The Vikings went through four pitchers on the night, and allowed bases to get loaded in each of the first four innings. The Wolverines ultimately pulled ahead behind a four-run third inning, and kept control from there.

“They [MACCRAY] took advantage of what we did tonight. We just didn’t throw strikes as consistently as what we have been the last few games, and that just kind of unraveled pretty quickly,” Minneota head coach Keven Larson said. “It didn’t matter if we put two or three different people out there, we just kind of struggled. If a ball got hit or defensively, they took advantage of a couple of errors that we had early on, they played well. They pitched well, and we tip our cap to them.”

Landon Esping got the start on the mound, while MACCRAY scored two runs to take a quick 2-0 lead in the first.

The Wolverines got into scoring position following a walk and a hit-by-pitch, and an RBI single accounted for the first run. MACCRAY added in one more following a Vikings’ throwing error when attempting to throw to third to get a runner out.

Photo by Samantha Davis: Minneota's Eli Faris leads off of second base Thursday night against MACCRAY in a Camden Conference prep baseball game.

Yet, Esping threw a pair of strikeouts with bases loaded to halt the Wolverines from deepening their early lead.

The Vikings in response were able to get a run on the board in the bottom of the first, when Carson Javers scored off a Kaden Christensen sacrifice hit. Javers initially got on base with an infield grounder, stole second and moved to third with the help of an Ian Myhre sacrifice hit.

But, MACCRAY brought in another trio of runs in the top of the second to build its lead up to 5-1. The three runs came on bases loaded with two outs, between an infield dropped fly ball and a Wolverines’ two-run RBI single on a line drive to left field.

Minneota also made the pitching change to Myhre at the top of the frame.

After the Vikings were held scoreless in the bottom of the second, the Wolverines tacked on four more runs in the top of the third to take a 9-1 lead.

Photo by Samantha Davis: Minneota's Mason Javers eyes down a pitch Thursday night against MACCRAY in a Camden Conference prep baseball game.

With the bases loaded, Minneota walked in all four runs. Mason Javers was sent in to relieve for Myhre following the first run, and finished off the inning with back-to-back strikeouts.

Minneota attempted to get back in the fight, and chipped in a pair of runs in the bottom of the third.

The Vikings returned the favor and got bases loaded with no outs, and Eli Faris was the first to get across the plate after Myhre was walked. Faris initially walked to reach base as well.

Sawyer Bradley then got into scoring position after he was walked and made his way to third after MACCRAY also saw some pitching struggles, and charged home on a passed ball to cut into a 9-3 deficit.

MACCRAY made a pitching change from Griffen Noble to Josue Mendonza, and the Wolverines wrapped up the final two outs with a strikeout and a grounder into fielders choice.

Photo by Samantha Davis: Minneota's Ian Myhre tosses a pitch Thursday night against MACCRAY in a Camden Conference prep baseball game.

“It’s kind of a mental game after they go up five, six runs or whatever, and then it kind of gets us out of our game,” Larson said. “Like I said, they [MACCRAY] threw a lot of strikes, and when we put the ball in play, they made plays defensively when they needed them.”

The Wolverines kept up much of the same pace and control, adding in another three runs in the top of the fourth for a 12-3 lead, between scoring on a Minneota throwing error followed up with a two-run RBI single.

But, Minneota ended the inning in good fashion with a double play made by Mason Javers fielding a hard ground ball at second and flipping it up to Myhre at second, and Myhre tossed to Christensen at first.

Seth Paluch also stepped in to pitch the final two innings.

The Wolverines added one more run in the sixth and held off Minneota for one more final at-bat the end the game an inning early.

Photo by Samantha Davis: Minneota's Logan Pohlen throws the ball in after fielding it Thursday night against MACCRAY in a Camden Conference prep baseball game.

Despite the loss, the Vikings have recently been on a mission and quickly turned things around from the start of the season. Entering Thursday, they had not dropped a game since they lost the first four of the season in a row, and went on a seven-game win streak.

“We are just trying to figure things out. From the beginning, we had kind of a new lineup, for the most part, going into this season,” Larson said of the team’s turnaround. “Then all of a sudden, we had a few young guys and new guys, and we just had to mix and match with the lineup. Then, we started figuring things out.”

Minneota (7-5) will next hit the road to Tracy-Milroy-Balaton (5-6) on Monday with a 4:30 p.m. first pitch.