10-run first too much for Rib Lake to overcome
WIAA DIV. 5 SOFTBALL
A strong argument can be made that Rib Lake outplayed Butternut-Mercer for six innings in Monday’s WIAA Division 5 regional softball semifinal, but the one inning the Pioneers won was more than enough for them to secure an 11-6 win.
After Rib Lake took a 2-0 lead in the top of the first, fourth-seeded Butternut-Mercer exploded for 10 runs in their half to take a lead they were never in serious danger of losing.
However, fifth-seeded Rib Lake (4-14) didn’t quit, which head coach Dennis Scheithauer said is a credit to his girls.
“We had talked about it after that inning,” he said. “It’s hard enough when you’re playing a team we had lost to earlier in the year. To get down by eight runs early, we just said after that to play ball and have fun. From that point on they relaxed a little bit and played. We outplayed them for six innings. Unfortunately that one inning was enough to do it.”
Butternut-Mercer improved to 6-10 and advanced to a Wednesday regional final at top-seeded Hurley (20-5). Sixthseeded Drummond (4-9) and second-seeded Athens (15-8) played in the half-bracket’s other regional final.
The short-lived lead was accomplished with Danielle Mann leading off the top of the first by reaching on an error. She scored on the first of Kyla Kennedy’s two doubles. Kennedy wound up scoring on a passed ball.
The Pioneers, though, collected seven hits in the bottom half off Rib Lake starter Emily Rodman and used three errors and two walks to build their big early lead. The inning could have been worse, but catcher Danielle Mann picked a runner off third base on a called play when Butternut-Mercer tried to steal a run in a first-and-third situation.
“To their credit, they had seven hits in that first inning,” Scheithauer said. “In some cases, you couldn’t have thrown the ball to a better location between fielders. But, they’re just as good as a line shot. It doesn’t matter.”
Kennedy doubled and scored on Rodman’s single in the third, but the Pioneers countered with another run in their half on an RBI single by April Klopatek, making it 11-3.
Rib Lake got two in the sixth. Rodman reached on an error and scored on a base hit by Reagan Reinhardt. After Leah Chmielowiec reached on a fielder’s choice and Tessa Krause reached on an error, Cassandra Cano hit an RBI single.
“Cassandra hasn’t had a lot of atbats,” Scheithauer said. “She has been filling in lately and had a one for three night, so that was good.”
Mann tripled and eventually scored in the seventh, but Butternut-Mercer pitcher Cassy Bortz made sure the Redmen got no closer.
Kennedy wound up two for four. Mann, Rodman, Reinhardt, Chmielowiec and Cano had a hit apiece.
Klopatek was three for four for the Pioneers, while Bella Bourgard and Molly Hohner had two hits each. Butternut-Mercer dominated Rib Lake 11-0 back on May 4. Monday’s game was an indicator that the young Redmen, who finished the year starting five freshmen, had improved in the last month.
With no seniors on the squad, Rib Lake will look to keep improving through summer ball and the off-season.
“The girls had fun,” Scheithauer said. “We had that rough first inning. Then they settled in. To Emily’s credit, she was throwing strikes and they were hitting it. She had two walks in the first inning, but ended up with just four for the game. She threw well after that. We were working on the outside edge and we changed it up and worked inside as much as we could on their hitters and I think that helped us the rest of the way. Unfortunately we had a deep hole to try to dig out of and we were unable to do that.”
