From a manager tossing a complete game shutout to some absolutely smoking hot bats, Plum City, Elmwood and River Falls were the three teams from the county to push through to the State Finals bracket from the St. Croix Valley Baseball League.

The teams know where they’re headed, with River Falls playing in the Division A bracket over the weekend in Marshfield and Plum City and Elmwood not roaming far from home to compete in the Division B bracket in Ellsworth.

Division A

River Falls

The Fighting Fish were expected to roll to the final weekend, and they did. They first beat a tough Eau Claire Bears team 11-2, then trampled Minocqua 14-0 at their home Regional. Lucas Luedtke and Eli Baker each homered against Minocqua, with Baker adding a double to his name. The pitching really did not give an inch for River Falls, with Jake Lindsay striking out nine over eight innings against the Bears and Charlie Griffin and Kyle Fritz combining to blank the Wood Ducks.

Spring Valley

Spring Valley rode the hot bats to beat Viroqua 11-7 and come within a game of the finals. The Cardinals then lined up with Cadott. The Red Sox were coming off a 16-6 win, so they were feeling good. Cadott had 13 hits, and Spring Valley had 12, but the runs did not really follow for either team. A single in the second followed by an error gave Spring Valley the lone three runs they would score. Cadott struck back in the third to tie it after hitting four consecutive singles. Brandon Walczak was battling on the mound, going seven strong innings, but the Hawks could not match Cadott’s runs in the fifth and seventh, falling 5-3.

Prescott

The Pirates made quick work of Hayward in the opener, winning 10-0 in eight innings. Prescott had 15 hits, with six different players collecting a pair and all nine getting at least one. Ace on the mound Dylan Gausman threw eight innings of shutout ball, striking out eight, allowing five hits and a walk. Prescott then matched up against Tilden, one of town ball’s most notable programs. The Tigers were too much for the young Pirate squad, winning 7-0 to punch their ticket to State. Prescott had nine hits, but with only one walk they could not find the spark they needed for a rally.

Division B

Elmwood

The Expos are State bound, and it was not particularly close at that. Elmwood beat Iron City 12-3 and Tony 19-3 to make the big dance. The offense had been struggling for weeks, but it is safe to say they figured it out when they needed to most. Iron City actually busted out to a 3-0 lead in the first; however, Elmwood responded with 10 runs across the second and third innings to blow the game open. Brecken Ponath had three hits, drove in four runs and scored two. Tyler Churchill, Wyatt Sundby, Mason Dado and Spencer Trainor each had two hits. Elmwood put up four runs during the first two innings against Tony, but the Hayshakers scored three in the third to cut the Expo lead to one. It was a 12-run sixth that sealed the trip to State. Kyle Trainor’s hit and four walks drove in three runs, and he came around to score four times. Spencer Trainor and Sundby each had multiple hits again, and 18 walks made it a fairly stress-free day at the park.

Plum City

Plum City snuck away with one 9-7 over Pittsville to come within a game of State. The Blues have hit their stride in recent weeks after struggling early in league play. The story of the weekend was Manager Tony Garner tossing a complete game shutout to beat Coon Valley 7-0 and advance to State. The 57-year-old is a legend of the league for a reason, but these days he primarily comes in to pitch in relief for the Blues. That does not mean he will not go out there and show you nine innings of shutout baseball when Plum City is counting on him, though.

Ellsworth

The Hubbers meant business against Tomahawk in Osceola, winning 14-4 in seven innings. Gavin Klos and Omar Coulson each hit one out of the stadium, and eight Tomahawk errors aided the 11 Hubber hits. Ellsworth then played Norwalk for an opportunity to play at their own State tournament, losing 3-2 in extra innings. Ellsworth scored in the top of the first, fell behind 2-1 in the second and matched the run in the seventh on an error. In the 10th inning, Norwalk led off with a double that would be singled home to end it.

Bay City

The Bombers were dominant in the postseason opener, winning 19-2 over Spirit. Eight different Bay City players picked up a hit and nine wound up scoring a run. Logan Vogel did his job on the mound, striking out 11 batters in six innings. Bay City then took on the host team Glidden. The Orioles and Bombers were evenly matched, but it was Glidden that got the job done with an 8-7 win to advance.