t Olympia rolls over NK 10-0.

POULSBO — It was a long, tough afternoon on the diamond for Jeff Weible’s Vikings Wednesday, as they lost a Narrows League division game to Olympia 10-0. The defeat was 90 percent mental, as Olympia’s starting pitcher, Adam Conley, is a sought-after slinger who’s committed to play at Washington State in the fall.

Whatever the mindset was going into the game, it was the outcome that displeased Weible.

“They hit the ball a lot better than we did,” said Weible.

It took a bit for Vikings starting pitcher Ben Gronka to find his groove against Olympia. While the coach was happy with Gronka’s effort, he pointed out the Vikings defensive effort was lackluster.

“(Gronka) has done a good job for us this year. He did a good job for us,” Weible said. “He just didn’t get much help from the defense.”

Indeed, the Vikes defense was full of missed cues, overthrows and bad bounces. In what could have been a turning point for the Vikes, outfielder Jeff Jones smacked into the fence to snag a popup in the second inning.

“He kept backpedaling and he backed into the fence,” Weible said. “It wasn’t as dramatic as it looked.”

While the ice-cold rain that fell intermittently throughout the game may have played a role in the mistakes, Weible wasn’t looking for excuses. He’s looking to motivate his team to earn a slot in the playoffs.

Weible also lamented that his Vikings only had two hits the whole day. Couple that with the 10 strikeouts, and the team is left looking for some answers.

The Vikes who played on Wednesday aren’t the Vikes Weible knows they can be. The Vikes he knows are a game up on Foss, the team they need to be up on to make the playoffs.

“We’re more talented than that. We should have been putting the ball in play,” he said. For some reason that’s difficult to pinpoint, the Vikes weren’t as mentally prepared for the game as they usually are.

The Vikes traveled to Olympia on Friday. The results of that game were unavailable at presstime.