The baseball team (11–9) failed to hang on against the B–CC Barons (14–5) in the second round of playoffs Saturday with a final score of 8–6.

The Barons jumped ahead in the first inning 3–1, but the Vikings remained calm and took the lead in the next inning, which they carried up until the very end of the game.

Mason Levin had an impressive performance on the mound, pitching all the way up to the bottom of the seventh inning. However, in the middle of the seventh, the Vikes had to switch pitchers after Levin reached the 105 pitch limit, so Peter Montgomery stepped onto the mound in a extremely high-pressure situation.

“We put in one of our pitchers in a tough situation with bases loaded and nobody out,” Levin said. “As a pitcher, that is incredibly hard to work out of.”

Strong hitting by the Barons allowed them to come back from Whitman’s 6–3 lead and tie up the game. The next batter stepped up to the plate and hit a two-run home run, ending the game.

Although the Vikes may not have secured the victory, they’re happy with the way they battled against the top seeded Barons.

“I’m very proud of the way the team played in playoffs,” right fielder Zach Werkman said. “It wasn’t the result we wanted in the end, but we really competed and gave it everything on the field which is all I can ask for.”

Looking ahead to next season, the team looks to improve on the defensive end, cutting down the number of errors.

“Coach Cassidy says we hardly ever get beat, but we lose games ourselves,” Levin said. “If we limit these mistakes, whether that be on errors, striking out, or walks on the mound, we’ll win games and be very successful next season.”