RIB LAKE SOFTBALL - Athens holds on in North opener; Redmen also fall at Marathon

RIB LAKE SOFTBALL

Rib Lake outhit Athens 11-9 and answered a first-inning grand slam by Danica Diethelm, but the Redmen couldn’t overcome some key misplays in the field and fell 8-6 to the visiting Blue Jays to start Marawood North softball competition for the spring.

Believing they could be the team to knock the defending conference champions off their perch this season, this week’s games were highly anticipated by the Redmen. They will get another crack at Athens Friday on the Blue Jays’ home field.

But this felt like one that got away in Tuesday’s home opener as the Redmen dropped to 3-2 overall.

“We earned all of our runs,” Rib Lake Craig Scheithauer said, noting Athens was errorless in the field. “If we would’ve made them earn theirs, we win by four. We just didn’t make a lot of plays.”

The win was the 23rd straight for Athens in the conference rivalry. Rib Lake hasn’t beaten Athens since a 16-9 win on May 5, 2011.

The Redmen got a three-hit game from Addison Gumz, who scored twice, while Kiana Dallmann had two hits and Tessa Weik had two hits, including a seventhinning homer, scored twice and drove in two runs.

After Weik’s long line drive cleared the fence to start the bottom of the seventh, Josie Scheithauer singled, moved to second on Leah Chmielowiec’s groundout and got to third on Dallmann’s base hit. Dallmann moved to second on a wild pitch, putting the tying runs in scoring position with just one out.

But Athens pitcher Karly Eckert won the battle with number-eight hitter Madilyn Blomberg, getting the call on a full-count pitch at the bottom of the strike zone for the second out and Eckert retired Kara Kennedy on a hard-hit ground ball to shortstop Jazelle Hartwig to end the rally and the game.

Hartwig reached on an error to start the game and two walks loaded the bases with one out. Josie Scheithauer induced a popout from Jenna Handschke to get an out away from getting out of the jam, but Diethelm had other ideas, belting her grand slam to give Athens a quick 4-0 lead.

Rib Lake came right back against Diethelm, Athens’ starting pitcher, and her defense in the bottom half. Gumz singled, moved to third on two passed balls and Tahlia Scheithauer walked and stole second. Avery Niemi reached on a fielder’s choice where Athens did not get an out, loading the bases. Weik’s walk forced in a run, two runs scored on passed balls and Josie Scheithauer drove in one with a groundout.

Rib Lake took its only lead at 5-4 in the second when Gumz bunted for a one-out hit and eventually scored on Niemi’s twoout single. But the lead only lasted into the top of the third when Athens took advantage of an error and a walk to score two runs on Paige Westaby’s two-out base hit.

Athens tacked on an unearned run in the fourth and got an RBI single from Eckert in the fifth to go up 8-5.

Josie Scheithauer struck out two, walked four and allowed eight hits in five innings. Only two of Athens’ eight runs were earned. Tahlia Scheithauer pitched two scoreless innings, allowing a hit and a walk while striking out two.

Westaby and Hartwig got two hits to back up the relief pitching of Eckert, who was credited with the win for Athens.

Friday’s rematch in Athens starts at 4:45 p.m. Rib Lake will face Prentice in league play next week, hosting the Buccaneers on Monday and then going to Prentice Tuesday. Those games also start at 4:45 p.m.

Marathon 10, Rib Lake 4

Unearned runs also were costly Friday when Rib Lake fell 10-4 at Marathon in a Marawood crossover. Better field conditions in Marathon forced the game to be moved from Rib Lake, but warm sunshine made for a good day for the Redmen’s first outdoor contest of 2024.

Marathon earned their first four runs in a big third-inning rally that produced the game’s first runs. The big blow was a three-run double by Mylee Haehlke.

Josie Scheithauer doubled for Rib Lake in the top of the fourth, moved to third on a passed ball and scored on Chmielowiec’s single, but the momentum was short-lived as Marathon scored three times in the bottom half to go up 7-1. Bridget Salbert hit an RBI triple, then two errors led to two unearned runs.

Rib Lake tried to rally again, scoring three times in the fifth. Gumz and Tahlia Scheithauer bunted for hits. After a fielder’s choice by Niemi and a two-out walk to Josie Scheithauer loaded the bases, Chmielowiec cleared them with a double to make it 7-4.

But Allison Podjaski’s two-run single highlighted a three-run answer by the Red Raiders in the bottom half of the fifth that put the game away.

Gumz, Josie Scheithauer and Chmielowiec each had two of Rib Lake’s eight hits. Chmielowiec had all four RBIs.

Josie Scheithauer started in the pitching circle and got four strikeouts in three innings. She allowed four earned runs on four hits and four walks. Tahlia Scheithauer allowed seven hits. Only two of the six runs charged to her were earned. She struck out three.