April 29

April 29.

Talon and Slade Scheithauer combined on a five-inning no-hitter in a 14-0 win over Phillips on May 5.

Overall, Scheithauer hit .339 (21 for 62) with two doubles, two triples, 16 walks drawn and 17 RBIs. He stole 12 bases to rank second on the team. He had a 7-4 pitching record with a 2.20 earned run average over 60.1 innings pitched. He finished with 77 strikeouts and allowed 29 walks, 51 hits and just 19 of the 31 runs charged to him were earned.

The North Central All-District vote considers players from the Bay, Eastern Cloverbelt, Central Wisconsin, Great Northern, Marawood, Marinette and Oconto, Northern Lakes and Wisconsin Valley conferences.

Ethan Cook bumped up to the first team after landing on the All-North second team the past two springs. This year, he hit .360 in conference games with three doubles, 13 runs driven in, tying Brevin Brahmer for the team league in North play, and drew 13 walks, leading the team in North play. Cook also had a 2-0 conference pitching record with 13 strikeouts in 10.1 innings and a 4.06 earned run average.

Overall, Cook hit .288 (17 for 59) with 23 runs scored, 20 runs driven in, a teamhigh 28 walks drawn, four doubles and a triple. He had a 4-0 pitching record. In eight appearances and 25.2 innings pitched, Cook struck out 28, walked 19 and allowed 22 hits and 13 earned runs for a 3.55 ERA.

He was four for four with a double, seven RBIs and four runs scored in Rib Lake’s 26-6 win at Phillips on May 8. He allowed just one earned run in three innings while getting credit for the win in a 19-9 victory over Athens on April 17 and held Prentice to one run in five innings in a 10-1 win on April 24.

Slade Scheithauer made an immediate impact at the varsity level as Rib Lake’s leadoff hitter, a reliable pitcher and defensively at the key positions of shortstop and catcher.

He earned his unanimous first-team spot by hitting .429 in conference play and a team-high 17 runs in those games. He drew eight walks from North pitchers and only struck out three times. He drove in nine runs, stole eight bases and hit five doubles in North play. He pitched in five North games and struck out six in 6.2 innings.

Overall, Scheithauer hit .338 (27 for 80) with eight doubles, 14 RBIs, a team-high 17 stolen bases and 18 walks drawn. He had a 1-1 pitching record with three saves. In 26.2 innings, he had a solid 3.68 ERA with 23 strikeouts and 24 hits and 14 earned runs allowed.

He swung a hot bat early in conference play, going two for three with two doubles in the loss to Athens, two for four with four runs scored in the win over Athens two days later, three for five with three driven in and three runs scored in game one in the Prentice doubleheader and two for three with two runs scored in game two. He was two for four in the 10-0 win at Abbotsford-Colby as well.

Athens also had three first-team selections with junior Kamden Zarnke and sophomores Daxton Diethelm and Kaleb Cracraft. Chequamegon put seniors Corbyn Phelps and Dalton Schmidt on the list, while Prentice and Abbotsford-Colby had one first-teamer each in Heston Hueckman and Payton Schreiber. Schreiber also got honorable mention for the All-District team.

Heiser had a big year out of the fifth spot in Rib Lake’s batting order. Called the team’s most consistent hitter this season by Iverson, Heiser hit .314 in conference play with 12 RBIs, two doubles and four walks drawn. Overall, his batting average jumped to .413 and he came up with some big hits to finish with a team-high 32 RBIs. He hit four doubles and a home run, which came in a 6-3 non-conference loss at Marathon on April 11.

During the WIAA post-season, he went on a run where he had seven straight hits over a span of two games. His two-run double was the go-ahead hit in Rib Lake’s 8-5 regional final win at Loyal, a game where he finished three for five. He was four for four a day earlier in Rib Lake’s 8-1 win over Spencer. He had multi-hit games three times in league play.

Borchardt’s year got off to a slow start due to illness but he returned to form as one of Rib Lake’s top players before long. In North play, he hit .353, drew eight walks, drove in 12 runs and scored 16 runs. He pitched five innings in Rib Lake’s conference title clinching 8-1 win at Chequamegon on May 15, allowing one run on five hits.

The team’s primary centerfielder, Borchardt hit .354 overall (27 for 65) and ranked second on the team with 25 runs scored. He drove in 15 runs, drew 14 walks and stole six bases. He was five for nine with five runs scored in Rib Lake’s doubleheader sweep of Prentice and two for four in the regional final. He finished with a 5-0 overall pitching record with a sparkling 0.88 ERA in 24 innings pitched. He struck out 30 and walked 12. He was the winning pitcher against Spencer in the regional semifinal.

Both Borchardt and Heiser got honorable mention in last year’s All-North vote.

Matyka’s first All-North award follows a season where he gave Rib Lake some solid infield defense and hit .231 in league play, scored 10 runs and drove in seven. He had a hit and drove in a run in each of the wins over Chequamegon and was one for three with two RBIs in the home win over Phillips.

Lucas Cook actually led Rib Lake with his conference batting average of .480 (12 for 25). That was highlighted by a four-forfour game at Abbotsford-Colby. He was two for three in the clincher at Chequamegon and had two hits in the 10-1 win over Prentice. He had two doubles, 12 runs scored and seven RBIs in North play.

Cook hit .375 overall (22 for 59) with doubles and a homer in the regional final win at Loyal. He finished with 14 RBIs.

While the team loses Heiser and Matyka, Rib Lake expects to bring the rest of the team back in 2026 and should be capable of staying atop the conference and making another post-season run.