Photo by Jake McNeill: Minneota/Canby left fielder Emily Verhelst (left) attempts to slide into home plate as Lakeview catcher Adison Hinz applies a tag during the fifth inning of a softball game in Minneota on Thursday. The Vikings swept the Lakers 7-4 and 10-0.

MINNEOTA — The Vikings’ offense has been on a roll all season and that didn’t change on Thursday night. Minneota/Canby pulled away late in its first game against Lakeview for a 7-4 win before cruising to a 10-0 victory in five innings in the second game of the doubleheader.

The Vikings took their first lead of the game in the top of the second inning. Dakota Pesch and Madison Hennen each singled to start the inning strong and a Kenadi Arndt walk loaded up the bases with one out. 

Pesch scored first by sprinting home on a wild pitch and singles from Kiersyn Hulzebos and Faith Myhre drove in another pair of runs to give the Vikings a 3-2 lead. 

Myhre had the hot hand at the dish on the day for Minneota. Her three hits in five at-bats were a game-high, as were her two RBIs. Kiersyn and Izabelle Hulzebos, Joel Otto and Madison Hennen each had another pair of hits as well.

“Lately I’ve been struggling to get hits, but just making tiny adjustments in the box really helped me today,” Myhre said. “The big thing for me is just keeping my eye on the ball the whole time and having nothing else running through my mind.”

The Lakers took advantage of some early Minneota/Canby miscues to score the game’s first runs in the bottom of the first inning. Hennen struck out each of the first two Lakers she faced but a dropped third strike allowed Kiara Hinz to reach base successfully. Emma Brusven was then hit by a pitch and Olivia Hinz singled to load the bases with one out. A strikeout put two away but Teegan Fiene put the Lakers on the board in the next at-bat with a two-run single.

After allowing a pair of first-inning runs, Hennen settled down in the circle for Minneota/Canby. She pitched all seven innings, holding the Lakers to three earned runs on five hits. She also struck out 18 batters while walking just one.

Brusven also pitched a solid game in the circle for Lakeview. She struck out seven batters over seven innings while allowing six earned runs. She walked 12 batters and surrendered 14 hits.

After two scoreless frames, the Vikings gave themselves some breathing room in the top of the fifth. A Hennen double and an Emily Verhelst single put runners on the corners with no outs. Kenadi Arndt then crushed a single to left field to score one run, though Verhelst was caught at the plate trying to make it two.

After a strikeout put two outs against Minneota/Canby, Kiersyn Hulzebos reached base with a walk and Arndt scored on a wild pitch. A Faith Myhre hard-hit single to center field then scored Hulzebos for a 6-2 Minneota lead.

The Vikings cost themselves some runs with some baserunning mistakes on the day, Minneota/Canby head coach Heidi Louwagie said after the game, but overall it was positive to still see the team consistently push runs across the plate and come away with the win.

While the Vikings maintained their lead for the remainder of the game, the Lakers didn’t go down quietly. An Aubrey Pederson double and a Kiara Hinz single put runners on the corners with one out. Pederson scored on a passed ball and Hinz scored on a wild pitch to bring the Lakers within two. Yet, Hennen struck out each of the next two batters to maintain a 6-4 Minneota lead.

Adison Hinz had a solid defensive game as the Lakers’ backstop. In the top of the fourth, she caught two separate runners stealing to prevent the Vikings from extending their lead. 

“She’s seeing the ball well and our defense is helping her with those runners,” Lakeview head coach Linnea Stibbe said. “She’s got a throw that’s right on target most of the time. We get it there, we throw a tag down, we’re tagging low to get those runners out.”

Joelle Otto hit a triple with two outs in the seventh inning and scored on a passed ball to give Minneota/Canby one last insurance run. It proved unnecessary as Hennen struck out the side in the bottom of the seventh to seal the victory.

“We had some good moments in that game, we stayed with them for a bit, but we had to get the bats going,” Stibbe said. “We need the bats, so right now we’re just shaking that one off.”

Game 2

While Minneota’s offense got the job done in the first game, they found a way to turn it up to another level in game 2. 

After a hard hit from Kiersyn Hulzebos turned into a flyout in the leadoff at-bat, the Vikings continued to swing hard. Myhre and Pesch hit back-to-back singles before Otto doubled to drive in the first Minneota run.

Hennen kept the rally going by driving in Pesch on a fielder’s choice and a Kenadi Arndt single drove in Otto for a 3-0 Minneota lead after the first inning.

The Lakers seemed to have made some adjustments to start the second, getting each of the first two Viking batters out. Yet, Minneota/Canby still found a way to rally. Kiersyn Hulzebos got on base with a walk and Faith Myhre doubled to center field to drive in Hulzebos. 

The Lakers’ errant throw to home allowed Myhre to advance over to third base, where another errant Lakeview throw allowed her to advance home for a 5-0 Minneota/Canby lead. Pesch tripled on the next at-bat but a groundout ended the inning before the Vikings could do any further damage.

“Being aggressive on the bases is something that I really value, so any time I can get around an extra base, that’s super important to me,” Myhre said, adding that she puts an emphasis on being aware of the opposing team’s defensive position at all times.

Otto started in the circle for Minneota/Canby in the second game of the doubleheader and did a quality job of keeping Lakeview off the scoreboard. She pitched a scoreless complete game, holding Lakeview to five hits and no walks while striking out three batters

The Vikings’ defense provided support behind Otto all game long. In the second inning, Grace Hennen sprinted forward for a diving catch to cap off a 1-2-3 inning.

Both teams went dormant for two innings until Minneota’s offense reignited in the bottom of the fifth. A Verhelst single and Arndt double put runners on second and third with two outs when Rachel Fairchild came up to bat. She hit a single to drive in one run. From there, Arndt and Fairchild both scored on passed balls to make it 8-0 after the fifth. 

Brusven and Olivia Hinz each singled in the top of the sixth but neither crossed the plate for a run, giving the Vikings the opportunity to end the game in the bottom of the frame.

Pesch reached base on an error in the first at-bat of the inning and an Otto single put runners on the corners with no outs. After Otto stole second, Madison Hennen singled to drive in the first run of the inning and Otto scored when Arndt reached base on a dropped third strike to make the score 10-0, triggering the mercy rule.

Now 10 games into the season, Minneota/Canby has scored five or more runs in all but two of their games and has been averaging 9.6 runs per game. 

“We’ve been staying well together as a team. We have great team chemistry and we all know how to come together and support each other,” Myhre said.

Fiene pitched all five innings for Lakeview, allowing eight earned runs on 16 hits. She struck out two batters while walking one.

Minneota/Canby improves to 9-1 with the wins while Lakeview falls to 3-6. The Vikings will compete again today at 4:30, going on the road for a matchup against Russell-Tyler-Ruthton. Lakeview will take the weekend to regroup and will host Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg for their next game on Tuesday at 4:30 p.m.