The Pelican Rapids baseball team was in Hawley May 18 and came up short in a pair of games against the Nuggets. 

The Vikings got on the scoreboard first in game one. Kaden Holt cracked a two-out single to center and quickly advanced to second when Jayden Ripley was hit by a pitch. Josh Bakken then laced a single to right field plating Holt and giving the Vikings a 1-0 lead. Hawley would keep the Viking bats in check the rest of the way, however. The Nuggets would also respond with runs in four of the game’s last five innings to earn a 10-1 win. Esteban Garza started on the mound and pitched five solid innings giving up four earned runs and striking out two without allowing a single walk. Willem Pesch would come on in relief and allow two earned runs while striking out one. 

The Vikings were led at the plate by Kaden Holt and Esteban Garza, who both collected two hits. Jack Paulson and Josh Bakken also had hits in the game. 

The script to game two played out much the same as the first game, with the Vikings losing by a score of 12-0. Ethan Sjostrom was the game’s starting pitcher tossing four innings and giving up four earned runs while striking out four. Lucas VerDorn came on in relief for two innings giving up just one earned run. Luke Sjolie had two hits for the Vikings, including a double. Paulson, Garza, and Bakken joined him in the hit column. 

“It was a tough day at times for our guys as we continued to put the ball in play, but everything seemed to be finding Hawley’s gloves.” Noted head coach Andy Johnson. “I also thought that we pitched well. Both Ethan and Esteban did a great job of throwing strikes.”