POULSBO — The North Kitsap fastpitch field’s fence was christened for the season with home run balls not once — but twice Wednesday, when the Vikings took on the Bremerton Knights in the team’s first home league game.

Sophomore Josie Ball and junior Coreena Stout each went yard for NK, helping seal a 10-run blanking of the Knights that improved the Vikings to 3-2 on the year and 1-1 in league play.

The night before, the Vikings had succumbed to a 9-1 loss at Gig Harbor and North was happy to get redemption, regardless of which team was on the other side.

“The first league game was rough on everybody,” Ball said. “But everyone came together to pull this out.”

“This is definitely a confidence booster,” added Stout. “We were more nervous yesterday and we’re much more relaxed today.”

Head coach Dan Kolda said he, too, was pleased his team was able to regroup the next day versus the Knights but is still searching for some answers for what happened the night before against the Tides, a game in which his team made many uncharacteristic errors.

“Last night, I thought we went into the game very confident,” Kolda said. “But a lot of what happened was nervousness and I think the youthfulness of this team reared its head and overcame our strengths.”

The Vikings, a team that graduated an exceptionally talented senior class that included Heather Case, Brenda Stice, Jamie Heins and Lisa Gilbert, have successfully rebuilt a strong lineup, though most of its core are sophomores, like Ball, or juniors, like Stout. The success of last year can be equalled, Kolda said, but the game plan has to be altered.

“We’ve got the talent on paper and we know we’ve got the tools,” he said. “But our approach has to be different.”

One other game highlight against Bremerton was the pitching of Rachael Kramer, who went five innings and threw eight strikeouts and only gave up a single hit. As a team leader, she said the team just needs to “stay relaxed,” and “keep its composure,” against tough Narrows League opponents.

“I think we probably have the deepest lineup, the most talented team,” Kramer said. “And we just need to put it together.”

The Vikings don’t play next week during spring break but return to the diamond April 13 for its toughest contest yet at South Kitsap.