The Prescott Cardinals had a big week this week winning four straight while beating Blair-Taylor on Monday 5-2, then defeating the Amery Warriors 15-0 and 19-0 on Tuesday and Thursday respectively, and finally taking home a third conference victory against the Baldwin-Woodville Blackhawks 8-2.

Coming into this week, Ellsworth had a two-game lead over Prescott, but after three straight conference victories, the Cardinals are now tied with the Panthers at the top of the Middle Border with identical 7-2 records.

The 5-2 win against Blair-Taylor was a nice warmup game for Prescott as Ella Stewart pitched a seven-inning complete game, allowing two runs on three walks and just two hits while striking out an even dozen.

It was a complete team effort on the offensive side with all but one of the starting lineup hitting their way on. Leah French led the way going 3-3 with two RBI, and Stewart helped her own cause going 2-3 with an RBI of her own. Kelsey Sterud also had a nice night, with a triple, a stolen base, a walk and two runs, while Ashley Keller and Rory Zuehlsdorf each had an extra base hit.

The next two games were complete blowouts as they beat Amery by a cumulative score of 34-0. Gabby Matzek and Stewart shared the pitching duties over these two outings, although they mercy-ruled the Warriors in three innings in both games.

The final game of the week was more difficult and served as the opening game of a split week series against the third-place Blackhawks.

The Cardinals still won comfortably behind yet another solid pitching performance by Stewart who threw a complete game, allowing two runs on four hits and one walk while striking out 11. It should be noted that Baldwin-Woodville did what they could to beat themselves as four of Prescott’s eight runs were unearned. Still, the girls did enough offensively even without those runs to win by a margin.

The red birds will have another three-game slate this week, finishing out the series against the Blackhawks at home on Monday, and then playing Osceola twice, once at home on Tuesday and then away on Thursday. All Prescott’s games will start at 5 p.m. this week.

Ellsworth

The Ellsworth Panthers went 1-2 last week, defeating the Osceola Chieftains 15-1 on Monday but losing to the Somerset Spartans on Tuesday 6-5 and Thursday 5-1.

In a week that started well for the Panthers defeating the Chieftains in five innings and winning by 14 on Monday, it got worse as it went on. Whereas on Monday they put 20 batters on base and scored 12 earned runs including a homerun by EmmaJo Meier, they only got five runners aboard on Tuesday and six on Thursday.

Tuesday’s game was one they really would’ve liked to have pulled out. After being down from the third inning on, the Panthers came alive in the bottom of the seventh to score four runs and tie the game.

Aaliyah Huppert got things going with a line drive single to left field, and she came around to score two batters later when Morgan Kolodzienski doubled to left. A single by Josie Pechacek to center followed that up, and Aubrey Wittenburg capped off the comeback with a homerun to center field to tie the game at 4-all and send it into extras.

Unfortunately, the Spartans scored a couple in the top of the eighth, and although Huppert hit a solo shot to left field to get one back, that would be all they would get. The game would wrap up shortly thereafter with a final score of 6-5.

With this, the Panthers took their first and second conference losses this week, and although they maintain the top spot in the Middle Border Conference, Prescott is now tied with them at 7-2. They will have a chance to get back on top this week when they play three straight MBC games. First, they traveled to Osceola to play the Spartans on Monday, then to Altoona on Tuesday to play the Railroaders and finally returning home on Thursday to finish up the series against Altoona.

On a side note, the Panthers will play two games against the Cardinals next week in what should be two very good softball games for fans to watch.

River Falls

The River Falls Wildcats finished 1-3 last week, beating Somerset at home on Monday 9-1 but losing to the Menomonie Mustangs twice, 12-11 on Tuesday and 4-2 on Thursday, before finally falling to Wausau East 12-2 on Friday.

It was a rough week for the Wildcats, with two tight losses that could’ve gone either way.

Game one can just be summed up with the name Lily Burke and then a bunch of exclamation points. She went 3-4 with two homeruns, a double, three runs and two RBI; just a monster day.

Jordan Schwantz also had a big day, hitting a grand slam homerun in the fourth inning to really blow the game wide open, and Jorgia Bengtson went 2-3 with two runs, two RBI and a walk. Finally, Jordan Torrez had an underrated day, showcasing her skills in the box by walking three times, stealing a base and scoring two runs.

Audra Adermann pitched a complete game, allowing just one run on two hits while walking four and striking out two.

Tuesday’s game was the one that got away though, and most of the damage came in the first inning when the Mustangs plated seven to take a huge lead. They scored one more in the second and three more in the third to make it 11-0.

The Wildcats didn’t quit though, and in the top of the fourth inning, a two-out rally sparked by Dani Poellinger resulted in six runs coming across. A single, a walk and two more singles had the bases juiced for who else, Burke. After taking a ball and working her way into a hitter’s count, she got one to drive and hit a grand slam to right field, making it an 11-6 ballgame.

Menomonie would put their 12^th run on the board in the bottom of the fifth, which would turn out to be the final nail in the coffin as the Wildcats plated five more in the top of the sixth to make it a 12-11 game going into the final inning.

There must have been a collective groan from the Mustangs when Burke came up to bat with the bases loaded again. They should’ve intentionally walked her, but after working her way into a full count with three balls and three straight fouls, she connected and cleared the bases with a line drive double to right field. Two batters later, with two outs, Torrez stepped into the box and homered on a fly ball to center field to make it a five-run inning, nearly completing a highly improbable comeback.

After a week of highs and lows, the Wildcats will look to put a few more W’s up this week when they play two games against Rice Lake, first at home on Tuesday at 4:30 p.m., then on the road at 5 p.m. Thursday. The finish up against Osceola at home at 1 p.m. Saturday.

Spring Valley

The Spring Valley Cardinals went 0-3 last week, losing two straight to the Mondovi Buffaloes, 9-4 on Monday and 6-0 on Tuesday, and then finishing up with a 12-2 defeat against Boyceville.

It was another tough week for the Cardinals softballers as they’ve lost eight in a row after starting the season at 2-2.

Monday’s game came down to one big inning for Mondovi, and it was a game they led until the bottom of the third inning. Spring Valley got on the board early as Megan Harvey doubled to score Evah Butts all the way from first base.

Maddie Shafer held the fort down on the bump, blanking Mondovi over the first two innings before three defensive errors and a string of hits resulted in a five-run inning. The Buffaloes would plate three more in the fifth and one in the sixth before Spring Valley rallied in the top of the seventh, putting three on the board on the back of three walks and three singles to make it 9-4.

That’s the way the box score would stay as the Cardinals took the loss.

Although she allowed 10 hits, Shafer actually pitched a better game than it looks. She threw a complete game, allowed just three earned runs and struck out nine.

Reese Vivoda and Danika Schmitt each had multi-hit performances, with Vivoda going 2-4 with an RBI and Schmitt going 2-2 with a walk and a run scored. Harvey and Pride Beyer each had an extra base hit in this one, and Addison Nelson stole a base.

Looking ahead, the Cardinals have a chance to hang another W or two this week when they play Elmwood-Plum City on the road on Monday and return home to play Colfax on Thursday. First pitch for both games is at 5 p.m.

Elmwood-Plum City

The Elmwood-Plum City Wolves went 1-2 this week, beating the Glenwood City Hilltoppers 6-4 on Monday and then losing 14-7 to Elk Mound on Thursday and 11-2 to Eau Claire Immanuel Lutheran on Friday.

The Wolves got their first win of the season this week with a solid performance on the road in Glenwood City on Monday.

Britta Link sat the Hilltoppers down in order to open the game with a strikeout for one and some weak contact for the other two. Link then singled on a hard ground ball to center field and then stole both second and third before scoring on an error as the Wolves took an early 1-0 lead into the third inning.

Link kept up her strong mound presence, working around a leadoff walk with a strikeout and a pair of groundouts.

The bats came alive in the fourth inning for the Wolves as Riley Ginsbach reached on an error, Link was hit by a pitch, then Cori Wood walked to load the bases. Elli Maxwell hit a sacrifice fly to right field but still managed to reach safely on an error. Abby Krings scored a run on a ground ball fielder’s choice and Brittany Bechel singled to score a fourth run before it was all over as EPC jumped out to a 5-0 lead.

Glenwood City would get three of those runs back in the bottom of the frame, but some good plate discipline put multiple Wolves on base in the fifth and they were able to tack on another run with some opportunistic base running to make it 6-3. The Hilltoppers got one more before it was all over, but in the end, EPC took home its first win of the season.

Link pitched a complete game in this one, striking out nine and allowing zero earned runs on five hits and one walk.

Next up for EPC is a two-game week versus a pair of Dunn-St. Croix opponents. First up was a home game against Spring Valley on Monday, and then they head to Durand-Arkansaw on Thursday. Both games begin at 5 p.m.