The Ellsworth baseball team played a double header against the Russell Broncos April 2, taking home two victories. They won both games 10-8.

The first game started out with both teams swinging. In the top of the first, The Broncos scored 2 runs immediately before getting their third out. They would soon find their strong lead completely destroyed in the bottom of the first.

By the time senior Will Cravens scored a run, the Cats had managed to load all of the bases, all without getting a single out. After that, both senior Cole Webber and junior Layton Leiker scored runs in the same play, turning the score in their favor.

The Cats weren’t done by this point, as they only had one out to their name and the bases were still very much loaded.

After an error on the Bronos’ part, both senior Jordan Rodriguez and junior Lane Rolfs scored runs, once again in the same play. It was only after the Broncos had lost their lead in one fell swoop, that they managed to put an end to the Cats’ reign of terror.

The Cats’ strategy of coming in fast and hot was working well for them. The top of the second was not displaying its mercy, as Rolfs struck out a batter. Cravens then caught a pop fly, and Rolfs, to end the inning, grounded out another batter.

It was clear the Cats weren’t going to allow the Broncos to regain any ground whatsoever.

They were able to pull it off again, as Cravens; Leiker; junior Gavin Moyer; senior Ben Hipp; and senior Wyatt Bohnen all scored. The Cats managed to score 5 runs in both innings, completely locking the Broncos out of the game.

Their start proved to be so effective that even though the Cats wouldn’t score a single run for the rest of the game, the Broncos couldn’t catch up. Despite what seemed to be the shadow of a comeback forming in the fifth, sixth and seventh innings, the Broncos still couldn’t overcome the massive wall the Cats had built in front of them.

“It’s a game of momentum, so a strong start is very helpful,” Assistant Coach Scott Hipp said.

The Cats ended up earning another victory in the second game of the double header where they won by 10-8.

Despite scoring the same as the first game, the second one would play out much differently.

This time it was the Broncos who would start off the game by gaining the lead. After gaining 2 runs in the top of the first, the Broncos switched to pitching. Even though Cravens scored a run, the Cats couldn’t make up the difference, and the first inning ended 2-1.

With the Cats shut out from doing what had worked before, they would need to try something different.

The Broncos scored yet another run in the top of the second, putting the Cats behind them even more. After getting two outs in a row, the Cats looked to be falling behind even further. After Ellsworth managed to get on base three times in a row, they allowed both West and Moyer to score, tying the score up.

In the top of the third, the Broncos managed to tilt the scales in their favor yet again by scoring another run. The Cats had built up a winning momentum, and in a single play, both Rodriguez and Hipp scored.

For the first time in the game, the Cats were finally on top. They kept that momentum up, and won the game.

“We had a lot of errors, but we dug ourselves out of a tough situation,” Ben Hipp said.

This makes the Cats’ season record 4-0. Their next baseball game is April 12 against the Minneapolis Lions at home.

“It’s a game of momentum, so a strong start is very helpful.”

Scott Hipp

Assistant Baseball Coach