Two second-team, two honorable mention picks for Rib Lake softball

ALL-MARAWOOD NORTH SOFTBALL

An improved season resulted in more recognition for Rib Lake in the voting for the 2022 All-Marawood North softball teams.

After earning just two honorable mention picks in 2021, the Redmen put seniors Kyla Kennedy and Molly Heiser on the 2022 All-North second team while sophomores Danielle Mann and Leah Chmielowiec filled the honorable mention spots.

The awards follow a 4-11 season under head coach Craig Scheithauer and assistant Dennis Scheithauer. The team went 3-5 in the Marawood North for the second straight year, but were certainly a more competitive squad, giving the North’s top teams, Phillips and Athens, battles in one of their regular-season matchups and splitting two closely-contested games with Chequamegon.

Phillips and Athens again dominated the voting, taking all but one of the 10 first-team spots. The Loggers, who went 8-0 in league play, filled half of the first team, while Athens, who finished 6-2, got four. Chequamegon senior Hailey Minnema was breakthrough player, earning a unanimous spot on the team as well.

Phillips pitcher Kendall Weik was named the conference’s Player of Year, while Blake Edwards earned a repeat nod as Coach of the Year. Phillips went 16-3 overall but, after reaching the WIAA Division 4 state tournament last year, got bumped a little earlier than expected this year, falling 1-0 to Northwood-Solon Springs in a May 26 regional final.

Joining Weik on the first team were last year’s Player of the Year, shortstop Jada Eggebrecht, Brianna Guzinski, Paige Edwards and Megan DeLeasky. Eggebrecht, Guzinski and Edwards are seniors, while the other two Loggers are just juniors.

Senior pitcher Siarra Hart led the Athens contingent, which included junior Elle Gauerke and sophomores Addison Lavicka and Jazelle Hartwig.

For Rib Lake, Kennedy moves up a notch after earning one of last year’s honorable mention spots. The senior was the team’s shortstop and number-three hitter in the batting order and finished with a .423 batting average (11 for 26) in eight North games with two doubles, a triple, two walks and 12 runs batted in. She scored 13 times and stole two bases.

Overall in 15 games, her numbers included a .422 batting average (19 for 45) with a team-high 24 runs scored, five doubles, a triple, 19 RBIs that tied her for the team lead and a .527 on-base percentage.

Rib Lake’s most experienced varsity player on a still fairly-young squad, Kennedy went three for five with a double, two RBIs and three runs scored in a 12-9 win over Chequamegon that was started on April 12 and finished on May 9, was two for three with two runs scored and two driven in during a competitive 12-6 loss to Phillips on May 12 and was two for three with a triple, three runs scored, two runs driven in, a walk and a stolen base in an 18-8 loss in game two of a doubleheader with Athens on April 19. She was two for three with a double, three runs batted in and two runs scored in a 17-2 win over Prentice on April 25 and had two hits in non-conference games against Owen-Withee and Tomahawk and had a two-run double in the team’s 6-4 WIAA Division 5 regional semifinal loss at Butternut-Mercer on May 24.

Heiser is another of the team’s most experienced players and earned her first All-North softball honor. She was the team’s primary first baseman, also caught and was the clean-up hitter in the batting order.

In league play, Heiser hit .462 (12 for 26) with a homer in the 18-8 loss to Athens, 13 runs batted in, four runs scored and a .517 on-base percentage. Overall, she posted a team-high batting average of .438 (21 for 48) with a double, triple, homer and 19 RBIs to tie Kennedy for the team lead. She drew six walks to create an on-base percentage of .500 and stole two bases.

In the game she homered, Heiser was two for four and drove in four runs. She was three for four with an RBI in the 12-6 loss to Phillips, went two for four with a walk, a run and two RBIs in the win over Chequamegon and was a combined four for five with five RBIs in the team’s wins over Prentice. She went through an early season stretch where she had two hits in six straight games, starting a run where she had at least two hits in eight of nine contests. She was two for two at Newman Catholic on May 6 in a game where the rest of the team struggled in a 10-0 loss and had two hits in losses to solid nonconference teams from Butternut-Mercer and Columbus Catholic.

Mann earned honorable mention for the second straight spring. She was the team’s primary catcher and also pitched 24 innings during the season.

At the plate, Mann hit .455 in league play (10 for 22) with a double, seven walks, eight RBIs, three runs scored and a .586 on-base percentage. Overall the numbers included a .432 batting average (19 for 44) that ranked second on the team, a .528 on-base percentage that led the team, three doubles, nine walks and 14 runs driven in.

Mann had a 1-2 record in the pitching circle with a 7.00 earned run average. She struck out 18 batters and walked 33 in 24 innings. Emily Rodman was the team’s top pitcher, posting a 3-8 record with a 6.90 earned run average with 30 strikeouts and 22 walks.

Mann went three for four with a double and an RBI in the 12-6 loss to Phillips, was two for four in the 18-8 loss to Athens and was two for four with two RBIs in the win over Chequamegon. She was three for four with a double and pitched three solid innings in a 7-4 non-conference loss at Tomahawk on May 20.

Her pitching highlight was a fourinning no-hitter thrown in a 15-0 win at Prentice on April 28 where she struck out five and walked two.

Chmielowiec, arguably, took the biggest jump of any Rib Lake player in 2022 emerging as one of the team’s top hitters while spending a second season in centerfi eld. She was eight for 20 in North games for a .400 average and hit .368 overall by going 14 for 38 during the season two doubles, a team-high 12 walks drawn and nine RBIs. The walks boosted her on-base percentage to .520. Her five stolen bases ranked second on the team behind Addison Gumz’s nine. Chmielowiec had four multi-hit games during the year, three of which came in league play. She was two for four with a run and stolen base in an 8-7, eight-inning loss to Chequamegon in the season opener, went two for two with two RBIs and a walk in the 18-8 loss to Athens and was two for three with two runs driven in, one scored and a stolen base in the 17-2 win over Prentice. She was two for four with two RBIs in a 12-7 loss to Columbus Catholic on May 2.

Molly Heiser Second Team

Danielle Mann Hon. Mention

Leah ChmielowiecHon. Mention