Ellsworth and Prescott baseball are gearing up for the big rivalry week, and they heated up at the right time ahead of the May 5 and 7 matchups. Ellsworth is starting to find its footing, winning three out of four games, including a 15-2 win over Osceola, and 11-4 win over Amery and an 8-0 win over Cadott to improve to 4-6 this season.

To open the year, Ellsworth scored just one run in four out of five games. Slow starts plagued the team, and they could not string anything together.

“Starting fast, starting with momentum, keeping it the whole time,” Coach Kasey Bass said. “Now it’s just, when we don’t start so good, finding a way to generate that momentum throughout the game.”

In the more recent games, individuals are showing up big and the Panthers are reaping the reward.

“Our energy is much higher, and we’re trusting ourselves when we go on those hitting streaks. We’re trusting our teammates, trusting ourselves and that’s when those big hits come up,” Gavin Wittenberg, who has been a consistent threat at the plate, said. “We’re just kind of one as a team. One hit turns into a few.”

Some junior varsity call-ups have brought their hunger to the varsity level, including freshman Bentley McHardy, who is already tallying a significant hit total in just a handful of games played. Against Cadott, Ryan Acker was brought up and tasked with the start.

“Ryan Acker shoved. JV guy, needed him to start in a non-conference game, threw six innings, gave up one hit,” Ellsworth Coach Kasey Bass said. “Offense started fast, stayed fast the entire game. Was really happy.”

Acker went six shutout innings pitched, allowing just one hit and one walk for the Panthers. Wittenberg said it was easy to play behind Acker on Friday because he was throwing strikes and not laboring through innings.

The core guys have done an excellent job leading by example as well, with Gavin Klos, Evan Beissel and Omar Coulson all boasting double-digit hit totals.

Coming up against Prescott, the Panthers know it will be no easy task to come away with a win.

“They’re going to be fundamentally sound. They’re going to hit the ball well. They’re going to throw the ball well. We’ve got to show up,” Bass said.

“It’s going to take everyone on the team, and it’s going to start with a good week of practice,” Wittenberg said. “We’re just going to have to come in with that same energy and mentality that we’ve been having.”

Prescott just recently had its six-game win streak snapped at the hands of Fall Creek 8-7 after leading 7-1 entering the fifth inning. While the loss was tough to swallow, at 9-4 overall and 6-2 in Middle Border Conference games (second behind 7-1 Altoona), the Cardinals are playing good baseball.

“We’ve been really hitting the ball. Pitching and hitting have been just fantastic. Pretty decent defense, we’re kind of struggling on the defensive part, but we’re working on it,” Coach Brad Matzek said.

As part of the streak, Prescott beat Amery twice, Regis twice and St. Croix Central twice. In five of those games, the pitching gave up three runs or fewer. Prescott has thrown a ton of different guys on the mound this year, with Brody Temmers, Jack Matzek, Evan Kochendorfer, Zack Murphy and Zac Matzek each above 10 innings pitched thus far.

“Just extremely good pitching. Brody Temmers, he’s been giving us 5-6 innings a game and has just been really solid. Jack Matzek pitched fantastic on his first start,” Matzek said.

Jack Matzek’s first start came in a 12-1 win over Central, pitching four innings and allowing one run, striking out seven along the way.

The Cardinals have been a force to be reckoned with at the plate, with seven hitters at nine or more hits. Max Montieth leads the way with 15, batting .349 this season.

Matzek said Ellsworth is a team that is better than their record shows, and that they can beat anyone in the conference. To beat them, he wants to see the defense continue to take steps forward.

“We’ve gotta start playing really solid defense. We have some guys that are struggling at some positions, and we’re just hoping that turns around. We’ve seen these same guys play well during the season, have good games,” Matzek said.