Littlefork-Big Falls has all but locked up the No. 4 seed in the north subsection of Section 7A. Now it’s time to improve for the playoffs.
The Vikings (12-6), who won’t be officially seeded in the section until Sunday, defeated Hill City on Monday 6-2 in Littlefork.
The game didn’t have section implications, and neither will games at home against Warroad and Lake of the Woods on Thursday, but the Vikings avoided their biggest weakness — poor defensive play — and started strong.
“We played well and hopefully we can keep it going,” said Vikings head coach Mike Imhof.
L-BF plated four runs in the first inning, highlighted by a two-run double by Sam Hams. Hannah Hell also had an RBI walk and Carlie Anderson had an RBI groundout as Hornets pitcher Kassi Neary struggled to find her control. Neary walked three in the inning.
Hill City rebounded with two runs in the top of the fourth, but Anderson worked out of a jam to hold the score at 4-2. Haley McNeil and Becky Swing had RBI singles in the inning.
The Vikings finished off the scoring with two insurance runs in the sixth. Liz Wilke-Bobst led off with a walk and came home on an Emily Trappe double. Trappe then came home on an RBI single by Whitney Junker, who finished 2-for-4. Trappe finished 2-for-3.
Anderson collected the win for L-BF, surrendering two runs on six hits with two strikeouts and a walk, while Neary lost for Hill City (6-9).
Thursday’s doubleheader begins at 4:30 p.m., and although it doesn’t mean much of anything for section seedings, Imhof is looking to enter the Section 7A tournament on a win streak.
“Thursday’s games will just be a chance to play two tough teams,” he said.
