Big inning propels Tigers past Vikings, By JOE KRAUSE, Sports Editor

LITTLEFORK — After a disappointing week last week when the Littlefork-Big Falls Vikings baseball team went 1-5, the team opened play this week with an 8-1 home loss to the Cherry Tigers.
“We have to come ready to play whether it is Monday or not and we didn’t do that today,” Vikings head coach Todd Sether said.
Rain forced school officials to change the location of the game from the new ball field behind the high school to the old ball field at Lofgren Park.
“We can’t use the field as an excuse,” Sether said. “The field was the same for both teams. Whether we are here (at Lofgren Park), the new field or at the Metrodome, it doesn’t matter.”
The Vikings were able to keep the game close early, but the Tigers took advantage of some timely hitting and a pair of fielding errors in the fifth inning to score five runs and open up a large lead.
L-BF junior Justin Franz took the loss on the mound for the Vikings giving up eight runs on eight hits and two walks. Striking out five in 4 and 2/3 innings of work.
“We committed a couple of errors and didn’t help him (Franz) out a lot,” Sether said. “We need to get those first and second outs right away. We can’t give them extra bases and at bats and that’s what we did today.”
Senior Paul Kennedy pitched the final 2 and 2/3 innings for the Vikings giving up no runs on five hits and striking out two.
Franz led the Vikings from the plate going 1-for-3 with a double and a run scored. Billy Boyd was 1-for-3 and picked up the lone Vikings RBI in the game.
The team will attempt to rebound from the loss when they host the Lake of the Woods Bears at 4:30 p.m. today in Littlefork.