The Ellsworth Panthers’ softball team got a big win Friday night after a tough start to the 2021 season, dropping four of their first five games.

Osceola was on a three-game winning streak after defeating Unity, Amery and St. Croix Central. The Panthers made sure the Chieftains didn’t record a fourth-straight win, coming out of the game with a 14-11 run victory.

Coach Kenzie Diercks shared that a healthy and hard-working team is one of the biggest positives so far this season. After spring sports were cancelled last season due to the COVID pandemic, the Panthers were hungry to get back to work.

“They make it a true blessing to show up and coach every day,” Diercks told the Pierce County Journal.

Diercks relayed that bad innings are killing momentum for the Panthers.

“We want to be able to create momentum from any situation whether it be errors, home runs, good plays, or mistakes,” Diercks said.

Although the Panthers are playing a shortened season, they still have time to continue improving.

“Our mantra has been to take one thing and ‘get a little bit better’ every opportunity we can, whether it be next pitch, play, game or practice,” Diercks said. “We believe we need to be focusing on continuing to slowly improve throughout versus win games as that itself will bring wins.”

The Panthers host Prescott this Thursday night before River Falls comes to town on Monday night, both slated to begin at 5 p.m.

Photos by Gaylen Bicking.