SALINA — The Ellsworth Bearcat baseball team started its 2026 campaign on March 27 as they took on the Sacred Heart Knights. The Bearcats fought hard in both contests, coming up just short in game one, then playing the Knights close in game two before Sacred Heart distanced themselves in the final full inning.

Following a scoreless first inning, Ellsworth claimed the first lead of the matchup, scoring a single run in the second inning before Sacred Heart used a three-run third inning to claim their first lead at 3-1, going into the fourth frame.

Both teams were held scoreless again in the fourth inning before the Bearcats added another run in the top of the fifth to pull to within one run, making the score 3-2 going into the bottom of the fifth. Sacred Heart then responded by tacking on two insurance runs in their half of the fifth inning, as the Knights went on to win the opener 5-2.

In the second game of the evening, the Bearcats once again owned an early 1-0 lead, this time as they scored their first run in the top of the first before Sacred Heart tied the game with a single run in their half of the first frame.

Sacred Heart was then able to keep the Bearcats scoreless in the second and third innings as they scored three runs in the second and two in the third, making the score 6-1 at the end of the third.

The Bearcats were on the start of a comeback bid in the top of the fourth, scoring three runs before things became unraveled in the bottom half of the inning as the Knights scored 12 runs and went on to win the game 18-4.

Ellsworth will travel to Beloit to take on the Trojans April 2.