River Falls, Spring Valley, Elmwood/Plum City softball all fall in playoffs

By Reagan Hoverman

Softball and baseball teams throughout Pierce County have been in action as the first, second and third rounds of the respec tive playoff brackets are well underway. Local baseball teams in cluding Prescott and Spring Valley survived and advanced, while the Elmwood/Plum City baseball team and the Spring Valley, Elmwood/Plum City and River Falls softball teams lost.

Starting with the teams that are still alive in the postseason, the Prescott Cardinals played a highscoring affair against Amery at home on Thursday, May 26. In that contest, Prescott scored eight runs to Amery’s seven, which secured the firstround vic tory.

Prescott’s win advanced the Cardinals to the Division 2 Re gional semifinal against Osceola, another Middle Border Confer ence team. The two programs met twice this year during the regular season.

The two program’s split the season series with each team win ning its respective road game. The regional semifinal will be played on the road against Osceola on Tuesday, May 31, with the first pitch slated for 5 p.m.

Spring Valley baseball defeats Colfax 30 in first round

The Spring Valley Cardinals baseball team also won its first playoff game of the 2022 postseason. Spring Valley, the #3 seed in the tournament, hosted the sixthseeded Colfax Vikings on Thursday, May 26, a game that the Cardinals won 30.

After a scoreless first inning, Spring Valley scored two runs in the bottom of the second and then another run in the bottom of the third to take a 30 lead. The Cardinals’ experienced pitching staff held the Vikings scoreless through all seven innings and punched Spring Valley’s ticket to the Division 3 Regional semi final against the #2 seeded Boyceville Bulldogs.

The two programs split the season series and will have the semifinal game as the season’s rubber match. That game will be played at Boyceville High School on Tuesday, May 31. The first pitch for that game is set for 5 p.m.

Elmwood/Plum City softball falls in Regional final

Elmwood/Plum City’s magical softball postseason run came to an end in the Division 4 Regional championship game on the road against Cadott on Thursday, May 26, in a 31 defeat.

Elmwood/Plum City went into the Division 4 tournament as a seventhseeded program with limited expectations. In the first round game against Eau Claire Regis, the Wolves won 114 and took care of business to advance to the regional semifinal on the road against the #2 Boyceville Bulldogs.

Boyceville finished the season with a 107 record and had swept Elmwood/Plum City in the season series. The Wolves went on the road to Boyceville in that game and upset the Bulldogs in eight innings 43.

After trailing 20 going into the second inning, Elmwood/Plum City scored three unanswered runs to take a 32 lead going into the fourth inning. It wasn’t until the bottom of the sixth that Boyceville scored a run to make it a 33 game and force extra innings.

In the top of the eighth, the Wolves knocked in a run to take a 43 lead and then held Boyceville scoreless in the bottom of the eighth to secure a place in the Division 4 Regional Championship game on the road against #3 Cadott.

In that regional championship game, Cadott scored three total runs, two in the bottom of the sixth inning to break a 11 tie and take a 31 lead. Cadott held Elmwood/Plum City scoreless the rest of the game to claim the regional championship.

Spring Valley softball falls to #1 Fall Creek 150

The Spring Valley Cardinals’ season came to a conclusion against the #1 seed on the road in Fall Creek on Tuesday, May 24, by a score of 150.

Spring Valley went into the postseason as the #8 seed in the Division 4 playoff bracket. The Cardinals’ firstround playoff matchup was at home against Glenwood City. Spring Valley had swept Glenwood City in the regular season less than two weeks earlier.

The Cardinals’ dominance over Glenwood City continued in the first round of the playoffs. Spring Valley wasted no time get ting the bats going. In the bottom of the first inning, Spring Valley jumped out to a commanding 50 lead.

Glenwood City battled back through the middle innings of the game but Spring Valley’s early lead proved to be too much to overcome. The Cardinals advanced with an 87 win over GC to the regional semifinal against Fall Creek.

In that regional semifinal, the #1 seed proved why it was the top seed in their portion of the bracket and defeated Spring Valley 150 in four innings.

River Falls softball falls in the first round

The River Falls High School softball team had its postseason come to an end in the first game of the playoffs on the road against the New Richmond Tigers on Tuesday, May 24.

The Wildcats went into the postseason as the #13 seed in their respective region and had to face the fourthseeded Tigers. New Richmond swept the season series against River Falls with two nodoubt victories. That trend remained true in the postseason as the Tigers cruised to an 84 win at home against River Falls.

The Wildcats finished the season with a 519 overall record and a firstround exit. However, their entire young core of players will be back next season and will have another year of experience under their belts in the Big Rivers Conference.

Ellsworth baseball falls to Saint Croix Central 32

The Ellsworth baseball team had its season come to an end in the first round of the Division 2 playoff bracket on the road against Saint Croix Central on Thursday, May 26.

The two teams had met twice earlier this season and had split the season series. The Thursday evening firstround playoff game was just as exciting, as it came down to the wire. The home team Saint Croix Central Panthers ultimately secured the victory and advanced to the regional semifinal.