By Reagan Hoverman

The Ellsworth Panthers’ softball season came to an end in the Division 2 Sectional Semi Final game on the road against Altoona, a 3 0 loss, on Tuesday, May 31.

The loss to a fellow Middle Border Conference team cer tainly stung for head coach Kenzie Diercks and her Panthers roster, which had made an impressive run through the Division 2 bracket that included winning a Regional Championship on the road against Somerset just five days prior.

The low scoring defensive affair in Altoona in the sectional semi final was out of character for Ellsworth. In the past two weeks, the Panthers had been crushing the ball with the most notable success coming from the top of the lineup with sopho more Aubrey Wittenberg and seniors Brianna Maurer and Shayla Gilbertson.

In the game against Altoona, the Panthers’ bats struggled and in turn, the offense as a whole struggled. In total, Ellsworth tallied only two hits in the game, both by Kallie Beissel, who went 2 3 at the plate against the Railroaders of Altoona. Coach Diercks spoke about the lack of offense.

“Our offense struggled,” Diercks said. “We chased a number of bad pitches, struck out looking a few times and couldn’t string together any hits.”

Ellsworth sophomore Madison Peterson got the start in the circle for the Panthers. Peterson pitched four innings, gave up two earned runs, and struck out two batters. The aforemen

tioned Beissel, who is more of a late game closer for Ellsworth, made an appearance in relief of Peterson. Beissel pitched the last two innings of the game and gave up only one hit and zero earned runs.

“When (Madison Peterson) is on, she throws consistently the hardest and has one of the best change ups, that's why we decided to start her,” Diercks said. “Kallie (Beissel) has been our go to closer and we had liked to keep her for the end of the games or when we are struggling as she holds herself the most confident on the mound and handles pressure well.”

Beissel was certainly dealing during the sectional semi final game against Altoona. However, with limited offense through out the game, there was only so much good pitching could do. Diercks spoke about the Altoona pitcher and what led to the lackluster offense.

“Of course, we will give their pitcher credit as she is a very well rounded athlete, but we just weren’t on,” Diercks said. “Our offense is extremely capable of hitting the ball and doing it well off of every pitcher we have faced, but we just had an off night.”

While the season ends in sectionals, Diercks stated that this season is unlike any other that she has had in her tenure with the program. She spoke about the growth that she saw from her girls this season.

“This season was by far one of the best growing seasons since I’ve been coaching,” Diercks said. “If you watched us at the beginning of the season, with the exception of our first Prescott game, you wouldn’t believe we finished the way we did. Our entire lineup – both offensively and defensively – grew this season.”

Diercks stated that the team had its fair share of obstacles throughout the season, but they battled, overcame adversity, and bought into the team first mentality which turned the sea

son around for the better and ended with D2 Regional Cham pionship hardware. Diercks took a moment to speak about the seniors and what they’ve faced through the last four years.

“Going to state their freshman year and being robbed of an opportunity back at it their sophomore year, this group of sen iors has learned to work through adversity from early on,” Diercks said. “I’ve had the privilege to watch them mature, grow and give this program more than I could have ever asked for the past four years.”

In closing thoughts about not only the 2022 season, but the class of 2022 as well, Diercks said that the seniors taught her a thing or two along the way.

“Their junior year was a refresh back to the game and now their senior year they left us in the right direction, regional champs with more in the tank to give,” Diercks said. “I can’t possibly thank them enough for not only what they have given this team, but what they taught me in the meantime.”

Ellsworth senior Brianna Maurer takes off of second base during the Panthers’ firstround playoff game against Saint Croix Central on Tuesday, May 24. Maurer is one of Ellsworth’s seniors who helped transform the program over the last four years. Photo by Reagan Hoverman