Colfax baseball team drops pair of D-SC games to Boyceville and Mondovi

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by Marlys Kruger

Sports Correspondent

Taking on two of the leading teams in the Dunn-St. Croix Conference on the road last week turned out to be a difficult task for the Viking baseball team. Although they scored their highest run total of the season, they lost in a slugfest 24-14 at Boyceville April 22.  They traveled to second-place Mondovi three days later and dropped a 3-1 contest to the Buffaloes.

Colfax is now 2-5 overall and in conference play.

Boyceville

The final score seemed to resemble a slow pitch softball game score with both teams struggling in all aspects of the game. Colfax used five pitchers in the contest who combined for 12 strikeouts but they gave up 24 runs with 14 walks and several hit batsmen along with 10 hits. Boyceville used three hurlers who combined for 12 runs with 10 free passes and 10 Ks. Defense was not a strong point either as they each had five errors in the field.

Colfax started the game on a high note scoring twice without the benefit of a hit as they used a Bulldog error, a couple of walks and a fielder’s choice to go up 2-0 after a half inning of play. Starting pitcher Mason Yarrington struggled as he gave up four singles, a couple of free passes and hit two batters while his teammates made two errors in the field and it was 7-2 for Boyceville. 

Colfax added a run in the second when Peyton Hover walked, stole second, moved up on a wild pitch and came home on Drew Buchner’s single. Orion Nichols took over on the mound and held Boyceville scoreless in their half of the second. The Viking bats finally exploded in the third, starting with a walk to both Zach Hiitola and Nichols. Grant Cook and Caleb Bailey smacked singles, Buchner and Kade Anderson slammed doubles with two outs, and Yarrington and Hiitola both walked and when the dust cleared, the Vikings were up 8-7.

The lead didn’t last long as the Bulldogs scored three runs on a couple of free passes, a Viking error and a base hit to make it 10-8 in their favor.

Hiitola moved to the pitcher’s mound for the Vikings and after getting the first batter out in the fourth inning, he fell apart, issuing some free passes, hitting a batter and giving up a couple of hits. The defense didn’t help much as they committed two errors and after four innings, the Bulldogs were up 17-7

Colfax didn’t want to end the game early as they put up a five spot starting with Buchner getting hit by a pitch. Anderson singled, Hiitola took a walk and something happened that has not happened in many years for the Colfax baseball team. Nichols and Cook slammed back-to-back homers and when the inning ended, five runners came home.

Boyceville continued to score however, with three in the bottom of the fifth, and after the Vikings added a run in the top of the sixth, Boyceville ended the game with four final runs off two more Viking hurlers.

Anderson batted 3-for-4 with a trio of RBIs, Cook was 3-for-4 including his round tripper, lead-off batter Buchner was 2-for-3 with three RBIs, scoring four runs and swiping three bases, Hiitola scored twice and stole three bases, Nichols had just one hit but his tater brought in three runs and Bailey had a hit, an RBI and a run scored.

Mondovi

After the Boyceville game, it was like night and day when the Vikings played at Mondovi. Colfax lost 6-0 earlier in the season to the Buffaloes, but broke their scoreless streak by putting up a quick run in the top of the first. Buchner continued to do his job as a lead-off batter, reaching first by getting tagged by a pitch. He stole second, moved up on a ground ball off the bat of Yarrington and came home on Hiitola’s base hit. Nichols followed with another single but both runners were stranded after a fly ball for the third out. Bailey got all the way to third base in the second inning but once again the Vikings couldn’t get the runner in. 

Yarrington shut down the Buffaloes for the first three innings with four strikeouts to help his cause. In the fourth inning with one out, a Viking error led to a Mondovi run with a wild pitch and a single to tie it up. Yarrington whiffed the next batter but gave up a single and hit a batter, then settled down to strike out the next Buffalo for the third out.

Mondovi pulled ahead, scoring a run in the fifth on a couple of singles with another Viking miscue in the mix, but Yarrington ended the inning with another strikeout. The Buffaloes tacked on an insurance run in the sixth and set the Vikings down in order in the seventh to take the win.

Yarrington absorbed the loss after pitching a very strong game, allowing two runs with three hits, seven Ks and just one walk. Nichols finished the game, giving up the third run on two hits and had one strikeout. Hiitola and Nichols picked up the only hits for the team, both singles and Buchner scored the only run while Hiitola brought in the only run.