Prescott and River Falls are headed to Sectionals in significantly different fashion. The Cardinals got revenge with a blowout win on a Fall Creek team that eliminated them last year and the Wildcats beat the No. 1 seed in a 10-inning thriller.

The Elmwood/Plum City squad also made a great run that featured an upset over No. 2 Gilman before being eliminated in the Regional Final.

Prescott

No. 3 seed Prescott faced some resistance in the playoff opener against No. 6 Tomahawk. The Hatchets scored a run in the first, second and third, to go with two in the fourth. Thankfully for the Cardinals, they pushed back with RBI singles from Grace Ptacek and Aubree Kellogg in the first, an Izzy Thoen sacrifice fly in the second and a bases clearing Quinn Unser double in the fourth to lead 6-5.

Ptacek held it down in the final three innings, with a few insurance runs sprinkled in at the plate to win 9-5.

Then came No. 7 Fall Creek, a team that had just upset No. 2 Arcadia. Fall Creek had beaten Prescott three times in a row, including knocking the Cardinals out of Sectionals a year ago.

This time, the Cardinals were on another level, winning 10-0 in five innings.

“Awesome. Just proud of the girls. We’ve kind of had our ups and downs. We’ve learned from a lot of things this year, and we’re lead by two amazing seniors, Cadyn [Hillebrand] and Talli [Roth] who do such a phenomenal job,” Prescott Coach Nick Johnson said. “This team has a lot of grit.”

While many teams would have had nerves going into a game against somewhat of a rival in the postseason, the Cardinals were locked in the whole way.

“Fall Creek’s had our number the last couple years, and then to get set up with them, they’re so well coached,” Johnson said. “I just think our girls are that locked in. We could feel before the game it was pretty quiet, and these girls aren’t really quiet, so I think they were just so focused to get the job done. It’s been like that all year, too, with these girls. They know when to have fun and they know when to lock in.”

Redemption was on the mind, and Ptacek pitched five shutout innings in the win.

“Grace really, the last month of the season she has turned a corner. She is locked in. She is pitching so well. When she throws like that, we can compete, we can beat anybody,” Johnson said.

There were great at-bats throughout, with Prescott tallying nine hits, three from Thoen, two from Unser, two from Makayla Johnson and two from Payton Tri.

“It feels good. A lot of hard work put into it, so it feels very satisfying to see it all pay off,” Roth said.

“You can prepare as much as possible, but once it gets into the game, it’s just all instincts, and I feel like we executed well today,” Hillebrand said.
Roth said they are trusting themselves and each other on the field, and it has been a recipe for success in the playoffs.

Prescott’s Sectional Semi-final is against No. 1 Stanley-Boyd on June 2, with the winner facing No. 1 Spooner or No. 2 St. Croix Falls for a ticket to State on June 4.

River Falls

For the first time in school history, River Falls softball is a Regional champion. The journey started with a 15-1 win over a Menomonie team that got the best of the Wildcats twice in the regular season.

“They were probably our worst two outings all year. Just struggled on all fronts of the game,” River Falls Coach Leah Fletcher said. “Our players came in with the mindset of we’re going to show them, this is our redemption game.”

As a No. 9 seed, the Wildcats went on the road to face the No. 8 Mustangs, but the bats traveled. Catelyn Moe stole the show with a pair of home runs. Fletcher mentioned Moe has been fine-tuning her swing in recent weeks, so it brought a smile to Moe's face to see the work pay off. Those were just two of 13 team hits, though, as Ava Larsen had three, Hudson Walker had three and Dani Poellinger had two. Audra Adermann was spectacular in all seven innings, allowing one unearned run, which would serve as foreshadowing for what was to come later in the week.

The road would not get any easier. Next up came No. 1 Tomah, with pitcher Anna Wall who is committed to pitch for the Wisconsin Badgers and finished 11-1 in a loaded Mississippi Valley Conference. Wall has a 0.69 earned run average in her senior season.

“It was pretty incredible. It was a really electric atmosphere,” Fletcher said. “I think just their determination to play one more game, play one more pitch, play one more out is taking the little steps into the big picture.”

On the very first pitch of the game, Poellinger popped out. While the result was not there, Fletcher said solid contact on the first pitch gave the team confidence that they could score.

Tomah scored two runs in the first, and with a pitcher that allows less than a run per outing, things were looking bleak from an outsider’s perspective. The never-quit attitude remained through the noise.

With a runner on third and one out in the top of the third, Brenna Clifton bunted Moe home with a beautiful tap into no man’s land. In the sixth inning with two outs, Morgan Kivel hit a line drive single to left field that scored Poellinger to tie the game.

“We got the bat on the ball, we can do this,” Fletcher said. “Audra threw a heck of a game. They just clawed and took advantage of every opportunity they could to plate four runs.”

Both teams were kept at back through the seventh, and the fans were treated with bonus softball. There were no base hits in the eighth or ninth innings, bringing up River Falls in the top of the 10th inning. Kaylee Beres set the tone as the leadoff hitter, smacking a single to right, then pinch runner McKenna Cook swiped second and then third on a fake bunt. Poellinger again made the Hatchets pay, floating a single to center to drive in the run. With two outs, Reagan Scherz also singled up the middle to bring home Poellinger for a 4-2 lead. The Wildcats had runners on first and third with two outs but could not capitalize any further.

Now, the Wildcats just needed three outs before they allowed two runs. Tomah hit a leadoff double, which eventually scored on a sacrifice fly, but a pop out one batter later had the bases empty with two outs. A ground ball single put the tying runner on first before Adermann forced a ground ball back to herself in the circle, making the throw to first and ending what was a historically wild game and a performance to remember in Adermann’s 10 innings and 153 pitches.

“She just found her groove. That’s a big game to go into. I understand the nerves, and we were a little unsettled during the first inning,” Fletcher said. “She was dialed in, and she just celebrated every little moment she could… She wanted it bad; you could see it in her face. She’s such a competitor.”

Fletcher has told the team all year that they are as good as anyone and just need to have the confidence. The hope is that a win over a Division 1 State contender can be that jolt they need to see it for themselves.

River Falls now plays No. 5 Marshfield in Marshfield on June 2, with the winner facing the winner of No. 2 Chippewa Falls and No. 3 Holmen for a trip to State on June 4.

Elmwood/Plum City

EPC drew a No. 7 seed in the postseason and got right to work. They beat No. 10 New Auburn 11-0 in five innings and upset No. 2 Gilman 5-0 before falling short 10-0 in six innings against Independence/Gilmanton in the Regional Final.

“They were so excited to win that game. They were so happy and proud of themselves,” EPC Coach Liz Hauser said. “They never gave up, that was their thing the whole season... They were kind of nervous going into that game against Gilman, but once we got going it went well.”

The pitching from Lexi Snapp was nothing short of exceptional during the playoffs, pitching 12 shutout innings over the first two postseason games.

“What she’s good at doing is throwing the ball around to different zones. It’s not like she has a changeup or a dropball, but she can just hit different zones,” Hauser said.
Hauser said Snapp and assistant coach Brian Bechel, who calls pitches for the team, complement each other perfectly.

In the opener, New Auburn was struggling to find the zone, and the Wolves took full advantage to the tune of 11 walks. From there, a few hits sprinkled in was all they needed.

Gilman walked the Wolves just twice. Where EPC got it done was in the hitting department, racking up an even dozen. Leading the team was senior Addasin Ingli with three including a double and sophomore Paige Ginsbach with three of her own. They also got two from Hannah Fesenmaier (including a triple), two from Hannah Bechel, one from Snapp and one from Mikenna Manor.

Beating the second seed served as the highlight of the season for the Wolves.

The run came to an end at the hands of Independence/Gilmanton. The Wolves were competitive for the most part defensively, but an eight-run fourth ended their season.

“This season, they learned that as long as they stay positive and support each other, they are very successful,” Hauser said. “I think that just gives them a little bit more hunger to put in the work [in the offseason].”

Ellsworth

After struggling in the early season, Ellsworth stayed the course during the back half of conference play, finishing with a 7-7 league record. The Panthers secured a No. 6 seed, facing No. 3 West Salem.

The Panthers struggled against one of the area’s best pitchers in Josie Brudos. Ellsworth had two hits, one from Haylee Maher and the other from Maggie Pechacek. Ellsworth seniors Pechacek, Hayden Turner, EllaAnn Meier and Pearl Shelley were crucial leaders for this Ellsworth team, and with a lot of underclassmen contributors, the future is looking bright.

Spring Valley

What was a memorable season for No. 5 seed Spring Valley came to an end at the hands of No. 4 Eleva Strum in the first round of the playoffs 3-0.

Senior Megan Harvey was excellent yet again, pitching all six innings and striking out seven batters. At the plate, the Cardinals could only muster a pair of hits from Kemri Schlegel and Amelia Brunner.

While the Cardinals were sent home earlier than they had hoped, they still made massive strides on the field and through the culture, improving from three total wins a season ago to an 8-8 conference season was a testament to the work that was put in during the season and in the off-season.