It's easy to see the "Karate Kid" connection watching a River Falls High School baseball game this season. River Falls Sports Broadcasting play-by-play man Kevin Westhuis is all over it, similar to his signature call, "Like a pack of wild dogs on a three-legged cat."

The Pierce County Journal wrote a story on the season-long Mr. Miyagi themes, the "Sandlot Samurai of the Game" after a win and the "Miyagi Warrior of the Game" after a loss.

Opposing teams are paying attention and watching Westhuis’ five-camera broadcasts.

The 7-seed River Falls Wildcats were hosting the 10-seed Wisconsin Rapids Red Raiders last Tuesday in the first round of the WIAA baseball play-offs.

The Red Raiders were chirping and taunting the Wildcats with "Cobra Kai" chants, a situation in which Coach Ryan Bishop and his Wildcats have become well-versed.

"Strike first, strike hard!" yelled an extra loud Red Raider chirp in the top of the first inning.

Wisconsin Rapids' Gage Honeyager struck out swinging with one out. Wildcat catcher Colten Maves dropped the ball, but it was well within reach. Honeyager either didn't know to run to first or didn't feel the need to pressure Maves to make the throw. Honeyager was simply tagged out on his saunter back to the dugout.

In the bottom of the first, the exact same play happened. Wildcat leadoff hitter Chase Rudolph struck out swinging and Red Raider catcher Silas Cronkrite dropped the ball. The only difference was Rudolph immediately began hustling to first base. Cronkrite sailed the throw into right field.

With Colten Maves at the plate for River Falls, Coach Ryan Bishop signaled for a hit-and-run.

"I had a feeling it'd be a good chance to barrel one and find a gap and it happened to work out great," said Bishop. "He (Maves) executed it perfectly."

Maves unleashed a rocket down the left-field line on the hit-and-run play, scoring Rudolph all the way from first.

"He (pitcher Brett Simonson) threw a fastball on the outside corner," said Maves. "I knew I had to get it somehow because Chase is going either way and has a chance of getting thrown out."

Maves did his best impression of Daniel-san in the Karate Kid with a crane pose on second base after the stand up double. After a sacrifice fly by Brooks Rivard, Landon McQuade's fielder's choice scored courtesy-runner Quinton Anderson from third. It was 2-0 Wildcats after one inning of play.

"That first inning was big and was essentially the game," said Bishop. "Strike first, strike hard, right?"

Wildcat pitcher, junior Ethan Jeffers, was dominant the entire game. Jeffers threw a total of 86 pitches in seven innings, 54 of them for strikes. Jeffers gave up just four hits and struck out five.

"The past few games we've struggled getting runs in the first few innings," said Jeffers, "but today with two runs in the first, that's like a lightning bolt for me in my head."

"Ethan has been our Tuesday guy all year," said Bishop. "He's been lights-out Mr. Consistency.”

Jeffers improved to 5-3 on the season. He allowed just one earned run and walked just two Red Raiders.

"The change-up is my go-to pitch and I always trust it," said Jeffers. "But my curveball was working really well today, too. I could tell they wanted fastballs, so I just kept going off-speed."

The Wildcats have surrendered the fewest number of runs in the Big Rivers Conference this season, but could only muster four hits on the afternoon, including two from Maves, one from Rudolph, and one from Cal Dumond, but the two runs were enough for Jeffers.

Jeffers said all the "Cobra Kai" chirping from the Wisconsin Rapids' dugout was a good thing.

"I actually like when the other teams chirp," said Jeffers. "I pitch better when they do."

The Wildcats improved to 16-9 on the season and traveled to D.C. Everest on Thursday for the second round of the play-offs.

D.C. Everest-5, River Falls-1

It was a similar story on Thursday. The Wildcats capitalized on three walks and a hit batter to take a 1-0 lead in the top of the first, but the Evergreen pitching tightened up. The Wildcats garnered two hits from Chase Rudolph and one hit from Brooks Rivard, but that was as much offense as the River Falls' bats could produce.

Senior Auden Pankonin pitched well, striking out eight and giving up three hits and two earned runs through five innings, but that would be the season finale for the Wildcats, as they fell by a final of 5-1.