Norse Out Last Warriors

The Northfield baseball team grabbed a 6-0 lead at North Miami Wednesday before holding on to defeat the Warriors 10-7.

The game was scoreless heading to the top of the third when the Norse made some noise. Cole Rosen would lead off with a single and was followed by a Chance Hartman single to chase Rosen to third. Clayton Tomlinson would then lay down the squeeze bunt with Rosen scoring for a 1-0 lead. Nate Drancik would follow with a walk to put runners on the corners again before Braden Ripplinger reached on an error with Hartman scoring. Jarrett Shafer would follow with a sacrifice bunt before Jacob Truman drew a walk to load the bases. Gage Watkins would then single home Drancik to make it 3-0. Michael Fisher followed with a walk to force home Ripplinger. Johnson would follow scoring on a wild pitch before Hartman singled home Watkins for a 6-0 lead.

The Norse were still leading 6-0 in the bottom of the fourth when the Warriors would cut the deficit. Musselman would lead off with a walk before a Green single. With two outs a Holland double scored both runners to make it 6-2. A dropped third strike would let Carter reach before Carter and Holland pulled off the double steal to make it 6-3.

Northfield would respond with 3 runs in the top of the fifth. Shafer would lead off with a double. With two outs and Shafer standing on third Fisher would single to make it 7-3. A Rosen single would put runners on first and second when Hartman singled to score both runners for a 9-3 lead.

In the sixth Ripplinger would hit a one out single. With two outs Truman would be hit by a pitch before Watkins singled home Ripplinger to make it 10-3.

With Northfield leading 10-3 in the bottom of the seventh the Warriors would make a push. Mongosa would lead off drawing a walk before a Henderson single. Musselman would follow with a walk to load the bases with no outs when Green single scored Collins and Henderson to make it 10-5. Johnson would then reach on an error with Musselman scoring for a 10-6 score. A Masters ground out then scored Green to make it 10-7 before a strike out ended the game.