Red Sox punch their first ticket to State in 41 years

By Ginna Young

It was all or nothing for the Cadott Red Sox, as they headed into the first leg of the Chippewa River Baseball League playoffs, taking on two strong opponents. As the 21 seed in a pool of 24 teams, the Sox had to win both games or have a three-way tie.

Aug. 10 vs. Hudson River Rats (W 5-1)

Taking on No. 10 Hudson, Cadott went into their first game knowing they needed to come up with a win, if they wanted to keep momentum on their side and that’s just what they did. The Sox came away with a 5-1 win over the River Rats.

On the mound, Zack Thiesse went eight innings, giving up just 6 hits and a run, while striking out 5 batters. Gio Basile then came in to finish the game, picking up a save, with bases loaded and nobody out. He struck out the next two batters and got a ground-out to claim the victory, punching out 2.

Offensively, Luke Erickson, Jonah Hanson and Carter Hesselman all had 2 hits, while Logan Burzysnki, Ely Johnson and Warren Bowe each came up with a hit.

“The guys showed up ready to play this weekend,” said manager Rick Danielson. “We play in an extremely competitive CRBL all summer, and that really helped us get ready for the playoffs.”

Aug. 11 vs. Lake Superior Sea Dogs (W 11-0)

The next day, the Sox faced off with the No. 7 Sea Dogs, taking advantage early with some shaky Superior pitching. With the bases loaded, Burzysnki hit a grandslam to left field. It was no competition after that, with Cadott coming away with an 11-0 shutout win over Lake Superior.

“This victory gave the Red Sox their first trip to State, since 1983,” said Danielson.

Basile went six innings, allowing just 4 hits, while Hesselman finished out the last inning.

Jack Kein ended with 3 hits, followed by Zac Merritt, with 2, and Jack Redwine, Burzynski and Hesselman all notching a hit.

The Sox will now travel to River Falls, Aug. 16-18. In order to win the State tournament, which is a single elimination format, they have to win three games in a row.

“We look forward to traveling back to River Falls,” said Danielson. “We played there last year, in the first round of the playoffs. They have an extremely nice all-turf field.”