RIB LAKE 10, GILMAN 0 - Redmen jump ahead early, score again late to beat Pirates

RIB LAKE 10, GILMAN 0

The Rib Lake Redmen held Gilman to one hit, jumped ahead 7-0 through two innings and coasted to a 10-0, six-inning win over the visiting Pirates Monday in an intra-county non-conference baseball game.

Playing their first game in a week, the Redmen, ranked 13th in this week’s final Division 5 state coaches poll, got two hits and three runs scored from Jackson Blomberg, who also pitched three shutout innings. Talon Scheithauer finished things off with three hitless innings.

Gilman, now 4-12, settled in after the rough start and held Rib Lake to one run over a three-inning stretch mid-game, the Redmen finally ended the game early with two runs in the sixth.

“I think Gilman has an up-and-coming team,” Rib Lake head coach Dick Iverson said. “I was impressed with some of their young players. They have a couple of nice freshmen. They’re going to be all right.

“It was good for us just to be able to get a game in,” Iverson said. “We hadn’t played in a week due to cancellations and rain.”

Gilman twice put two runners on base in an inning. The first occasion was in the top of the first when Joey Syryczuk was hit by a two-out pitch and Dawson Grunseth singled for the Pirates’ only hit. Syryczuk though was caught stealing by Rib Lake catcher Ethan Cook to end the threat.

Rib Lake then jumped ahead quickly in the bottom half.

Scheithauer drew a leadoff walk from Gilman starter Dawson Robinson and Andrew Wudi singled. Blomberg singled and a misplay on the ball in the outfield allowed Scheithauer to score. Two runs scored on an error on a ball hit by Cook. Brady Heiser’s two-out hit scored the fourth run of the inning.

In the second, Rib Lake loaded the bases on a walk to Scheithauer, Blomberg getting hit by a pitch and Cook drawing a walk, all from Gilman reliever Beau Pockat. Dominic Quednow launched a deep fly ball to right that was caught by Grunseth for a sacrifice fly. Seth Borchardt delivered the big hit of the inning with a single that knocked in two runs.

Joey Syryczuk was hit by a pitch and Dalton Wisocky walked with two outs for Gilman in the top of the fifth, but Scheithauer got a strikeout to end that threat.

Rib Lake got an unearned run in the fifth and then, in the sixth, Blomberg singled, Cook reached on an error and Quednow’s fielder’s choice knocked in a run. After Heiser singled and Borchardt walked, Donovan Sutherland’s RBI single ended it.

Blomberg finished two for three for Rib Lake, while Wudi, Heiser, Aiden Stapleton, Borchardt and Sutherland had a hit apiece. Blomberg struck out four, allowing a hit and a hit batter. Scheithauer struck out three, walked two and hit a batter.

Robinson took the loss, allowing four runs and four hits in the first. Pockat covered 3.2 innings with a strikeout and five walks. Wisocky got four outs, allowing two runs and two hits while walking one.

Gilman’s regular season is finished. The Pirates drew the 11th seed in the WIAA Division 5 sectional half-bracket and is at sixth-seeded Edgar today, Thursday for their regional opener. Rib Lake had its home finale with Greenwood rained out Tuesday but has added a 7:30 p.m. game under the lights at Abbotsford-Colby for tonight, Thursday. That game will follow Abbotsford-Colby’s game with Spooner.

As the half-bracket’s number-one seed, the 15-4 Redmen won’t open tournament play until Tuesday when it hosts the win-ner of Thursday’s regional opener between ninth-seeded Prentice and eighthseeded Glenwood City. Glenwood City is the team that upset second-seeded Rib Lake 12-4 in last year’s regional semifinal.

Regional finals will be played on Wednesday.