This past weekend, the St. Croix Valley Baseball League began its postseason tournament as each team entered with hopes of making it into the next round. Plum City and Elmwood hosted the playoff games. If a team loses two consecutive games in the tournament, they are eliminated.

First round matchups

The first game in Plum City was on Saturday, July 31. The number seven seed Bay City Bombers took on the bottom tenth seed, New Richmond Millers. The Millers beat the Bombers in a two-nothing shutout that led to the Millers advancing on to play against the topseeded River Falls Fighting Fish later that day. Bay City moved onto the losers’ bracket to face Plum City.

In Elmwood at that same time, the Elmwood Expos, who were the eighth seed, faced off against the ninth seed Ellsworth Hubbers. The Hubbers beat the Expos 3-1 and advanced to face the second-seeded Prescott Pirates. The Expos moved onto the losers’ bracket to face the Braves.

The other games that took place on Saturday included a match-up between the fourth-seeded Hudson River Rats and fifth-seeded Plum City Blues in Plum City. The game was cut short to eight innings, but the River Rats beat the Blues in a close 5-4 game to advance on to face the winner of the Millers and Fighting Fish game. The Blues were then sent to the loser’s bracket to face the Bombers.

At the same time over in Elmwood, the third seed Spring Valley Hawks faced off against the sixth seed Osceola Braves. The Hawks crushed the Braves in an 18-0 victory that pushed the Braves into the lower tier bracket to face off against the Expos. The Hawks advanced on to face off against the Pirates.

The Pirates and Hubbers played their game in Elmwood and the Pirates came out on top 43 over the Hubbers. This demoted the Hubbers into the losers’ bracket and had the Pirates advancing on to face off against the Hawks.

The Fighting Fish played the Millers in Plum City and shut the Millers out in a 7-0 victory. The Millers were demoted to the losers’ bracket in this loss and the Fighting Fish advanced on to face the River Rats the next day.

Losers’ bracket round one match-ups

The first two loser bracket matchups happened on Sunday, Aug. 1. The matchup over in Elmwood was between the Expos and Braves. The Expos beat the Braves 10-6 eliminating Osceola from the tournament. The Expos advanced in the losers’ bracket to play against the Hubbers once again.

Over in Plum City, the Blues and Bombers played a low-scoring game that resulted in the Blues winning 2-1 and eliminated the Bombers from the tournament. The Blues advanced into the next round to face off against the Millers.

Winners’ bracket second round results

The first game of the second round took place in Plum City at 11 a.m. Sunday between the River Rats and Fighting Fish. The Fighting Fish beat the River Rats 9-2 sending the River Rats into the losers’ bracket to play their next game on Saturday, Aug. 7 against Elmwood.

The second game of the round was hosted in Elmwood between the Pirates and Hawks. The Hawks beat the Pirates 11-5, setting the semifinal matchup between the Fighting Fish and Hawks for 4:30 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 7 in Ellsworth. The Pirates are set to play against the Blues at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Aug 6 in Ellsworth.

Losers’ bracket second round results

The second round of the loser’s bracket featured matchups between the Elmwood Expos and Ellsworth Hubbers in Elmwood and the New Richmond Millers and Plum City Blues in Plum City.

The Expos beat the Hubbers 7-6 Sunday afternoon, eliminating the Hubbers from the postseason. They will face off against the Hudson River Rats at 2 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 7 in Ellsworth.

The Blues beat the Millers 4-3 Sunday afternoon, ending the Millers’ season; the Blues move on to face the Pirates at 7:30 p.m. Friday in Ellsworth.

Next weekend

Here are the current matchups scheduled for this weekend in the SCVBL postseason tournament. All games will be played in Ellsworth.

Friday, Aug. 6 Prescott Pirates vs. Plum City Blues at 7:30 p.m.

Saturday, Aug. 7 Hudson River Rats vs. Elmwood Expos at 2 p.m.

River Falls Fighting Fish vs. Spring Valley Hawks at 4 p.m.

Game Three of losers’ bracket at 7 p.m. Winners of Pirates vs. Blues and River Rats vs. Expos play this game.

Photo by Gaylen Bicking

Photo by Gaylen Bicking

Ellsworth Hubbers pitcher James Georgakas is a picture of concentration and determination on the mound last weekend during postseason tournament play.