INTERWALD 6, RIB LAKE 0 - 6th-inning fireworks carry Woodticks to win

With nine base runners in the first three innings, the Rib Lake Osprey appeared to be the team with the upper hand –– again –– in their July 3 Dairyland League baseball contest with Interwald.

But after a shaky start, Interwald pitcher Jackson Blomberg settled in and went the distance and his offense took advantage off some uncharacteristic midgame mistakes by Rib Lake, securing the Woodticks’ 6-0 win in the annual prefireworks rivalry game on The Flats.

The win put Interwald into a first-place tie with Tony at 3-0 in the Dairyland’s Small Division standings with the two teams set to play July 20 in Rib Lake. The Osprey fell into third place, a game behind those two at 2-1 and a half-game ahead of 2-2 Medford.

The result also ended Rib Lake’s decade-long dominance of the regularseason matchups between the typically evenly-matched teams that share Tannery Creek Parkway as their home field. The Osprey had won 10 straight July 3 games since 2014. The teams also tied 1-1 in 2023 due to a storm that hit at the start of the ninth inning. Interwald later earned a 10-7 win over Rib Lake in the Dairyland League Small Division post-season tournament that year.

Rib Lake was a swing or two away from breaking last week’s game open early and potentially extending that July 3 win streak. But Blomberg, despite six walks and three hits allowed in the first three innings, made the pitches he needed to put zeros on the scoreboard before he finally got dialed in during the later innings.

A fortunate bounce helped Interwald escape the bottom of the first inning. Austin Ewan drew a leadoff walk and Levi Ewan singled. With Austin Edwards at the plate, a Blomberg pitch got by catcher Dalton Strebig, but bounced off the backstop right back to Strebig, who initiated a successful rundown of Austin Ewan between third and second base. Edwards ended the at-bat with a walk and Bryant Konieczny drew a two-out Left: Interwald catcher Dalton Strebig and pitcher Jackson Blomberg have a discussion early in the July 3 matchup with Rib Lake. Blomberg got past a shaky start and wound up throwing a seven-hit shutout in the Woodticks’ 6-0 pre-fireworks win over the rival Osprey. Right: Interwald shortstop Talon Scheithauer flips the baseball to second baseman Nick Gerstberger for a forceout on Rib Lake’s Luke Blomberg to end the fifth inning of the contest. At the time, it was a 1-0 game.

walk before Jeff Ziembo flied out to left to end the inning and leave the bases loaded.

In the bottom of the second, Grant Beard and Joe Frombach hit one-out singles for Rib Lake and Austin Ewan walked to load them up again. Blomberg struck out Levi Ewan and got Edwards to ground into a fielder’s choice to keep it 00.

Konieczny and Luke Blomberg walked in the third, but the Osprey stranded two more runners.

Meanwhile, Edwards put up four straight zeros to start the game as well. He and the Osprey stranded two Interwald runners in the top of the first and one in the fourth. Interwald broke through in the fifth with a one-out error on a grounder hit by David Fliehs opening the door. Fliehs moved to third on a deep flyout to center by Talon Scheithauer and scored the game’s first run on Strebig’s base hit.

Rib Lake threatened yet again in the bottom half, loading the bases on a leadoff single by Edwards, a two-out double by Ziembo and Luke Blomberg was hit by a pitch from his brother. Jackson Blomberg, got Beard to hit into a fielder’s choice and the score stayed 1-0.

The dam finally burst for Interwald in the top of the sixth. Nick Gerstberger reached on an infield hit and he scored all the way from first on a double to deep rightfield by Craig Scheithauer. Carter Scheithauer singled. With two outs, the Osprey made two throwing errors on a ground ball hit by Talon Scheithauer, allowing both runners to score and Scheithauer to circle the bases, making it 5-0.

Walks to Gerstberger and Carter Scheithauer set up Logan Blomberg’s RBI single in the seventh.

Jackson Blomberg closed it out from there, working around a hit batter in the seventh and a hit batter and single with one out in the ninth. He wound up allowing seven hits while striking out four in the complete-game win. His six walks all came in the first three innings. He hit three batters.

Edwards went six innings for Rib Lake. He allowed eight hits and five runs, though only one was earned. He struck out three and hit a batter. Konieczny went 2.2 innings for the Osprey, allowing a hit, an earned run, three walks and two hit batters while striking out two. Ziembo got the last out as Interwald stranded three runners in the ninth.

Strebig and Jackson Blomberg both went two for five atop the Woodticks’ batting order. Gerstberger was two for two and reached in all five of his plate appearances with a walk and getting hit twice.

Seven batters from Rib Lake had one hit apiece.

Interwald will try to remain unbeaten in league play when it hosts another neighborly rival, Westboro, Sunday at 1:30 p.m. Rib Lake has a key game at Tony at the same time.

Also in the Small Division, Pittsville is at Medford Saturday at 7:30 p.m. and Tomahawk visits the Spirit Twins Sunday at 1:30 p.m.