Mounder baseball wins three conference contests to finish unbeaten in D-SC play
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Elk Mound closed out the conference portion of its baseball schedule with a trio of victories last week.
The Mounders sandwiched a pair of 10-run wins over Spring Valley and Durand-Arkansaw around an extra-innings, walk-off victory over a tenacious pack of Bulldogs from Boyceville to compete a perfect 14-0 conference season and earn their second Dunn-St. Croix baseball championship in the past three seasons.
The week began with an 11-1, five-inning home win over Spring Valley on Monday, May 13. The following day, Elk Mound welcomed Boyceville and needed eight innings to nip the Bulldogs 5-4. Two days later, the Mounders went on the road and defeated Durand-Arkansaw 13-3.
Elk Mound, currently 18-1 in all games, concludes its regular-season slate with a pair of non-conference contests. The Mounders played in Spooner yesterday, Tuesday, May 21, and host St. Croix Central on Thursday as both teams have first-round byes in the WIAA playoffs. Elk Mound, the top seed in the lower half of the Division 3 Cumberland sectional, begins tournament play next Tuesday, May 28 when it hosts the winner of the Cadott (#9) versus Eau Claire Regis (#8) regional quarterfinal game. The regional championship is set for Wednesday, May 29.
Spring Valley
Elk Mound made the most of the seven hits it collected in a Monday, May 13 home contest against Spring Valley.
The Mounders turned those hits into 11 runs thanks to a pair of Cardinal errors and 14 stolen bases to win 11-1 in five innings.
Elk Mound took an early lead with three runs in the first, a pair in the second and scored a run in the third. Spring Valley plated its only run of the game in the top of the fourth, but the Mounders added two more scores in the bottom half and three more in the fifth to secure the 10-run win.
Senior Kaden Russo and junior Kamron Diermeier led the Mounder offense with two hits each. Russo finished 2-for-3 at the plate including a home run, scored two runs, stole a base and finished with a team-leading five RBIs. Diermeier also had a pair of hits in his two at bats and scored three times thanks to a pair of walks and game-high five stolen bases. Jake Osborne, Brady Amble and Peyton Vieth each had a base hit and two stolen bases.
Victor Noller tossed four strong innings on the mound allowing just three hits and the one Cardinal run to pick up the pitching win. He struck out nine and surrendered just two bases on balls. Brayden Borek pitched a hitless and scoreless fifth with a strikeout.
Boyceville
Single runs in the bottom of the first and fourth innings gave Elk Mound a 2-0 advantage over Boyceville in a Tuesday, May 14 conference game at Village Park.
The Bulldogs, however, knotted the game in the top of the sixth with two runs. The Mounders responded with a score in the bottom half of that same inning to go back in front 3-2.
The Bulldogs were not going to roll over. They scored two more times in the seventh to pull ahead 4 to 3.
Much like the squad’s first meeting of the season back on April 29 in Boyceville, Elk Mound needed to rally, which it did.
The Mounders scored a run in their final at bat of regulation play to tie the game at four runs all and force extra innings.
When Boyceville was unable to score in the top of the eighth, Elk Mound took advantage of the opportunity and scored a run in the bottom half for the 5-4 walk-off win despite being outhit eight to five by Boyceville.
Two of those five hits, however, went for extra bases as Carter Vieth smacked a triple and drew two walks and Carter Garnett doubled, walked once and had an RBI. Kamron Diermeier, Carter Garnett, and Mason Books had the other three Mounder hits.
Kaden Russo started on the mound and pitched four scoreless innings, surrendering just two hits with four strikeouts and an equal number of walks, but did not get the decision. Diermeier threw the final four frames to earn the win with his line reading four runs on four hits with ten strikeouts and two walks.
Durand-Arkansaw
Elk Mound put runs on the scoreboard in six of the seven innings of its 13-3 road win over Durand-Arkansaw Thursday, May 16.
The Mounders opened the Dunn-St. Croix baseball contest with a pair of first-inning runs. They notched four scores in the second and a run in the third, for a 7-0 lead.
The Panthers finally got on the board with a run in the bottom half of the third.
Elk Mound scored three more in the fourth with Durand-Arkansaw answering for two in its half of that inning.
The Mounders added two more runs in the fifth and a final score in the seventh for the 13-3 final.
The visiting Mounders had 17 hits against a pair of Panther pitchers. Carter Vieth topped the hitting chart with four hits including a triple and double in five plate appearances and finished with two RBIs and scored three runs. Kaden Russo, Victor Noller and Kamron Diermeier all finished 3-for-4 with a double and Noller added a triple as well. Russo tallied four RBIs, walked once and scored once and Diermeier touched home three times and had two RBIs. Brayden Borek had two hits, one of which went for two bases and Peyton Vieth doubled for his only hit.
Noller earned the pitching victory. He went four innings, giving up three runs on as many hits, struck out three and walked four. Borek threw the final three innings and allowed just one hit but no runs and had a pair of Ks and gave up two bases on balls.