Ellsworth baseball and softball each began conference play with a pair of games against Baldwin-Woodville, and were each swept by the tough opponent. The baseball team lost 4-1 and 7-1 before ending the week on a positive note by beating Spooner 12-3.

“Our first game on Tuesday, I thought we played pretty well. Hit some balls hard at people. Just one of those games. Thursday we didn’t have our best stuff, but I’m really happy with the way we bounced back and got a big win on Friday,” Coach Kasey Bass said.

The bats were activated in the win, with Omar Coulson reaching base four times and driving in three runs, Jack Stoltenberg reaching base three times and driving in one run, Gavin Klos driving in a pair, Parker Peterson plating one and Evan Beissel bringing in another.

“We just started trusting our approaches a little bit more, staying within ourselves, not trying to do too much. Just kind of hit the ball where it’s pitched,” Bass said.

Wyley Myers, Ryan Acker and Vincent Orrichio combined to allow three runs over seven innings on the mound.

Coulson and Gavin Wittenberg have gotten the job done with their approach thus far. Coulson has two hits and an impressive six walks in 13 plate appearances, and Wittenberg has two hits, four walks and a hit by pitch in eight appearances, getting out a single instance.

A weakness of Ellsworth so far has been the first inning. The Panthers have allowed a pair of runs in all three first innings this season, a statistic that needs to improve down the road.

“I would like to see us start a little bit faster. It seems like we take the first inning or two to find our footing and then we go,” Bass said.

Softball

Ellsworth began the season with probably the toughest three games the Panthers will have to play all year, after losing to Hudson a week ago, Ellsworth lost 12-0 and 13-1 to a seemingly untouchable Baldwin-Woodville roster.

Baldwin-Woodville is far from a slouch of a team, allowing just one run over the first four games of the season. The Blackhawks beat River Falls 12-0 and McDonell Central 7-0 in their two other games this season. Over 22 innings pitched for Blackhawk Kenzie Midtling, she allowed a single run on a single from Aubrey Bauer of Ellsworth, who had two of the four Panther hits in the 13-1 loss.

The road does not get easier in the immediate future, as Ellsworth will now face a Somerset team on April 14 and 16 that just won a pair against Prescott.