March 2010 News
3/31 - Northwest battles, eventually loses to #1 Hoggard
In the aftermath of the championship of the Wilmington Ashley Spring Break Easter Baseball Tournament, the Northwest Vikings found out their opponent, the Wilmington Hoggard Vikings, were not only undefeated coming in to the tournament, they were ranked #1 in the state in some polls and have a ranking in a national poll. Northwest fell 10-6, but lead until the top of the 6th and proved they can play with anyone in the state.
Duncan Everett held Hoggard to five hits through five innings allowing only two runs and only getting in trouble in one inning to help Northwest to the 5-2 lead after five. Everett was pulled after two batters in the fifth, and top ranked Hoggard used a combination of hits, walks and a Northwest error to pull away 10-5 by the end of the frame.
Northwest jumped on Hoggard with three in the bottom of the first. Corey McKinney walked and Nathan Becker was hit by a pitch. The two advanced a base on a passed ball and then were knocked in by a Ben Schmucker single. Schmucker stole second and was knocked in on a Keaton Haack single to put NW up 3-0 at the end of 1. Northwest answered a two run Hoggard fourth inning rally with two runs of their own. Josh Voss would reach base on an error. Two batters later, McKinney drew another walk. Nathan Becker then doubled home Voss, and McKinney scored on the play by a defensive intereference. Northwest would finish their scoring in the bottom of the seventh when Steven Plante walked, stole second and went to third on an overthrow. Keaton Haack then sent Plante home on an RBI ground out.
The Vikings have a busy week playing at Grimsley on Wednesday, Senior night at home vs. McMichael on Thursday, and a crucial home Piedmont Triad 4A game against Glenn on Friday.
| WH | 0 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
8 |
0 |
10 |
12 |
4 |
|
| NW | 3 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
6 |
5 |
2 |
Leaders:
Becker 1 for 3, 2B, run, RBI
Haack 1 for 4, 2 RBI
Schmucker 1 for 3, run, 2 RBI
3/31 - Vikings hold off host Ashley, make it to championship
Northwest used a solid pitching performance from Keaton Haack, 19 hits, and a Duncan Everett strike out to fend out of host Ashley 15-12 and make it to the championship of the Wilmington Ashley Spring Break Easter Baseball Tournament.
Haack went six strong innings to pick up his first win of the year striking out nine and only allowing 2 earned runs. After some early trouble, Haack settled down to retire 11 of the last 12 batters he faced in the third through sixth innings. While he kept Northwest in the game, the offense eventually exploded. The Vikings scored one in the first on a Nathan Becker double and a Phillip Dixon single and one in the second on doubles from Ben Saunders and Josh Voss. After a quiet 3rd and 4th, teh Vikings took the lead 6-4 scoring four runs in the top of the fifth. Becker started the inning reaching on an error followed by a Ben Schmucker walk. Dixon then tripled to tie the game scoring Becker and Schmucker. Two batters later, Saunders knocked in Dixon to give Northwest the lead and scored when the next batter, Derek Henley drove him in with a double.
The Vikings used three walks and three hits including RBI singles from Saunders and Dalton Dillon to extend their lead to 9-4 at the end of the sixth. The Vikings would plate six more in the to of the seventh. Run scoring doubles from Dixon, Haack, and Tyler Webb help extend the lead. Mitchell Haley and Nathan Becker also had hits in the inning.
The Screaming Eagles would not go quietly in their own tournament and mounted a comeback in the bottom of the seventh scoring eight runs. Everett entered the game at 15-12 with the bases loaded and two outs. Everett struck out the #3 hitter in the Ashley lineup on a 3-2 count to preserve the Viking win.
| NW | 1 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
4 |
3 |
6 |
15 |
19 |
3 |
|
| WA | 1 |
0 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
8 |
12 |
13 |
1 |
Leaders:
Becker 2 for 4, 2B, 4 runs
Schmucker 2 for 4, 2B, 2 runs
Dixon 3 for 3, 2B,3B, 3 runs, 4 RBI
Saunders 3 for 5 2B, 2 runs, 2 RBI
Haack 6 IP, 2 ER, 9 K's
3/30 - Vikings explode for 12 runs, beat Wilmington Laney
Northwest scored 12 runs on 15 hits and Ben Saunders pitched 5 and 1/3 innings for his fifth win on the mound to lead Northwest to a victory over Wilmington Laney 12-2 in the quarterfinals of the Ashley Spring Break Easter Baseball Tournament. The Vikings will play host Wilmington Ashley today at 2:00. Due to Monday's cancellation, Northwest will also either play tomorrow in the third place game at 4:30 if they lose or the championship at 7:00 if they win.
Phillip Dixon and Keaton Haack back to back doubles started the Northwest scoring in the second inning. The Vikings tacked on two in the bottom of the third. Ben Schmucker had an RBI single and Keaton Haack had an RBI ground out to score the runs. Saunders led off the fourth with a single, stole second, then moved to third on a Derek Henley single. Joss Voss then hit a sacrifice fly to score Saunders and put Northwest up 4-1. With one out in the fifth, the Vikings loaded the bases on singles by Haack and Saunders with a Dalton Dillon hit by pitch in between. Haack would score in the inning on a wild pitch. Then Voss delivered a single to score Dillon and Saunders to increase the Northwest lead to 7-1. The Vikings continued the hot bats in the sixth. Nathan Becker led off the inning with a double. Two batters later, Dixon knocked him in with a single. Haack then hit his second double of the game to make it second and third. Dillon then followed with a single to score Dixon and Haack. Steven Plante led off the seventh with a double and Kyle Szuts followed with a single. Plante would later score on a Duncan Everett walk and Szuts scored on a Mitchell Haley sacrifice fly.
Northwest evened their record at 6-6 and look to get above five hundred as they continue in the Ashley Tournament today.
Saunders threw a gem going all seven innings striking out six, only giving up four hits and three runs to record his fourth win of the year. Saunders, along with the defense which only made one error, kept the Vikings in the game while they waited for the bats to wake up.
The win moves Northwest to 2-3 in the Piedmont Triad 4A conference, and 4-5 overall.
| NW | 0 |
1 |
2 |
1 |
3 |
3 |
2 |
12 |
15 |
1 |
|
| WL | 0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
2 |
8 |
4 |
Leaders:
Keaton Haack 3 for 4, 2 2B, 2 runs, 2 RBI
Ben Saunders 2 for 4, 2 runs
Josh Voss 1 for 2, 3 RBI
Phillip Dixon 2 for 3, 2B, 2 runs, RBI
3/26 - Vikings fall to East Forsyth 6-5
Northwest wasn't able to dig themselves out of a 6-0 deficit with their comeback falling short by one to East Forsyth. The Vikings are now 2-4 in the Piedmont Triad 4A conference and 5-6 overall.
All five runs came in the fifth. Josh Voss led off the inning with a single. Corey McKinney followed with a walk. Nathan Becker then singled to load the bases. With one out, Mitchell Haley reached on an error to keep the bases loaded and score the Vikings first run. Jordan Browning then hit into a fielder choice scoring the second run. Phillip Dixon then deliverd a two RBI triple and later scored on a wild pitch to cut the Eagle led to 6-5. The Vikings would not threaten in the sixth or seventh as East Forsyth held on for the win.
Northwest travels to the Wilmington Ashley Spring Break Easter Baseball Tournament this week.
| NW | 0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
5 |
0 |
0 |
5 |
7 |
5 |
|
| EF | 1 |
3 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
X |
6 |
5 |
1 |
3/24 - Everett leads Vikings past Hornets
Duncan Everett pitched six scoreless innings for his first win of the year holding a potent Western Guilford offense with four Division I signees at the top of the order to three hits while striking out five to lead Northwest to a 9-2 victory. The Viking offense collected 10 hits and posted runs in the second, fourth, fifth and sixth innings. Jordan Browning led off the second with a single and moved to second on a wild pitch. Phillip Dixon followed with a single that got passed the left fielder and rolled to the fence. Browning and Dixon both scored on the error and the Vikings went up 2-0. Northwest plated one in the third on a Dixon walk, a Ben Saunders hit, and a catcher throwing error. With one out in the fifth, Nathan Becker singled. Ben Schmucker followed with a double to score Becker. A Keaton Haack hit and Browning walk loaded the bases. Ben Saunders then drew an RBI walk to put the Vikings up 5-0 after 5. The Vikings tacked on four in the sixth on two hits, a walk, two hit batsmen and two hornet errors. Schmucker, Browning, and Saunders knocked in runs during the inning.
After a slow start, Northwest has won three in a row and battled back to a 5-5 record. The Vikings travel to East Forsyth in a crucial Piedmont Triad 4A conference game Friday night.
| NW | 0 |
2 |
0 |
1 |
2 |
4 |
0 |
9 |
10 |
1 |
|
| WG | 0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
2 |
5 |
5 |
Leaders:
Becker 1 for 3, 2 runs
Schmucker 2 for 4, 2 2B, 2 runs, 2 RBI
Keaton Haack 2 for 4, run
Browning 2 for 3, run, RBI
Dixon 1 for 2, 2 runs
Saunders 1 for 3, 2 RBI
3/16 - Vikings comeback twice, beat Parkland
Northwest went down in the sixth and seventh innings but still found a way to pull out a win over Winston Salem Parkland 4-3. With two outs in the sixth down 2-1, Jordan Browning singled then stole second base. Phillip Dixon then knocked in Browning to tie the score. Parkland would scratch a run in the top of the seventh, but again, Northwest wouldn't go away. Dalton Dillon led the seventh off with a single and Steven Plante sacrificed bunt Dillon to second. Corey McKinney then singled to left. The Mustang left fielder misplayed the ball and Dillon scored and McKinney moved to second. Nathan Becker was then intentionally walked to set up the heroics of Ben Schmucker. Schmucker delivered a base hit up the middle to score McKinney and deliver the Viking win. Northwest first run came in the fourth on a two out Mustang error, a Ben Saunders double and a Mustang wild pitch.
Saunders threw a gem going all seven innings striking out six, only giving up four hits and three runs to record his fourth win of the year. Saunders, along with the defense which only made one error, kept the Vikings in the game while they waited for the bats to wake up.
The win moves Northwest to 2-3 in the Piedmont Triad 4A conference, and 4-5 overall.
| P | 1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
3 |
4 |
3 |
||
| NW | 0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
2 |
4 |
10 |
1 |
Leaders:
McKinney 1 for 3, run
Becker 2 for 3
Schmucker 2 for 4, GW RBI
Dixon 2 for 3, run, RBI
3/20 - Vikings get win in Pelican High School Classic
Northwest stepped away from conference action and recorded there third win of the season over Mullins, SC 10-1. The game was played on a beautiful sunny day at an even more beautiful BB&T Field, home of the Myrtle Beach Pelicans. Ben Saunders pitched the first three innings allowing no runners to reach base striking out four earning his third win of the year. The offense was led by Corey McKinney who hit a three run home run and Saunders and Derek Henley who had two hit a piece. The scoring started in the bottom of the first when Nathan Becker singled home McKinney who had walked and stole second. The Vikings then broke the game open in the second scoring seven runs on three hits, three walks and two hit batsmen. Saunders drove in the first run of the inning with a single. Two batters later, McKinney hit a three run home run down the left field line to put Northwest up 5-0. Phillip Dixon got an RBI walk for the sixth run. Followig a run on an error, Saunders recorded his second RBI hit of the inning to put the Vikings up 8-0. Northwest tacked on two insurance runs in the fourth. Henley knocked in Mitchell Haley who had singled earlier in the inning. Steven Plante followed Henley with an RBI walk to finish the Viking scoring at 10. The win moved Northwest overall record to 3-5.
| M | 0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
4 |
1 |
|
| NW | 1 |
7 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
X |
10 |
8 |
0 |
Leaders:
McKinney 1 for 2, HR, 2 runs, 3 RBI
Henley 2 for 2, RBI
Saunders 2 for 2, run, 2 RBI
Becker 1 for 1, run, RBI
3/19 - Tigers give Vikings 3rd conference Loss
Ragsdale used a 3 run home run in the first and a two run home run in the second to defeat Northwest 7-5 and send the Vikings to 1-3 in the Piedmont Triad 4A conference. After giving up the three runs in the top of the first, Northwest got two back in the bottom half with one out singles from Nathan Becker and Ben Schmucker and an RBI double from Keaton Haack. Jordan Browning followed Haack with an RBI ground out to score Schmucker for the second run. Down 6-2 in the third, the Vikings capitlized on a walk, a Schmucker hit, a pitcher throwing error, a shortstop error and a wild pitch to cut the Tiger lead to two. Josh Voss finished the Northwest scoring in the fourth plating Ben Saunders, who reached on a error and moved around the bases on wild pitches, on a Sac fly.
Haack was a bright spot on the mound for the Vikings entering the game with one out in the fourth. After giving up a hit to the first batter he faced, Haack retired the last eleven Tiger batters strking out four. The Viking offense was unable to put together a rally the last three innings as Ragsdale held on for the win. The loss dropped the Vikings to 2-5 overall.
| R | 3 |
3 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
7 |
8 |
3 |
|
| NW | 2 |
0 |
2 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
5 |
5 |
0 |
Leaders:
Schmucker 2 for 4, 2 runs
3/16 - Vikings end four game losing streak, beat HPC
Following loses to North Davidson (3-1) and Southwest Guilford (10-0), Northwest picked up their second win of the year breaking a four game losing streak by beating High Point Central 12-2. Ben Saunders won his second game pitching four innings, striking out seven. The offense got one in the first and three in the third before exploding for eight to put the game away in the fifth inning. Ben Schmucker went 2 for 2 with 2 walks scoring two runs and knocking in another with a double. Corey McKinney and Nathan Becker each had 2 RBI hits in the big 5th inning to score runs. The Vikings return home after four road games to face Ragsdale Friday night. The Tigers are 5-0, 3-0 in the Piedmont Triad 4A.
| NW | 0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
7 |
1 |
|
| ND | 1 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
X |
3 |
6 |
0 |
Leaders:
Browning 3 for 3
Saunders 1 for 3, 2B, RBI
Haack 1 for 3, run
| NW | 0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
8 |
|
| SW | 1 |
4 |
3 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
10 |
9 |
0 |
| NW | 1 |
0 |
3 |
0 |
8 |
2 |
4 |
2 |
|
| HPC | 0 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
8 |
15 |
0 |
Leaders:
McKinney 1 for 2, 2B, 2 runs, 2 RBI
Becker 1 for 2, 2 runs 2 RBI
Schmucker 2 for 2, 2B, 2 runs, RBI
3/9 - Vikings drop the first conference game, 10-4 Glenn
Northwest found themselves down 9-0 after 3 innings and were not able to recover losing their first conference game of the year to Glenn, 10-4. The trend of snapping winning and losing streaks continued for the Vikings as the Bobcats beat Northwest for the first time in the last four tries. The loss drops the Vikings to 1-2 overall.
Ben Schmucker was a bright spot at the plate going 4 for 4 with 2 2B, a run and an RBI. Jordan Browning also had a triple and RBI. Northwest tough schedule continues this week, travelling to North Davidson on Wednesday and Southwest Guilford on Friday.
| NW | 0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
2 |
1 |
0 |
4 |
8 |
4 |
|
| G | 2 |
3 |
4 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
X |
10 |
9 |
0 |
3/6 - Western breaks five game skid to NW, Wins 9-6
Jordan Browning had an outstanding day for the Vikings going 2 for 4 and driving in 4 runs but it wasn't enough as Northwest fell to their rival Western Guilford 9-6. Browning hit a two run home run in the bottom of the fourth, also scoring Nathan Becker who had singled, to cut a Western Guilford lead to 5-3. In the bottom of the fifth, Northwest rallied to go up 6-5. Keaton Haack and Ben Schmucker started the inning with singles. With two outs, Becker walked, followed by a Phillip Dixon walk that scored a run. Browning then delivered a two RBI single to give Northwest the lead. Northwest was unable to hold it as the Hornets scored three runs in the sixth and an insurance run in the seventh to grab the victory. The Vikings scored their first run when Josh Voss singled home Phillip Dixon, who had doulbed, in the second inning cutting the Western lead to 4-1 at the time.
Northwest will play at Glenn in their first Piedmont Triad 4A game of the year on Tuesday at 7:00.
| WG | 0 |
4 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
3 |
1 |
9 |
8 |
0 |
|
| NW | 0 |
1 |
0 |
2 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
6 |
11 |
3 |
Leaders:
Browning 2 for 4, HR, run, 4 RBI
Schmucker 2 for 4, run
Becker 2 for 3, 2 runs
3/4 - Vikings Win Season Opener
Northwest won its first game of the year over Mt. Tabor 8-2 Thursday at Sandy Gann Baseball Field. The Vikings snapped a 3 game losing streak to the Spartans and got a little revenge from being bounced in the playoffs back to back years. Ben Saunders led the way picking up the win on the mound. Saunders, who carried a perfect game into the fifth inning, allowed only two base runners in six shutout innings. Saunders threw only 58 pitches in the masterpiece giving up two hits, striking out three and didn't walk a batter.
The offense pounded out 15 hits including two hits apiece from Ben Schmucker, Sanders Kuxhausen, Corey McKinney, Nathan Becker, Phillip Dixon, Jordan Browning and Josh Voss. The scoring started in the bottom of the second when a Dixon triple plated Becker who had reached on an error. Browning followed Dixon with a double to put the Vikings up 2-0. JB would later score on an error and NW was up 3-0 after two. Becker tacked on another run in the third when he doubled to lead off the inning and eventually scored on a passed ball. The Vikings pushed their lead to 6 during the bottom of the fourth. Kuxhausen singled with one out. McKinney followed with a double to score Kux. McKinney later scored on a Dixon fielders choice. The Vikings finished their scoring in the fifth adding the final two runs. Voss lead off the inning with a double. With one out, Schmucker drove in Voss with a single and was thrown out trying to stretch it into a double. Kuxhausen then doubled down the left field line and McKinney followed with a single to score Kux.
| Mt T | 0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
2 |
4 |
2 |
|
| NW | 0 |
3 |
1 |
2 |
2 |
0 |
X |
8 |
15 |
0 |
Leaders:
Saunders 6 IP, 0 runs, 2 hits, 3 K's, 0 BB's
McKinney 2 for 4, 2B, run, RBI
Schmucker 2 for 4, RBI
Dixon 2 for 4, 3B, 2 RBI
Kuxhausen 2 for 4, 2B, 2 runs