The North Kitsap Vikings softball team split a doubleheader March 15 at the Kitsap County Fairgrounds against two non-conference opponents, beating Orting 7-3 before losing to Ridgefield 4-2.

The first inning of the game against Ridgefield started off with an RBI double off of Viking starting pitcher Charizma Fake, giving the Spudders a 1-0 lead. Ruby Peterson of NK got on base after hitting a single, but catcher Reyna Blackwood, Fake, and third-baseman Campbell Weible all struck out to end the bottom of the inning.

Fake shook off the RBI double she gave up in the first, striking out the first Ridgefield batter and forcing a double play in the second inning. In the third inning, she again made quick work of the Spudder batters, striking out the side.

Viking Reese Anderson hit a double to centerfield in the top of the fourth, sending Weible home, and narrowing NK’s deficit to 3-1. “We don’t get down on ourselves when we make mistakes,” Fake said.

The top of the fifth another Spudder double led to another score, but then Anderson hit another double, driving in another run for the Vikings and making the score 4-2 at the end of the sixth inning.

Fake struck out another Ridgefield batter, tallying up nine strikeouts by the top of the seventh inning. NK got its first two runners on in the bottom of the seventh inning. But an infield pop-up, strike out and ground out ended the threat and the game.

“Our pitchers both went seven innings today,” said NK coach Clay Blackwood, whose team is 2-1 on the season. “That’s pretty huge to be going this long into the game this early” in the season.