth held on for the win, leaving two Northwest runners on base.
| EF | 0 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
1 |
3 |
6 |
10 |
0 |
|
| NW | 2 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
4 |
12 |
1 |
Leaders:
Schmucker 3 for 4, HR, run, 2 RBI
Becker 2 for 3
4/23 - NW defeats Parkland behind 2 Schmucker Home Runs
Northwest went on the road and defeated Parkland 8-3 to pick up there fifth conference win of the year. Ben Schmucker led the offensive attack with three hits including two home runs. Keaton Haack also contributed three hits while Phillip Dixon and Josh Voss each had two. Garrett Stell battled for four innings to pick up his second win of the year. Haack struck out six of the last nine Mustang hitters in three innings of relief to record the save.
The Vikings jumped to a 1-0 lead in the first, when Schmucker hit the first of his home runs opposite field with two outs. Two innings later, Corey McKinney led off the inning with a single, stole second and moved to third on a catcher error. Two batter later, Schmucker drove in McKinney on a ground out to take a 2-0 lead.
Northwest went down 3-2 going into the top of the fifth when they struck for two more runs. McKinney led off with a walk and moved to second on a Nathan Becker sacrifice bunt. Schmucker then singled to left. The ball was misplayed by the left fielder scoring McKinney and moving Schmucker to second. Schmucker would later score on a second basemen error on a pick off attempt.
The Vikings put the game out of reach in the top of the seventh. Becker started the inning reaching base on an error. Schmucker followed by going down 0-2 in the count and fouling off several pitches before he launched a 2-2 pitch over right center field to extend the lead 6-3. Dixon followed with a double and scored when Haack followed with a single. Derek Henley and Steven Plante would receive walks to load the bases. McKinney then had an RBI walk scoring Sanders Kuxhausen who was running for Henley.
Northwest moves to 11-9 overall. This week the Vikings play East Forsyth at home Tuesday, at Northeast on Wednesday and Saturday vs. Central Davidson at Finch Field in Thomasville.
| NW | 1 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
4 |
8 |
11 |
1 |
|
| WS-P | 0 |
0 |
1 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
3 |
6 |
4 |
Leaders:
McKinney 1 for 3, 2 runs, RBI
Schmucker 3 for 4, 2 HR, 3 runs, 4 RBI
Dixon 2 for 4, 2B, run
Haack 3 for 4, RBI
Voss 2 for 4
4/20 - Northwest fights way to upset over Ragsdale,
Get Gann 100th win at the school
Northwest found themselves down 5-1 and 8-4, but rallied twice behind timely hitting and the pitching of Duncan Everett to defeat Ragsdale 9-8.
The scoring started for the Vikings in the first when Corey McKinney started the game with a double, moved to second on a Nathan Becker ground ball and scored on a Ben Schmucker RBI ground out. Down 5-1 in the third, McKinney led off the inning with a single and Becker followed with a walk. Two batters later, Phillip Dixon delivered a double scoring both McKinney and Becker. Keaton Haack followed Dixon with an important ground out to move Dixon to third. Haack made a great adjustment on the third curve ball he saw to move up Dixon. Dixon would later score on a wild pitch to move Northwest one run closer. Down 8-4 in the fifth, Becker led off with a double. Schmucker was then hit by a pitch. After a Dixon hard line out to left, Haack doubled in Becker and moved Schmucker to third. Both would later score in the inning on wild pitches. Ben Saunders reached base in the inning and moved to second on a Mitchell Haley single. Saunders and Garrett Stell, running for Haley, moved up on a passed ball. Josh Voss tied the game with a single scoring Saunders. Two batter later, with two outs, Stell scored the winning run on a McKinney single.
Everett then took over from there. In the fifth, with two outs and runners on second and third, Everett threw a split finger fastball on a 2-0 count to an East Carolina signee who topped the ball back to Everett to get out of the inning. In the seventh, Everett again used the split finger to coax a South Carolina signee to hit a ground ball to Josh Voss to end the game. Everett struck out five and only allowed two hits in his four innings of work.
The win was especially sweet for Coach Sonny Gann who won his 100th game at his alma mater. The Vikings are now 10-9 overall and 4-6 in the conference. Northwest plays at Winston Salem Parkland Friday night.
| NW | 1 |
0 |
3 |
0 |
5 |
0 |
9 |
9 |
8 |
3 |
|
| R | 4 |
1 |
0 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
8 |
11 |
2 |
Leaders:
McKinney 3 for 4, 2B, 2 runs, RBI
Becker 1 for 3, 2B, 2 runs
Dixon 1 for 4, 2B, run 2 RBI
Haack 1 for 4, 2B, run, RBI
4/16 - Vikings celebrate senior night in style, defeat HPC
Nine seniors, Nathan Becker, Jordan Browning, Phillip Dixon, Mitchell Haley, Corey McKinney, Ben Saunders, Garrett Stell, Kyle Szuts and Josh Voss celebrated a night for them by defeating High Point Central 8-1. Stell led the way on the mound picking up his first win of the year pitching a one hit complete game striking out 10 Bison batters. The offense scored in three innings to ensure the Viking victory.
Down one in the bottom of the first, McKinney led off the game with a double. Becker then followed with a two run home run to give the Vikings the led for the rest of the way. The next scoring came in the fourth. Voss led the inning off with a walk. With one out, Szuts doubled. McKinney then drove in Voss with a sacrifice fly for the third run. Becker then followed with a single to plate Keaton Haack (running for Szuts) to put the Vikings up 4-1. The Vikings finished the scoring with four runs in the fifth. Dixon led off with a single and moved to second on a Saunders ground out. Haley then found the left field trees for a two run home run. Four batters later with two outs, McKinney tripled to drive in Voss and Szuts who had walked.
The win moved Northwest to 9-9 overall and 3-6 in the Piedmont Triad 4A conference. The Vikings will be road warriors this week as they play two road conference games, Tuesday at Ragsdale and Friday at Winston Salem Parkland.
| HPC | 1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
4 |
|
| NW | 2 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
4 |
0 |
X |
8 |
8 |
0 |
Leaders:
Stell CG, 1 hit allowed, 10 K's
McKinney 2 for 3, 2B, 3B, run, 3 RBI
Becker 2 for 3, HR, run, 3 RBI
Haley 2 for 4, HR, run, 2 RBI
Szuts 1 for 2, 2B, run
4/13 - Vikings comeback falls short, lose to Cowboys 4-3
Northwest lost another close Piedmont Triad 4A conference game falling to Southwest 4-3. Trailing 4-1 in the bottom of the seventh, the Vikings loaded the bases on a Keaton Haack single, and Ben Saunders double and a Josh Voss walk. With two outs, Corey McKinney singled to score Haack and Saunders. Southwest then coaxed an out to to save the win. The other Viking run was recorded by McKinney who hit a solo shot over out of left/center field in the third inning.
The Vikings fall to 8-9 overall and 2-6 in the Piedmont Triad 4A.
| SW | 0 |
2 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
4 |
7 |
1 |
|
| NW | 0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
3 |
5 |
3 |
Leaders:
McKinney 2 for 4, 3 RBI
4/9 - Bobcats hand Vikings another conference loss
Northwest fought back from a 7-3 deficit to tie the score in the bottom of the sixth, but surrendered three runs in the top and eventually lost to Glenn 10-8. The loss dropped the Vikings to 8-8 overall and 2-5 in the Piedmont Triad 4A.
Northwest received productive offensive nights from Nathan Becker (run, RBI), Keaton Haack(2 runs, RBI) and Josh Voss (2 2B, run, 2 RBI) who had two hits a piece. Ben Saunders also added a double, RBI and later scored a run.
The Vikings play two critical home conference games this week hosting Southwest Guilford on Tuesday and High Point Central on Friday.
| GHS | 2 |
0 |
2 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
3 |
10 |
11 |
3 |
|
| NW | 0 |
3 |
0 |
1 |
2 |
1 |
1 |
8 |
10 |
3 |
Leaders:
Becker 2 for 4, run, RBI
Haack 2 for 3, 2 runs, RBI
Voss 2 for 4, 2 2B, run, 2 RBI
4/7 - Saunders and Haack led Vikings over old rival Grimsley
Northwest came out on top 5-2 against old conference rival Grimsley in another well played battle between the two teams. Ben Saunders went the distance for his sixth win of the year striking out five and only allowing one walk. The Viking defense went errorless to aide Saunders in the victory.
Northwest plated two in the third when Keaton Haack doubled to score Josh Voss and Nathan Becker who had both walked in the inning. The Whirlies scored one in the bottom of the third, but the Vikings answered with one in the top of the fourth. Saunders lead off the inning with a double and moved to third on a Mitchell Haley single with one out. Saunders then scored on a balk. In the fifth, Northwest added to insurance runs to pad there lead to 5-1. Ben Schmucker singled with one out and moved to second on a wild pitch. Phillip Dixon was then intentionally walked. Haack's second double of the game scored Schmucker and moved Dixon to third. Saunders then knocked Dixon in on a sacrifice fly.
Northwest improved to 8-7 overall. Senior night against McMichael was postponed Thursday. A make up date has not been set at this time. The Vikings will meet Glenn Friday night in a Piedmont Triad 4A contest.
| NW | 0 |
0 |
2 |
1 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
5 |
8 |
0 |
|
| G | 0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
2 |
8 |
1 |
Leaders:
Haack 2 for 3, 2 2B, 3 RBI
Saunders 2 for 3, 2B, run, RBI