Fall to EC-Memorial Monday morning

The River Falls High School baseball team had a major victory on Thursday, June 17 as they beat the Hudson Raiders 10-7 for a WIAA Regional Title.

“I'm so proud of our guys, and where they came out today and competed,” said Wildcats Head Coach Ryan Bishop on Thursday’s victory. “It's been a tough year for a lot of people, a lot of teams. Nothing is handed to you easily in this game, takes a lot of heart and takes a lot of believing in your brothers picking each other up when the going gets tough. We've done a great job of that all year, and tonight was just an example of what happens when you start playing for each other. I just couldn't be more proud, the coaching staff couldn't be more proud of our players persevering through this year, and putting it all together when it mattered most.”

The Wildcats were the first to score again in this game. They took advantage of two singles and a walk in the top of the first before the Raiders recorded an out. Then on a sacrifice fly by catcher Teddy Norman, two runners scored, giving the Wildcats an early 2-0 lead.

Keenan Mork got the start for the Wildcats on the mound and he started his game with a quick eight pitch, one, two, three, bottom of the first.

In the top of the second the Wildcats added three more runs to their lead making it a 5-0 game. The Raiders scored a run off a double in the bottom of the second, but Mork was able to get himself out of the jam easily.

In the top of the third, the Wildcats got their first three base runners on thanks to three walks from the Raiders starting pitcher. With the bases loaded, Wildcats right fielder Sam Cleveland smacked a double down the right field line scoring two more. One more run scored in the top of the third giving the Wildcats an 8-1 lead.

Mork continued pitching two scoreless innings in the third and fourth. The Raiders began to work Mork’s pitch count up in the bottom of the fifth scoring three more runs off him making the score 8-4. Yet Mork was able to get out of the jam again.

Both teams scored in the sixth; the Wildcats got two insurance runs extending their lead to 10-4, but the Raiders answered with their own runs in the bottom half of the sixth making the game 10-7.

Both teams’ bats were quiet in the seventh, giving the Wildcats their 10-7 victory as Norman moved from behind the plate onto the mound to get the save for River Falls.

After the game, Bishop spoke about the Wildcats facing Eau Claire Memorial on Monday morning.

“We're looking forward to another great opportunity next week,” Bishop said Thursday. “Every day is an opportunity and today was an opportunity that we took advantage of. Hudson had a great year. They're a very good team. They got some great players, they were Big Rivers champs, and hats off to them. They had a great year and you know, it's baseball. And today was our day.”

However, the Wildcats’ winning streak ended as they lost to Eau Claire Memorial Monday morning 9-3 in the first round of WIAA sectional play. Memorial ended up advancing to the state tournament, winning the Marshfield

sectional.

Photo by Theodore Tollefson

Photo by Theodore Tollefson

The River Falls Wildcats pose for a baseball team photo on Thursday, June 17. The Wildcats upset Hudson for the Big Rivers Conference regional title.