ELMWOOD — Elmwood/Plum City softball was no match for a Colfax team that averages 11 runs per game, but they put up some fight late at the plate to keep the game alive Thursday.

Colfax junior Brynn Sikora took the first pitch of the game deep, and that would not be the last the Wolves would hear from her. Sikora went 5-for-5 on the day with three home runs and a walk, driving in six runners. EPC was not the first to experience Sikora’s power hitting ability and likely will not be the last. She has 16 career home runs with nearly two full seasons to play. With a career on-base percentage of .631 and slugging of 1.142, Sikora has only improved statistically throughout her high school years. EPC eventually stopped the bleeding at 3-0 after the first.

Colfax kept things going into the third inning, building up an 8-0 lead. This lead was pushed to 11-0 in the fifth, giving EPC three outs to post two runs or the game would be over. This is where EPC found some life.

An opposite field double from junior Hannah Fesenmaier plated EPC’s first run in the bottom of the fifth. Sophomore Brittany Bechel then skied a double to deep left field to bring the score to 11-2, buying the Wolves another inning of time. A single from senior Riley Ginsbach made for EPC’s final run of the fifth and cut the deficit to eight. The Wolves’ final run came in the sixth on an RBI single to left field by freshman Reese DeLong.

While the rally was not enough to bring the team back in a 21-4 loss, the timely hitting gave some confidence to a team heading into a crucial stretch of conference games.

EPC is 1-3 in conference play this season, staving off a seven-run sixth inning rally against Spring Valley to win 12-11 April 8. The team holds just two seniors, with the young team still looking for a bit of punch at the plate.

“My team has so much improved from last year, they’re a whole different group of kids. They’ve really committed themselves to our program and they’ve been putting in the extra work, and it’s starting to show in games,” Head Coach Paige Saniter said.

Scratching across some runs off extra-base hits against a talented pitcher in Colfax’s Laikyn Beyer might be just what they needed. The team has noticed that when one hitter gets going it is contagious, so the focus is on finding their groove earlier on.

“I think confidence is huge in a younger team,” Saniter said. “When you’re up at the plate, you get those few moments to try and figure it out, and I think that’s kind of been struggling against the better teams.”

Saniter said pitchers Britta Link and Abby Krings have made their mark on the team thus far. While the Colfax game did not go their way, they battled it out with Durand-Arkansaw and Mondovi previously, so they know what they are capable of.

Junior left fielder Adda Ingli has stood out to Saniter early on in the year, stepping up at the plate, bringing home key base hits and leading the team’s confidence.

The Wolves take on Glenwood City in Plum City on Friday and Elk Mound in Elmwood on Monday.

“I’m really proud of my team, and I’m really proud of the growth that we’ve had,” Saniter said.