RIVER FALLS — The River Falls Fighting Fish’s usually unstoppable offense faced some friction against the Ellsworth Hubbers, but a two-man 6-0 shutout was enough to remain undefeated in league play Saturday.

Urban Broadway took the mound for Ellsworth, leading a defense that was without key middle infielders Drake Flom and Gavin Klos. River Falls’ Trey Larson opened the scoring in the bottom of the first with a single, followed by a ground ball to the shortstop that resulted in an error and another run. Broadway escaped a second inning bases loaded jam with one out in the second and kept a clean sheet in the third before a double from Chad Patko scored a third run in the fourth.

Another ground ball error up the middle of the sixth is what set River Falls up for the backbreaker. Patko singled to score one and Lucas Luedtke backed him up with a two-run shot over the right field wall. Broadway wound up pitching all eight innings, with three of the six runs being unearned. Considering the Fish have scored a whopping 20 runs in six separate games on the year, Manager Jeremiah Paulson was pleased with what he saw from the young pitcher.

“Urban threw really well against a really tough lineup. They’re two-time defending champions… if you make mistakes they’re going to punish you,” Paulson said. “A couple errors to clean up early, if we get through that. Really good teams make you pay for that.”

It was River Falls Days weekend for the Fish, playing three consecutive home games. The team is also welcoming the Fox 9 Town Ball Tour in a battle between the Fish and the Hudson RiverRats on July 15 between two teams that are unbeaten in league play.

“It’s awesome. The celebration of River Falls Days is always a big crowd. Fireworks Night [Sunday night] is super fun with all the kids on the field. My kids look forward to that one, so that’s really fun,” Giebel said. “The town ball one, I haven’t really thought about that too much. I try to think of it just like another game, but that will be a really fun night too.”

The Fish are chasing an eighth consecutive St. Croix Valley League title. Brian Giebel, who has been a member of the team for nearly 20 seasons, said that success has come from a mix of veterans and talented college players phasing in and out of the program.

“The core guys and then pitching. It’s just been a lot of younger guys stepping up too. We just have a really good mix right now,” Giebel said.

On the mound Saturday, Jaxin Larson pitched seven innings, and Cayden Mueller finished the job in the eighth and ninth.

“They both did a good job throwing strikes. Jaxin battled through the heat, I know it was a tough day with how hot it was. He said he felt like he threw 200 pitches,” Giebel said.

There is not much of a secret for what the Fish need as they chase a State three-peat. The foundation is in place; they just need to remain healthy and get hot at the right time.

“Just staying healthy really and getting a couple of our arms back to full strength,” Giebel said.

As for Ellsworth, the league play season got off to a bit of a slow start, but between a big 5-0 win over the Spring Valley Hawks and a competitive game with River Falls, they are on the right track.

“We’re kind of rolling into form. Took us a minute. Waiting for some young guys to get here, but good pitching makes a difference,” Paulson said.

James Georgakas struck out 12 batters in a complete game shutout over Spring Valley, marking another spectacular performance from the veteran pitcher.

At the plate against River Falls, Ellsworth reached base 12 times, just missing out on runs due to a lack of timely hitting. The team is filled to the brim with recent graduates and current high schoolers from Ellsworth, and they are picking up experience by the day.

“You’ve got to learn a little bit. You go from practicing every day, staying sharp to, maybe I’m working all week, and I don’t get any reps and then I’ve got to get into battle,” Paulson said. “It takes a little bit of growing up, but the only way you’re going to do it is getting out here.”

That crew will be the core of the team for the future, so every step forward is a welcomed one. The Hubbers are hosting the State Finals, so they are on a mission to find the two playoff wins required to get their name into that final bracket.

“Continue to play well,” Paulson said. “Just continue to settle in, continue to get better, continue to figure out what it takes.”

Ellsworth has some winnable games coming up in the final weeks of the regular season to help prepare for the postseason, Paulson said.