Redmen get the outs, hits when needed to knock off Columbus

It wasn’t always pretty with four errors being committed Monday, but the Rib Lake softball team made big defensive plays at key times and came up with some big hits to take down host Columbus Catholic 9-4 in non-conference play.

Rib Lake snapped Columbus Catholic’s four-game winning streak and pushed the Redmen back over the .500 mark overall at 6-5. The Dons fell to 6-3 on a windy, rainy evening at the Marshfield Fairgrounds.

Two-run singles by Lily Butler in the fourth and Leah Chmielowiec in the seventh broke the game open, giving pitcher Tahlia Scheithauer room to work with, which was key when she had to work in the rain in the last three innings. Scheithauer had to work around six walks, but she gave up just five hits and one earned run while striking out two while working all seven innings.

“It was nice that when we made an error, we didn’t compound things with another one,” Rib Lake head coach Craig Scheithauer said after the win. “There were some tough plays in there. We got some big outs, some big pitches and some big hits.”

Avery Niemi went three for four, while Butler, Chmielowiec, Josie Scheithauer and Tessa Weik also had multi-hit games for the Redmen, who banged out 14 hits against two Columbus pitchers.

The first key play in the game was made on the base paths. With the bases loaded to start the game, Weik grounded into a fielder’s choice but got two RBIs on the play when Tahlia Scheithauer sped in to score all the way from second base, following Addison Gumz home. Scheithauer drove in Rib Lake’s third run of the game in the top of the second when her infield looper was just missed by diving Columbus third baseman Cienna Adler, allowing Butler, who had led off with a single, to score.

The Dons got two runs back in the bottom of the second with the help of two errors

GILMAN SOFTBALL

to pull within 3-2 and they threatened in the third. But they lost their numberthree hitter and centerfielder Shelby Spata on a strange play to end the inning. After stealing second with two outs, Spata took third on a wild pitch, crashing over Butler, Rib Lake’s third baseman, in the process. She continued toward home plate and attempted to make contact with Niemi, Rib Lake’s catcher, who tagged her for the out.

After conversing, the umpires ruled the collision at third was the result of obstruction by Butler, but Spata was ruled to have collided with Niemi with malicious intent and was ejected.

Rib Lake widened its lead to 6-2 in the top of the fourth. Niemi singled with one out and went to third on a wild pitch. Weik reached on an error and Josie Scheithauer singled in Niemi. With two outs, Kiana Dallmann reached on an error, loading the bases for Butler, Rib Lake’s numbereight hitter, who came through with a line drive just out of the reach of new centerfielder Rhya Dieringer that drove in a pair.

Tahlia Scheithauer got a pop-up and a ground ball to strand two Dons in the fourth. The first three Columbus runners reached in the fifth, but only two of them scored as Scheithauer induced three ground balls to minimize the damage. Columbus loaded the bases with walks in the rainy sixth inning but Gumz, Rib Lake’s second baseman, dove to catch an infield looper hit by Sam Casperson to end that threat.

Rib Lake put the game away in the seventh as singles by Weik and Josie Scheithauer set up Chmielowiec’s two-run single down the rightfield line. She scored on Kennedy’s two-out single to left.

Akosuh Yeboah worked the first two innings and took the loss. She allowed six hits, three runs and two walks while striking out four. Abby Wojcik covered the last five innings, allowing six runs, three of which were earned, eight hits and six walks while striking out three.

Rib Lake hosts Auburndale in a Marawood crossover Friday at 4:45 p.m., heads to Northland Pines Monday for a non-conference matchup and then has what could be two good Marawood North contests against Phillips. Tuesday’s game is in Phillips, while the May 2 rematch is in Rib Lake.

Royals 8, Redmen 3

On a frigid Friday afternoon in Wisconsin Rapids, a hard-hitting Assumption squad used back-to-back three-run innings to pull away from Rib Lake 8-3 in a non-conference Marawood crossover.

The third and fourth innings were the back breakers as the Royals used those rallies to build a 6-1 lead. Rib Lake tightened things up with a two-run fifth, but Assumption held from there and tacked on single runs in the fifth and sixth.

Josie Scheithauer pitched four innings for Rib Lake and allowed six runs, five of which were earned, and eight hits. She struck out four and walked two. Dallmann got some pitching time and allowed two runs, one of which was earned, three hits and two walks in two innings.

Josie Scheithauer kept Assumption scoreless in the first two innings, stranding a runner in each frame. But in the third, number-nine hitter Delaney Hahn drew a leadoff walk and scored on Anna Schooley’s double to the gap in left-center. Schooley went to third on Ari Cavanaugh’s fly out to deep right and scored on Claire Nelson’s double that carried with the wind to deep left. Macy Vollert walked then Scheithauer struck out Lydia Smits, but Jess Norton’s two-out single scored Vollert.

Weik walked, moved to second on a passed ball and scored on Chmielowiec’s two-out single up the middle to get Rib Lake on the board in the top of the fourth. But Cavanaugh’s two-run double and Nelson’s RBI single made it a five-run game in the bottom half.

Rib Lake’s fifth-inning rally started with a leadoff walk from Kennedy. Gumz lined a double down the rightfield line and both scored when the left-handed hitting Niemi sliced a shot just inside the leftfield line for a double. Niemi led Rib Lake’s offense by going two for four.

Tahlia Scheithauer, Chmielowiec, Gumz and Weik had one hit apiece.

Cavanaugh got the win for the Royals. In 4.1 innings, she gave up three earned runs on five hits. She struck out three, walked two and hit one.

Rib Lake’s defense turned a double play in the fifth, which was started by Butler.

Rib Lake’s Lily Butler makes contact and sends a two-run single to centerfield, capping a three-run fifth inning that puts the Redmen ahead 6-2 Monday in Marshfield. The Redmen went on to beat Columbus Catholic 9-4. MATT FREY/THE STAR NEWS