PLUM CITY — Elmwood/Plum City and Spring Valley baseball and softball reconvened Monday night for round two of the rivalry, with the previous winners securing the season sweeps. EPC baseball won 6-5 on a walk-off hit-by-pitch and Spring Valley softball picked up a six-inning 13-3 win that was closed out with an electric home run.

Baseball

Trailing 5-3 heading into the bottom of the seventh, the Wolves had their backs against the wall. Junior Robbie Duffy kicked off the inning with a walk, followed by a hit-by-pitch from catcher Logan Auth. The Cardinals got the first out of the inning on a ground ball, but the tying runner advanced to second and the other to third. Skylar Fischer walked to load the bases, and Bentley Ingli was hit by a pitch to cut the deficit to 5-4 with the bases loaded and one out. The walk plague continued, as Kaison Hewitt walked to tie the game at five. An EPC popout had the Wolves down to their final chance to win in regulation. Ari Perez continued the trend, getting hit by a pitch to close out one of the more unique seventh innings of baseball you will ever see.

EPC Coach Cory Brathall said he uses the philosophy he learned from Hall of Fame Coach Steve Block, who is a local legend and had an impact on him during their overlapping time at Ellsworth.

“I’ve always been taught and learned that if you’re tied or down by a run, you take a pitch. Make them throw a strike,” Brathall said. “They’re kids, they get nervous and that strike zone seems to shrink.”

Getting a season sweep of Spring Valley is memorable for the Wolves, as Brathall said it has been a long time since they’ve accomplished the feat.

“[Spring Valley Coach Brandon Walczak] does a heck of a job over there. They’re really well coached. They’ve got a good coaching staff, the kids play hard, they play baseball the right way,” Brathall said. “I don’t know when the last time Elmwood, or Plum City or the co-op has beat Spring Valley twice… That’s huge for our kids. Can’t say enough about how they fought. Robbie did a great job keeping us in the game [pitching], and then we just found a way at the end.”

EPC did give away a few runs in the field, including a three-error fourth inning that allowed a pair of Spring Valley runs to score. Brathall wants to see the Wolves avoid letting the mistakes stack up to allow for big innings.

“We’re not always going to be perfect. Things are going to happen, mistakes are going to happen. Really just minimize, because we’ve all seen where the wheels can fall off the wagon quick when things start going wrong,” Brathall said.

Softball

Spring Valley softball took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first on an RBI groundout from Elin Esanbock. In the bottom of the inning, EPC’s Brittany Bechel clobbered a two-run home run for a 2-1 lead. Bechel is no stranger to the long ball, hitting her fifth of the season.

That is when pitcher Megan Harvey showed what makes her great. Instead of phoning it in, she got right back into the circle and tossed six innings of 11-strikeout ball in the 13-3 win.

“We’ve talked about that all year, about just being resilient. Things aren’t always going to go your way,” Spring Valley Coach Matt Ducklow said. “Our girls bounced back and answered in the next half inning there and played really well after that.”

The bats were also rolling for the Cardinals, with 11 hits as a team. Kemri Schlegel tallied four of those hits.

The big one, though, was a sixth inning three-run home run to right center field from freshman Riley Zimmerman. Ducklow said the coaches focus on teaching hitting the ball where it is pitched and using left, right and center, and Zimmerman’s homer slightly to the opposite half of the field was perfection.

“We’ve known all year that she’s had power, but she’s been struggling a little bit at the plate. She finally broke through and got one that she could take,” Ducklow said. “Hitting it to right-center field, too, was even more impressive.”

After a stretch that featured a few tough conference losses, the Cardinals are back in the win column and feeling good as a unit.

“It means a little bit more to our community and to our girls,” Ducklow said. “Now we’ve got to look past this and get ready for our next game tomorrow against Glenwood City.”