Sox head into post-season as No. 1 seed in the CRBL

The Cadott Red Sox Baseball team wrapped up the regular season, with a 17-3 record, the best in the Chippewa River Baseball League (CRBL), along with a No. 1 seed standing for the post-season. July 24 vs. Tilden (W 16-8) In a game played at Cadott, because of wet field conditions, Tilden came in hot, having won the last seven of eight games. That didn’t faze Cadott, to begin the game, as they put up three runs on the board over the Tigers in the first inning. Tilden came up with a run in their side of the inning, but Cadott added three more in the second and fourth innings, before the Tigers had three runs cross the plate in the fifth. The Sox brought in another two runs in the sixth, while Tilden added another run, to make it 11-5, in favor of Cadott. The Sox weren’t done and knocked in five final runs in the seventh inning. Tilden tried to make a comeback, adding three runs, but that would be it and the game went to Cadott, 16-8. “This was a really good win for us against last year’s State runner-up,” said manager Rick Danielson. Gio Basile was on the mound for five innings, allowing 7 hits and 4 runs, while striking out 4, with Jack Gabler going three innings, giving up 4 hits and 4 runs. Jack Redwine took a turn for an inning, punching out 3 batters. Offensively, Luke Burzynski and Sam Feck led for the Sox, with 4 hits each, while Carter Hesselman had 3 hits. Jonah Hanson followed that with 2, and Cole Bakkum, Jack Kein and Redwine all chipped in with a hit. July 26 vs. Beef River (W 8-4) The Sox then hosted the Beef River Bullfrogs, in game one of a doubleheader, where it was almost all Cadott, getting on the board with an opening run in the first inning. Cadott added six more runs by the end of the fourth, opposed to just a lone run from the Bullfrogs. Beef River added three more runs in the sixth, but Cadott held on, to claim an 8-4 victory. At the helm, was Christian Schaller, who went four innings, giving up 7 hits and a run, while striking out 5. Ryan Zimmerman then took over, lasting an inning, allowing 2 hits and 3 runs, with Bakkum finishing out the game, at just over an inning, with a single hit against him. Hanson and Feck each came up with 2 hits for the Sox, while Luke Erickson, Bakkum, Burzynski, Hesselman, Zac Merritt and Redwine each added a hit. July 26 vs. Beef River (W 10-1) It was then time for game two, but by then, the Bullfrogs had lost all their jump and Cadott heaped up runs on them, taking a 10-1 win and putting an end to the regular season. Zack Thiesse was on the mound for Cadott, picking up his fifth win of the season, with just 4 hits and a single run. Jalen Pascal closed out the match, giving up 3 hits. On offense, Burzynski had 3 hits, followed by Erickson and Redwine, with 2. Adding a hit each, were Bakkum, Feck, Hanson and Kein. The Red Sox will now host the Chippewa Falls LumberJacks, Wednesday, July 30, in the first round of the playoffs. If they win, Cadott will face either the Eau Claire Bears or Eau Claire Cavaliers, at home, Saturday, Aug. 2, on the Red Sox field. Cadott takes a bunch of hardware into the post-season with them, after receiving league awards, July 28. This season, the Sox scored the most runs in the league, with 193, and had four ALL-CRBL winners, including Erickson (Outfield), Hesselman (Shortstop), Feck (First Base) and Basile (Pitcher), as well as honorable mention for Burzynski (Outfield). Hesselman also received a Gold Glove at shortstop, while Danielson received his second Manager of the Year Award and Erickson was named the League MVP, with a .474 batting average, three homeruns, 25 hits, 24 RBIs and 25 runs. “It’s been a great regular season for us,” said Danielson.