Menomonie, Elk Mound baseball seasons end in sectional finals

Menomonie started the day by earning a come-from-behind 4-3 victory over Stevens Point in a Division 1 sectional semifinal before being shut out by River Falls 1-0 in the championship game in Chippewa Falls. Elk Mound bested Western Cloverbelt foe Fall Creek 3-1 in the Division 3 semis before falling in extra innings to Saint Croix Falls 3-1 in the finals.

The Mustangs (16-14) scored four runs in the top of the sixth to turn a three-run deficit into a lead in the semis against the Panthers. Easton Anderson opened the scoring with a bases loaded walk before Max Erickson scored on a wild pitch and Max Jaeger singled two more home to push Menomonie into the lead.

Third-seeded Stevens Point threatened in the bottom of the seventh, putting two runners in scoring position with one out. But after the Mustangs issued an intentional walk to load the bases, Erickson induced a 4-6-3 double play to escape the jam and send Menomonie to the sectional final. Cade Lamb earned the win in relief and Erickson locked down the save.

Fourth-seeded River Falls awaited Menomonie in the battle to go to state after the Wildcats upset top-seeded Hudson 4-0 earlier in the day. River Falls continued its stellar pitching ways in the sectional final as Landon McQuade tossed the team’s second one-hit shutout of the day, denying Menomonie its first trip to the state tournament since 1993. Landon Middlestadt had the solo hit with a single to lead off the second inning. The pitching combination of Erickson, Lamb and Casey were strong again in the final, combining to allow one earned run with five strikeouts across six strong innings. Cayden Kroll’s RBI single in the fourth was the difference as the Wildcats advanced to state for the first time since 2015.

Menomonie was still alive in the playoffs after capturing its first regional championship since 1998 earlier in the postseason. The seventh-seeded Mustangs opened postseason play with a 2-0 win over No. 10 Marshfield on June 2 before stunning second-seeded Chippewa Falls 1-0 for the regional crown.

Elk Mound opened sectionals with a 3-1 win over Fall Creek in the rubber match between Western Cloverbelt co-champs after the two teams split the league crown. The Mounders grabbed a near immediate lead with two runs in the top of the first on RBI singles by Victor Noller and Kaden Moyer. The Crickets closed the gap to 2-1 in the sixth before Moyer’s second RBI single of the game reestablished a two-run lead. Gavin Dean was tough on the mound in the win for Elk Mound striking out 10 while scattering four hits and one unearned run as the winning pitcher and pushed the Mounders into the sectional finals for a second straight year to face the Saints.

Moyer’s RBI single in the bottom of the first answered a Saint Croix Falls run to even the score at one, a score which lasted all the way to the ninth inning when the Saints plated two runs in the top. Elk Mound had two runners on with two outs before Saint Croix Falls got the final out and send the Saints to state for the third time since 2022. Noller and Moyer were strong in a combined effort on the mound as Noller went the first seven, striking out seven and allowing one run until Moyer allowed two unearned runs in two innings. Dean and Noller each doubled for the Mounders (26-3). Elk Mound was back in the sectional round as No. 2 seed after besting Eau Claire Regis 4-3 in the regional semis and Prescott 4-0 for the program’s third straight regional title.