RIB LAKE BASEBALL - Redmen start with two shutouts, then lose at Edgar

RIB LAKE BASEBALL

Rib Lake pitchers had given up just four hits over the first 15 innings of the season, but Edgar got five hits in a five-run bottom of the second Tuesday afternoon and rode that to a 9-3 non-conference Marawood crossover win over the Redmen in a game that was moved to Edgar just a few hours before its scheduled start.

Rib Lake actually wound up outhitting the Wildcats 9-8, but three walks and four hits batters allowed the Wildcats to do more damage with their hits as they improved to 2-0 to start the spring. The Redmen dropped to 2-1.

Jase Apfelbeck got the win for Edgar, throwing five solid innings. He allowed five hits, three walks and two earned runs while striking out two. He also drove in three runs and scored three times as the leadoff hitter in Edgar's order.

In Rib Lake's defense, the pitching depth has taken an early hit with junior Seth Borchardt currently out with an illness. Freshman Slade Scheithauer got the start Tuesday. He got through the first inning and struck out Edgar’s Gavin Mauer to start the bottom of the second. But Sawyer Weiland’s double, followed by a walk to Brock Mauer and Fletcher Weiland getting hit by a pitch quickly put the Redmen in a bases-loaded jam. Number-nine hitter Aiden Bauer lined a two-run double to deep right and Apfelbeck followed with a two-run single. Dakota Ellenbecker’s two-out single drove in the fifth run of the inning.

Rib Lake struck back with two runs in the top of the third. Slade Scheithauer hit a one-out double and moved to third on a wild pitch. Talon Scheithauer walked with two down. Courtesy runner Jack Jensen scored when Brady Heiser beat out an infield hit as Edgar shortstop Leyton Schuett made a diving stop of his hard-hit grounder but couldn't quite get the throw from his knees to first in time. Brevin Brahmer drove in Talon Scheithauer with a base hit to right.

However, Edgar stretched out its lead with two runs in the bottom of the fourth and two more in the fifth. The two runs in the fourth came without a hit. A hit batter, a walk, an outfield error and a sacrifice fly by Gavin Mauer did the damage. Schuett’s RBI double highlighted the fifth. Rib Lake got its last run on an RBI single by Ty Niemi in the seventh that just got by Schuett, driving in Slade Scheithauer who had led off the inning with a single.

Slade Scheithauer and Heiser both went two for four for the Redmen. Talon Scheithauer, Brahmer, Niemi, Blake Henderson and Lucas Cook had a hit apiece. Cook’s hit was a double.

Slade Scheithauer pitched two innings. He struck out one, walked one, hit two and allowed five hits and five earned runs. Ethan Cook threw the next 2.2 innings. He struck out two, walked two, hit two and allowed four runs, three earned. Niemi retired all four batters he faced.

Rib Lake is at Marathon Friday and then hopes to host its home opener Monday against Three Lakes-Phelps at 4:45 p.m. Marawood North play starts Tuesday at Athens. The Blue Jays will be in Rib Lake on April 17.

Success down south

The conditions weren’t very baseballlike Saturday with air temperatures in the 30s and a stiff wind creating wind chills colder than that, but the Redmen worked through and earned two shutout wins during their annual season-opening trip to the La Crosse area.

In the opener, Rib Lake defeated the De Soto Pirates 2-0 behind six strong innings from Talon Scheithauer and two firstinning runs produced with small ball.

Scheithauer was superb in six innings, striking out eight, walking none, hitting one batter and allowing just two hits.

Two hits was all Rib Lake got as well and neither led to a run.

Slade Scheithauer led off the game by drawing a walk after he had fallen behind in the count 1-2. Tyler Matyka followed by working the count fall and walking. Talon Scheithauer bunted the runners into scoring position. Slade Scheithauer beat the throw home on Ethan Cook’s ground ball to third to get the Redmen on the board, and Heiser followed that with an RBI groundout to short.

Brahmer and Briley Leonhard had Rib Lake’s hits. The Redmen did leave 10 men on base, however.

Slade Scheithauer got the save. He worked around two walks but got out of the seventh inning by keeping the shutout intact. He struck out one.

“Our pitching was really, really good,” Rib Lake head coach Dick Iverson said. “It was a really good game. It was definitely cold. The pitching was outstanding the defense was good. The hitting was pretty tough for both teams.”

Rib Lake completed its sweep for the day with a 7-0 win over Wauzeka-Steuben. Slade Scheithauer, Ethan Cook and Niemi teamed up for the two-hit shutout. Scheithauer went three innings, striking out six and walking one. Cook went 3.2 innings with six strikeouts, two walks and two hits allowed. Niemi threw one pitch and recorded the game’s last out.

Offensively, Rib Lake again did all of its damage early.

In the first, Slade Scheithauer got hit by an 0-2 pitch, stole second, moved to third on Talon Scheithauer’s hit and scored on a wild pitch. Heiser’s groundout later drove in Talon Scheithauer.

A three-run third inning that featured just one hit pushed the lead to five. Matyka got that hit to start the rally. Talon Scheithauer and Ethan Cook walked to load the bases. A pop-up and a strikeout got Wauzeka-Steuben one out away from getting out of the jam, but Brahmer walked to force in a run and Lucas Cook and Niemi both got hit by pitches to drive in runs.

In the fourth, Talon Scheithauer and Ethan Cook got hits and worked their way to second and third for Heiser, who continued to knock in runs when opportunities arose with a two-run single.

Scheithauer went three for three, Heiser was one for three, Ethan Cook was one for one and Matyka was one for four.

“We gave up two hits in that game and two hits in the first game,” Iverson said. “We walked five guys in 14 innings, which is pretty good for conditions like that. I was pretty happy with the pitching.”