ELLSWORTH — The River Falls Fighting Fish got it done on both sides of the ball Friday night, picking up a 14-0 win in seven innings on the road against the Ellsworth Hubbers.

The 14 runs for the Fighting Fish came from 14 hits, none of which left the ballpark. River Falls hitters up and down the lineup were getting the job done by getting on base any way they could and passing the baton to the next batter. No hitter tried to do too much, and it paid off.

“We had hits from probably everybody in the lineup. We’re super deep, we have a ton of guys that can swing,” Fighting Fish pitcher Matt Doornink said. “It’s gonna be difficult to make the lineup as we go forward.”
Three runs were put up in the first inning before River Falls starting pitcher Jake Lindsay even took the mound for the first time. River Falls would pile on four more runs in the second inning to snatch a commanding lead.

On the mound, Lindsay put on a dominant display, not allowing a baserunner until a fourth inning walk, and not allowing a hit until a sixth inning single high off the left field wall. Lindsay would go on to silence the Hubbers for six innings. Eli Condon would close the game out on the mound for the Fish.

Lindsay said the lead allowed him to lock in and control what he can control.

“Nothing to lose. Settle in, throw strikes and make them hit to win,” Lindsay said.

While the stellar performance on the mound was not needed given the lead built by the offense, it showcased the skill Lindsay has and allowed him to continue to build confidence.

“Good pitchers can pitch with a lead,” Doornink said. “It’s always good to throw up zeroes after you put up a couple.”

While there were countless strong performances from the Fish, Doornink said the performance in the field from shortstop Trey Larson and the pitching performance from Lindsay stood out most.

“That’s pretty standard Jake Lindsay,” Doornink said. “Pound the zone, don’t walk guys, keep the pitch count low.”

The coming schedule for the squad includes home matchups with Elmwood on Wednesday and Centennial on Saturday before hitting the road to take on Menomonie on Sunday.

Ellsworth followed up the game with a loss to the Prescott Pirates 5-0 on Saturday. One of the Hubbers’ coaches, Cory Brathall, said to find success, the team needs to cut down on strikeouts and find a way to put the ball in play as much as possible.

“It just starts from having better at bats,” Brathall said. “We got kind of down early and then we were swinging at first pitches a lot and getting ourselves out. Just got to come with a better approach at the plate.”

Brathall had high praise for the Fighting Fish, and said it takes a high quantity of quality at bats to match up against the talented roster.

“They proved why they’ve won a couple state championships here in the last couple years,” Brathall said. “That’s a good ball club, and if you don’t ever put pressure on the pitcher, it gets to be a long night.”

The Hubbers are set to take on Hastings on Friday and Spring Valley on Saturday, both games being at home.