Wildcat nine sweeps Rice Lake

Talk about it

The Wildcat baseball team went 2-2 in the last week, with both wins coming in a Big Rivers Conference doubleheader sweep of Rice Lake Monday.

The Cats dropped a 13-0 BRC decision at Eau Claire Memorial Thursday and dropped a 7-6 nonconference game Friday to Tartan before sweeping Rice Lake, 14-4 and 16-3.

River Falls is now 9-5 overall, 0-4 in the BRC, and will travel to Durand for a nonconference game Thursday. Saturday they will host New Richmond and Fridley at the River Falls Triangular Tournament at the high school fields.

In Monday’s two wins over Rice Lake, which were both shortened by the ten-run rule, Tyler Hunter was a combined 7-for-9 with three doubles, six runs scored and three RBI and Marty Herum was 5-for-6 with a home run, triple, six RBI and five runs scored. Curtis Christensen was a combined 5-for-8 with three RBI and five runs scored and Ricky Troester was 4-for-8 with a double, triple, home run, four RBI and four runs scored.

“It was nice to see us put a couple of games together and play well in all facets of the game,” head coach Ryan Bishop said after the Cats snapped a five-game losing streak. “Our pitchers threw strikes, our defense only had one error in two games, and our offense finally swung the bat well up and down the lineup.”

Christensen was 3-for-4 with three runs scored and two RBI in the Cats’ 14-4 first game win while Herum was 2-for-3 with a triple and two RBI. Hunter had two hits, including a double, and two RBI while Troester had a pair of hits, including a triple. Austin Johnson and Mark Bennett also had two hits each in the game.

Greg Cheever picked up the win, throwing all five innings and allowing four runs on six hits while striking out two and walking three.

In the nightcap, Hunter was 5-for-5 at the plate with two doubles and three runs scored and Herum was 3-for-3 with a home run, fur RBI and four runs scored in the Cats’ 16-3 win.

Troester homered, doubled and drove in three runs while Johnson and Christensen each had a pair of hits and scored twice. Sam Witt contributed two hits and two RBI wile Robbie Taylor had two hits and one RBI.

River Falls outhit Rice Lake 34-12 in the two games.

Jack Herum worked the first five innings on the mound and earned the win, allowing two runs on five hits with eight strikeouts and no walks. Trey Peterson pitched one inning and allowed a solo home run.

Friday at Midway Stadium in St. Paul, the Cats rallied for two runs in the seventh to cut Tartan’s lead to 7-6 but hit into a bases-loaded double play to end the game.

Ben Wunrow had two hits, including a double, and Johnson was 2-for-4 with two runs scored while Hunter, Marty Herum and Bennett all doubled in the loss.

Christensen threw the first five innings and allowed four runs, one earned, on six hits while striking out one and walking one. Johnson took the loss after getting tagged for three unearned runs on two hits in one inning of work.

“Both pitchers threw strikes and kept us in the game against a very good team,” Bishop said.

River Falls managed just two hits — singles by Marty Herum and Witt — in Thursday’s 13-0 loss to Eau Claire Memorial.

“We just flat out got beat up in every phase of the game,” Bishop said.

Tags: big rivers conference, sports, baseball, wildcats