Elk Mound baseball falls in home opener, beats Crickets, drops game to Cardinals
By Cara L. Dempski
ELK MOUND — The third time was the charm for Elk Mound when it came to having Mother Nature’s cooperation.
The Mounders were scheduled to play a road game against Eleva-Strum on March 30, and then meet Bloomer at home the night of April 3, but both games were postponed due to weather.
Elk Mound instead opened the season at home against the Black River Falls Tigers. After trading deep shots for six innings of the April 3 match-up, the Mounders fell to the Tigers 6-5 in the seven-inning game.
The orange and black welcomed the Fall Creek Crickets to their home field April 6. They earned their first win of the season when they blanked the Fall Creek team 10-0.
The Mounders rounded out their week with a visit from former D-SC foe Prescott for a non-conference contest. The Cardinals proved the tougher team, as they walked away from the April 7 contest with an 8-3 win.
Elk Mound ended its first full week of games with a 1-2 record. They took on the Hilltoppers at Glenwood City on April 10, and are scheduled for a road trip to Mondovi April 13.
ON BASE — Elk Mound junior Dylan Curry cracked a line drive between first and second in the first inning of the Mounders’ 2017 home opener April 4. The team fell to the Black River Falls Tigers 6-5. —photo by Cara L. Dempski
Black River Falls
Junior hurler Ethan Kjellberg opened the April 3 game against the Tigers well: he saw three batters, and got outs for all three.
Then things started to slip a little bit.
The Mounder pitcher went four innings before coach Paul Andrea pulled him out and put Trey Mohr in his place; he went another one and two-thirds innings before Blake Rosenthal took over. The trio recorded a 5.00 ERA between them, with Kjellberg having a 3.50 and Mohr picking up a 12.60.
Despite a few deep shots and some stellar defensive plays, the Mounders allowed four runs in the sixth to give the Black River Falls team a one-run lead, and eventually the win.
Kjellberg led the team offensively with two RBIs and one run in three trips to the plate. His classmate, Kole Ploeckelman, and senior Dane Lew each drew credit for an RBI.
BLACK RIVER FALLS 6, ELK MOUND 5
Black River Falls……..0 1 0 1 0 4 0— 6
Elk Mound…………….1 2 0 1 0 1 0— 5
Fall Creek
The Mounders made short work of the Crickets.
Literally.
Elk Mound scored 10 runs in the first three innings, and made it through five before earning the W for the April 6 non-conference contest. Fall Creek could not get anything started against the Mounders.
Senior Carter Pritchard batted in a pair of runners, while Hunter Adleman, Logan Bergh and Ethan Kjellberg each sent in one runner apiece. Blake Rosenthal stepped up to the plate three times, and earned a pair of hits and three runs.
Trey Mohr pitched all five innings, and picked up a 0.00 ERA on 79 pitches. The senior dealt 10 strikeouts, and pitched a single walk in the game.
FALL CREEK 0, ELK MOUND 10
Fall Creek………………….0 0 0 0 0 — 0
Elk Mound…………………5 3 2 0 0 — 10
Prescott
Elk Mound did not get a break after taking on Fall Creek. They welcomed Prescott to the Village Park April 7 for another non-conference match-up. The Mounders fell 8-3 to the Cardinals.
Ethan Kjellberg was the only Elk Mound hitter to pick up an RBI in the game. Dylan Black, Dylan Curry and Hunter Adleman were the only Mounders to cross the plate against the Prescott team.
Kjellberg and Curry logged 7.00 ERAs; Curry pitched a single inning, while Kjellberg worked for three. Blake Rosenthal earned a 0.00 ERA with three innings of work.
PRESCOTT 8, ELK MOUND 3
Prescott………………2 0 5 0 0 0 1 — 8
Elk Mound…………….0 0 0 0 0 0 3 — 3