Rib Lake Tops Pepin/Alma
Rib Lake infielder Jesus Ontiveros chases a Pepin/Alma player in a rundown. Photo by Spencer Flaten/Wisconsin Baseball Central.
GRAND CHUTE, Wis.--Rib Lake exorcised the demons of a semifinal loss at last year's state tournament with a 6-2 victory over Pepin/Alma in the same round this Wednesday.
The Redmen never trailed in a rather straightforward victory. They scored runs in the first, third and fifth innings on their way to a Division 4 state championship game berth.
Noah Weinke bashed an RBI triple in the first to get the scoring started. Dalton Strebig added an RBI single in the third, which made the score 2-0.
Rib Lake then brought four runs in to score in the fifth, which effectively sealed the win. Zane Mencheski, Joe Scheithauer and Weinke had RBIs in the inning.
Pepin/Alma scored their only runs in the top of the sixth. Lance Johnson hit an RBI single and Jarett Pearson hit a sac fly to cut the Redmen's lead to 6-2. In the end, though, the Eagles didn't have enough offense to keep up with their opponents.
Weinke pitched a complete game for Rib Lake and allowed two runs. He tallied six strikeouts. Ben Mueller was the losing pitcher for the Eagles, despite surrendering only one run in two innings.
Strebig and Weinke paced the Redmen attack with two hits apiece.
Rib Lake will play Ithaca for the Division 4 state championship on Thursday morning.
