Webster nips Elk Mound for sectional championship and state baseball berth

CHIPPEWA FALLS — With a state berth and its seven-game winning streak on the line, Elk Mound knew it had to play a great game in last Tuesday afternoon’s WIAA Division 3 sectional baseball championship against top-ranked Webster.

And the Mounders certainly did that when they battled the number one Tigers in the sectional title game played June 5 at Casper Park in Chippewa Falls.

While Elk Mound won the batting battle, out hitting the talented Webster squad six to four, it lost the scoreboard war, falling 2-1 in the final to end the season at 12-7.

The Mounder, who advanced to the sectional championship game by defeating conference foe Mondovi 6-1 earlier in the day, made the Tigers work hard until the final out.

“I’m still trying to process the game with Webster,” said veteran Mounders head coach Paul Andrea. “We had a goal all year, knowing they (the Tigers) were in our sectional, that we want at least a shot to play them and in a one-game scenario with a trip to State on the line.”

“After playing Mondovi at one in the second game, there is not a lot of turn around time at sectionals to prepare for the final,” added Andrea. “We knew they were one of the best teams in the State regardless of divisions and we would have our hands full.”

Webster-Sectional Final

The fact that Elk Mound was able to outhit Webster coupled with the outstanding pitching performance of senior Blake Rosenthal gave the Mounders a great opportunity to topple the top-rated Tigers.

Rosenthal allowed hard-hitting Webster just three hits and only two runs during his six innings on the mound. He also struck out nine Tiger batters and walked just two.

“Blake Rosenthal pitched a game for the ages against the best lineup I have seen in years,” stated Andrea. “To strike out nine of their hitters in six innings was incredible.”

Sophomore Blaze Todd pitched a scoreless seventh inning giving up just one hit and one walk with a strike out.

Webster scored first, plating a run in the top of the first inning to take a 1-0 advantage.

It would remain that way until the bottom of the third frame when senior Ethan Kjellberg singled to bring home classmate Dylan Curry with game-tying run.

But in the top of the very next inning, the Tigers scored what proved to be the game-winning run as Webster starter Hunter Rosenbaum shut down the Mounders’ offense en route to the 2-1 complete-game victory. While Rosenbaum allowed all six Elk Mound hits, he also struck out six and walked two.

Kjellberg led the Mounder with two hits including the third-inning, RBI-single that scored Curry for Elk Mound’s only run. Chase Rhude, Dylan Black, Kole Ploeckelman and Dakota Bedell each had singles in the game.

“If you told me at the start of the game that that would happen and we’d outhit them 6-4,” stated Coach Andrea, “I’d say that would have given a us a chance to win and get to State which it certainly did.”

Even though the Mounders defense finished with two field errors it also helped get the team out of some jams.

Coach Paul Andrea stated, “Our defense, although we made a few miscues, also got us out of trouble the whole game.”

The sectional final loss also served as a bittersweet “goodbye” for its eight seniors.

“We will really miss our eight seniors who were the heart and soul of our team this year,” said Andrea.

It was the final game for members of the Class of 2018 which included Dylan Curry, Jonas Kohls, Dylan Black, Kole Ploeckelman, Ethan Kjellberg, Dakota Bedell, Logan Bergh and Blake Rosenthal.

Andrea said that Elk Mound paid a special tribute to Logan Bergh, who was unable to attend or play in the sectional  as he had to report for military service on the previous day, June 4.

“His number 12 jersey was hung up in our dugout and provided even more inspiration for us,” noted Andrea.

“It was a great second half and ending to Mounder baseball this season becoming regional champs and eventual sectional finalists and will be one to remember for years to come.”

Webster, now 25-3 on the season, advances to its second straight state tournament. After playing in the Division 4 field last year, the Tiger are due to face a 20-5 squad from Kenosha St. Joseph in one of today’s (June 13) D3 state semifinals in Grand Chute. The winner will take on the victor of the other semifinal which featured St. Mary’s Catholic (17-2) and Mineral Point (18-4). The state championship game will be played at 12:05 p.m. Thursday, June 14.

Mondovi-Sectional Semifinal 

Despite garnering just four hits and committing three errors, Elk Mound was able to score six runs and extract a measure of revenge against conference foe Mondovi and a 6-1 win in last Thursday’s early afternoon sectional semifinal at Casper Park in Chippewa Falls.

Mondovi shut out the Mounders 2-0 back on May 8, costing the team a share of the conference title.

“With us being conference foes we both knew what to expect from one another,” stated Elk Mound coach Paul Andrea. “(Mondovi’s) Jackson Falkner is a very good sophomore pitcher who took it to us during the season to ultimately cost us a share of the conference title.”

But Andrea noted that his squad has really improved at the plate and it showed in the sectional semifinal with the Buffaloes as they were able to put runs up on the board early in the contest.

Elk Mound put three runs on the scoreboard in the first and added a pair on the top of the fourth to take a 5-0 lead.

A strong defensive game by the Mounders coupled with a senior Ethan Kjellberg’s pitching performance  kept the Buffaloes scoreless until the bottom half of the fourth when they scored their one and only run.

Elk Mound added its final run in the sixth.

“Ethan was his rock solid self on the mound as he has been all year and pitched the complete game with only 80 pitches,” Andrea stated.

Kjellberg allowed just the single run on seven hits and struck out a pair and walked one in a seven-inning mound performance.

“We knew to even have a shot at Webster we’d have to beat a scrappy Mondovi team who had a great season and have nearly all their team returning for the next couple of years,” concluded Andrea.

Dylan Black had two of the Mounders four hits with the other two, both singles coming from Nate Lew, who also had a pair of stolen bases and Blake Rosenthal.