RIB LAKE SOFTBALL - Redmen roll in regional semifinal, get Prairie Farm in today’s final

It took the Rib Lake Redmen one time through the lineup to get their swings timed up, but once they did the seventhseeded Elmwood-Plum City Wolves couldn’t stop them in a 12-2 final Tuesday in a WIAA Division 5 softball regional final.

The Redmen finished with 14 hits in the five-inning contest, just one for extra bases. But when they started stringing singles together, the second-seeded Redmen scored three runs in the third, three in the fourth and five in the fifth to secure their spot in the regional final.

That game takes place today, Thursday, with the Redmen (12-5) hosting sixthseeded Prairie Farm, who pulled off a minor upset Tuesday, knocking out thirdseeded Gilman 6-5.

“We still have to do a better job of adjusting sometimes,” Rib Lake head coach Craig Scheithauer said. “Every pitcher is different, but your swing shouldn’t change. You either have to load sooner or load later, but the swing doesn’t change. We’re starting to figure that out. Hopefully we keep that going.”

Addison Gumz and Tessa Weik both went three for four in the win. Weik drove in four runs. Gumz scored three times and stole two bases. Madi Blomberg added two hits out of the five-spot in the order.

The offense made a winner out of starting pitcher Kiana Dallmann. The senior allowed just three hits. She struck out four hitters, walked two and hit one. Both runs by Elmwood-Plum City (6-18) were unearned in the top of the second inning. Scheithauer said Dallmann got better as the game progressed, just like the team’s hitters.

Weik’s RBI single scored Gumz with the game’s first run in the bottom of the first, but the Wolves took a 2-1 lead in the top of the second with two hits and the aid of two Rib Lake errors. Gumz’s bunt single started the three-run third-inning rally that put the Redmen up for good.

She stole second and moved to third on Tahlia Scheithauer’s single up the middle. Scheithauer moved up a base on a passed ball. With one out, Weik singled up the middle to bring in Gumz with the tying run. Scheithauer and Weik both wound up scoring on a misplayed grounder hit by Blomberg.

In the fourth, Gumz led off with another bunt single and stole second. She moved to third on Scheithauer’s groundout and scored on a single to left by Avery Niemi. After Blomberg hit a two-out single, Dallmann sliced a double away from the Wolves’ leftfielder to score two runs.

“That was a big double,” Craig Scheithauer said. “That kind of got us going and she helped herself. It made it 72 and we really settled in after that.”

The Wolves stranded two runners in the top of the fifth and Rib Lake ended things in the bottom half.

Ava Dallmann drew a leadoff walk and Kara Kennedy singled. Gumz hit a grounder on the infield. Lily Butler, running for Dallmann, beat the throw to third to load the bases with no outs.

Tahlia Scheithauer lined out to third, but Niemi walked to drive in a run. Weik singled up the middle again to knock in two. Blomberg and Kiana Dallmann reached on fielder’s choices with Dallmann driving in her third run. Madelyn Dallmann walked it off with an RBI single.

Now Rib Lake meets Prairie Farm for the third straight post-season. The Redmen won 11-1 in a 2023 regional semifinal and 17-10 in last year’s regional semifinal round. The Panthers come into today’s matchup at 7-8. They were 6-6 in the East Lakeland Conference.

Today’s winner advances to the sectional semifinal Tuesday against either fifth-seeded Athens or top-seeded Thorp with the higher seed hosting. Thorp hosts the sectional final on Thursday, June 5.

Eagles 14, Redmen 0

Madelyn Dallmann singled with two outs in the bottom of the fifth Thursday to break up a no-hit bid for Riya Ceballos of Almond-Bancroft, the state’s third-ranked Division 5 squad who rolled to a 14-0 win over the Redmen in a game played at Marathon.

The final game of the regular season for both teams got away from Rib Lake in the top of the fifth when the Eagles sent 14 batters to the plate and scored nine runs on seven hits.

Number-nine hitter Lexi Carlton, who went three for three, had one of the big hits in the inning, a two-run double. Oakley Omernik also added a two-run double.

Kerstyn Clark was four for four with two RBIs for the Eagles, who improved to 20-6 at the time. Leadoff hitter Mya Dernbach was three for four.

The Eagles got an RBI single from Ceballos in the first, a two-run single from Aaliyah Newby in a three-run third and an unearned run in the fourth to lead 5-0 before the big fifth-inning rally.

Rib Lake’s lone base runner in the first four innings was Tahlia Scheithauer, who walked in the first. Ceballos struck out eight Rib Lake hitters.

Tessa Weik took the loss for Rib Lake, working 4.1 innings and allowing 11 hits. She struck out one and walked. Kiana Dallmann got the last two outs while allowing four hits.