The Ellsworth High School softball team, which was the No. 2-ranked Division 2 program in the state earlier this year, had its postseason run extinguished much earlier than those in and around the program expected.

Ellsworth’s top-seeded Panthers hosted the fourth-seeded Rice Lake Warriors in the D2 regional championship game on Thursday, May 25. Ellsworth was coming off an 11-7 victory over Black River Falls while Rice Lake had just beaten Altoona 11-4 in the semifinal contests.

The Warriors jumped out to a 2-0 lead when they capitalized on unforced errors and a chaotic first inning. Rice Lake seized momentum and never looked back, as the Warriors cruised to an 8-1 win over the top-seeded Panthers on Thursday afternoon.

For Ellsworth’s first-year head coach Tom Diercks, the loss was a disappointing end to a season that at one point appeared to be destined for glory. He spoke about the early exit from the postseason and what he told the girls after the defeat.

“We’re definitely disappointed and I thought we had the potential to go further, but you’ve got to bring it every day,” Diercks said. “We talked about that with the team. We were at a point where there are no easy teams – they were all going to be tough. It was tough because I think we had bigger dreams than losing at that point.”

After Rice Lake went up 2-0 in the top of the opening frame, Ellsworth had its first opportunity to respond in the bottom of the first inning. The Warriors’ pitcher went 1-2-3 against Ellsworth’s top three hitters – all via strikeout – and set the tone for the rest of the game.

While Ellsworth struggled to produce quality at-bats in the early frames, the Panthers trailed by just two runs going to the top of the fifth inning. That’s when Rice Lake’s two leadoff hitters safely reached base with a couple of bunt singles.

Rice Lake made it a 3-0 game in the ensuing at-bat when a run scored after Ellsworth made an error fielding a routine grounder to shortstop. Later in the inning, the Warriors blew the game open with a two-run homer to straightaway center field that made it a 5-0 contest.

“We struggled on bunt coverage,” Diercks said. “They had three or four bunts where they got on base. They didn’t hit the ball that hard, we just made errors and struggled with some things.”

The Warriors added a trio of insurance runs in the final two innings to make it a 7-0 game. Ellsworth’s lone score came in the bottom of the seventh but by then, the game had long been decided.

Rice Lake ultimately left Ellsworth with an 8-1 win and a regional championship plaque. For

Coach Diercks, the loss was as much a product of offensive stagnation as it was of defensive miscues.

“Our offense never got going,” Diercks said. “They kept us off balance and we chased when they got ahead. Our discipline went out the window and we just had a tough day. It’s unfortunate.”

Ellsworth finished the 2023 campaign 15-5 overall and 11-3 in Middle Border Conference action. While the end of the year is unquestionably a tough, bitter pill to swallow, Diercks assessed the season in its entirety – not just its premature end.

“We’ve got to be satisfied with everything,” Diercks said. “If you told me going into the year that we’d finish 11-3 in the conference, I’d be pretty impressed with that because we played some tough teams. Our girls have a lot to take out of this season. They beat a lot of good teams, but the end didn’t happen the way we wanted it to.”

Ellsworth senior pitcher Kallie Beissel was in the circle against Rice Lake in what was the final game of her high school career. Beissel, who has been one of Ellsworth’s top pitchers for multiple seasons, will headline the losses among this year’s senior class.

This year’s seniors include Beissel, Arianna Lalley and Olivia Jensen. While Beissel is the only everyday player on the varsity roster, all three have found ways to positively impact this year’s team and the program as a whole.

“They’ve brought leadership and are kids that get along with everybody,” Diercks said. “Chemistry is a big part of it, sometimes as much as playing. Arianna Lalley was never a starter and Olivia (Jensen) made her fair share of starts, but they brought important leadership and calmness to the team this year.”

Since the Panthers had just three seniors on the roster this year, only one of whom was an everyday player, it made them one of the youngest teams in the Middle Border Conference. Diercks spoke about the bright future of the Ellsworth softball program.

“It’s going to be tough losing Kallie with her pitching and the way she stepped up this year,” Diercks said. “But we should be really good next year. If everybody grows just a little bit, we should actually be better next year because we have some depth. I think next year we can be just as good. How we step up in pitching will really determine it through.”