by Marty Zier

Sports contributor

Vikings golf fought the elements in addition to Grace Academy in a winning effort on April 10.

Coach Bob Nutt said his players faced “mud, wind, rain and hail.” The Vikings men team won 162-184, led by Leaf Gustafson with a 44, Serei O’Toole a 54 and Ewan Lister at 64. However, some of the lowest scores were brought in by Maia Lewis-Shunk and sister Zoe with a 39 and 48, respectively.

The Vikings dodged the weather but lost a match against Mt. Vernon Christian, 211-185, on April 12. This week the Vikings face the Lummi Nation – weather permitting.

The Lady Vikings danced around the weather last week, winning two complete games but losing a rain-shortened contest against island rival Friday Harbor.

The stacked week began at home against the Darrington Loggers and finished with a 14-1 win. Flora Lister pitched three innings followed by relief pitcher Portia White with two innings. Neither allowed any hits.

“We had seven hits and drew eight walks, which resulted in 14 runs,” said Coach Kevin White. “Astasia Monahan lead the team with two hits while Jessie Nichols led the team with two RBIs.”

With the rain holding off, the Vikings played La Conner the next day and won 16-2.

“We faced a tough left-handed pitcher but we ended up fighting her off as we racked up 16 runs off 19 hits,” said White. “We finished the seventh inning strong by rolling in nine runs to put the game away. Katy Minnis led the way with five hits and five runs, including a double. Nichols added three more hits, including a double while Alanna Lago added three hits, including a triple. White and Lago led the team with 3 RBIs. Lister allowed two runs in the first inning and then was able to settle into a grove and not allow another run for a complete game allowing nine hits and two runs.”

The match of the week, however, was against the Friday Harbor Wolverines, which resulted in a Viking loss, 17-5.

“Friday Harbor started out of the gates fast with five runs, but we settled in and tied it up at the end of the third inning,” said White. “We struggled with a few errors for the first time this year and the Wolverines took advantage, scoring five runs in the fourth and seven more in the fifth. We fought back with three more runs, but had the game called after five innings due to rain. This was our toughest challenge so far this year and we showed great strides throughout – just couldn’t stop their offense that day. Flora pitched and allowed 17 runs off 11 hits, 10 walks and five strikeouts. Our offense kept us in it during the first four innings with eight runs on six hits, which was led by Ella Nelson, who racked up two hits including a double and a triple. White led the team with two RBIs with her double. We learned a lot and will grow from our mistakes. We look forward to the challenge when we will see Friday Harbor in a few weeks.”

Friday Harbor leads the league with a record of (3-0) followed by the Vikings at (3-1), La Conner (1-1), Darrington (0-1) and Concrete (0-4).

The first game of this week against Evergreen Lutheran was canceled due to rain but a doubleheader in Concrete is scheduled for April 19.

The Vikings baseball team went 2-2 last week with the last game rained out before an official finish.

The week started with a 10-0 win against the Darrington Loggers followed by a doubleheader with the La Conner Braves the next day. The Vikings lost the first game 7-5 but rebounded in the second for a 14-11 win. Head coach James Segault said the Vikings only fielded eight players for the first game but had all nine for the win.

“I am really proud of my guys for grinding it out with the bare minimum of players,” he said. “These games show some major resolve that will be important to us as we enter the second half of the season.”

The week ended with a Viking attempt at hosting a doubleheader with the Friday Harbor Wolverines, but after losing the first game, the Vikings were up 3-1 in the second game when it was called due to rain.

“We played Friday Harbor close in the first game until the seventh inning, but unfortunately the second game was called at the top of the third inning after we were ahead.”

The Vikings end the week with an overall record of (3-4) with a potential makeup game against the Wolverines and two away doubleheaders versus Concrete and Darrington.

Colleen Smith Armstrong/staff photos