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The baseball team fell to the undefeated Paint Branch Panthers 4–1 Saturday afternoon, dropping to 3–4 on the season.

The Vikings’ only run came in the first inning, when outfielder Andrew Cashmere, who got on base with a single, scored on a single from third baseman Alex Clark.

Clark and Cashmere’s singles in the first were two of just three hits the team had all game. Clark hit another single later in the contest.

The Vikes’ low offensive production caught up with them in the fourth inning, when Paint Branch scored two runs. The Panthers extended their lead with runs in the fifth and sixth innings.

The Vikings credited the power of the Panthers’ starting pitcher, among other factors, for the lackluster performance.

“I think many of us struggled to catch up with the pitcher’s fastball in the first few innings,” shortstop Ian Atkinson said, “so we found ourselves falling behind in the count.”

Not only did the Vikes have a week-long break from practices over the vacation, but their game against Northwest on Friday was postponed due to rain, disrupting the rhythm they had going into spring break.

“I think the week off disrupted our timing. We also lost some momentum we had gained over the last two games,” outfielder Eric Wayman said.

The Vikings hope to use what they learned from the low-scoring performance to improve their offense in the future.

“If we are going to score more runs, we are going to need more productive at-bats, as well as the seniors to take their game to the next level,” Atkinson said.

The Vikings will look to produce at the plate, and shed their losing record, when they host Walter Johnson on Tuesday at 7 p.m.