Month: April 2019

2019 Season Preview

The Wisconsin Baseball Association (WBA) and Chippewa Rivers Baseball League (CRBL) Champion Osseo Merchants will defend their title starting April 28th when they open against the Eau Claire Rivermen. A year ago, eight teams from the Chippewa Rivers Baseball League (CRBL) qualified for the Wisconsin Baseball Association (WBA) Tournament with the Beef River Bullfrogs and Stanley Slammers receiving automatic bids as host sites. Below is the full list of teams that participated in the 2018 WBA tournament.

  • Beef River Bullfrogs
  • Stanley Slammers
  • Osseo Merchants
  • Tilden Tigers
  • Whitehall Wolves
  • Eau Claire Bears
  • Eau Claire Cavaliers
  • Eau Claire Rivermen

The 91st season of CRBL baseball will open April 27th when the Jim Falls Sturgeons travel to battle the Bloomer Woodticks. Twelve teams will compete for the 2019 Chippewa Rivers Baseball crown playing a 22-game CRBL schedule. It truly is incredible to consider that over 12,500 individuals have played in the CRBL over an 111-year span of time dating back to 1908.

Notable 2019 CRBL Schedule Dates

  • CRBL All-Star Game – Sunday, July 7th, 2019 Hosted by Cadott Red Sox @ Cadott High School Field
  • Osseo hosts CRBL triple header – Saturday July 13th @ Jon Soiney Memorial Field starting at 1 pm.
    • Augusta Athletics vs. Eau Claire Bears
    • Eau Claire Rivermen vs. Whitehall Wolves
    • Beef River Bullfrogs vs. Osseo Merchants
  • Wildcard Wednesday – July 31st, 2019 – Sites To Be Determined
  • Championship Saturday – August 3rd, 2019 – Site To Be Determined

Two longtime CRBL umpires retired after the 2018 season. Glen Waterhouse (25 years of service) and Art Zwiefelhofer (36 years of service) will no longer make a third strike call. Coaches, players and fans would like to extend a big thank you to both umpires for the work they performed over their extensive careers.


This editors picks for the North and South Division along with championship picks are below:

Winners of the North Division: Eau Claire Cavaliers
Winners of the South Division: Eau Claire Bears
Wildcard Picks: Whitehall Wolves & Osseo Merchants

Championship Game: Eau Claire Cavaliers defeat the Osseo Merchants


Follow www.crblbaseball.com all season long for updated scores, standings and schedule. You can download the 2019 CRBL schedule to your Apple, Outlook or Google Calender. Any schedules changes will update automatically once downloaded to your calendar.

2019 Team Previews / Rosters

The 2019 Bloomer Fightin’ Woodticks are looking to build off of the progress that was made last year. The 2018 Woodticks went 10-12 and were a couple close games away from possibly being part of the WBA playoffs for the first time in several years.

They are returning most of the players from the 2018 core as well as adding some fresh, young players that are eager to contribute! Please come on down to support the Fightin’ Woodticks at hallowed Stuckert Field on a nice summers day and enjoy some baseball, food, drinks, fun, and the newer tradition of the occasional fish fry.

We also like to take this time to thank all of our sponsors that have stayed with us through the years as well as the new supporters of the Woodticks! These local businesses are the reason that we can play year in and year out thanks to the generosity.

This year’s Fightin’ Ticks roster is as follows: Curtis Dachel, Erik Abrahamson, Brett Stuckert, Corey Poirer, Jesse Linsmeyer, Tanner Linsmeyer, Jake (Mallard) Malinowski, Caleb Mikl, Sean Hurt, Noah Lane, John Barr, Zach Ruf, James Palmer, Dylan Martinson, Matt Schley, Nick Prill, Chris Korger, Brent Sarauer, and 2nd year manager Sam Elling. For the 2nd straight year the Woodticks have a young roster full of potential and maybe this is the year? Come on down to find out!


The Cadott Red Sox are back for another exciting year of CRBL baseball! The 2019 season will mark the 9th season for the Red Sox. The Sox will be relying on a familiar cast of players this season, with thirteen returning players from 2018 including four all stars.

Cadott’s all stars from a season ago are catcher Jake Arneson, pitcher Ben Poppe, 2nd baseman Harley Oemig, and outfielder Bennett Bowe. Other veteran players that will be relied on heavily this year include Ryan Davis, Mike Danielson, Eric Bourget, Austin Goettl, Shawn Sedlacek, Casey Schara, Josh Chrusciel, Dylan Davis, and Nelson Wahl. Dakota Leis will be back in the fold this year after several years away from the team. There are also a couple new recruits that the Red Sox are excited to have joining the team this year. Rick Danielson will be back again for his 3rd season as manager.

The Red Sox also have some exciting news to share with the fans. This season we are honored to host the CRBL All Star game. The game will be played Sunday July 7th at the high school field. Fans will have a chance to watch some of the premier baseball talent in the Chippewa Valley.

Once again the Red Sox would like to thank our great fans and and all of our sponsors. Without all of your support and generosity we wouldn’t be able to have a team so thank you!! We hope to see everybody at the field this season!

Roster
Jake Arneson, Eric Bourget, Bennett Bowe, Josh Chrusciel, Mike Danielson, Dylan Davis, Ryan Davis, Alex Glomski, Austin Goettl, Quentin Goettl, Andrew Gunderson, Dakota Leis, Austin Najbrt, Harley Oemig, Ben Poppe, Casey Schara, Shawn Sedlacek, Nelson Wahl


The Eau Claire Cavaliers is an amateur baseball organization that started in 1971.

The Cavaliers finished with a 17-5 league record and won back to back CRBL North Division Titles.

The Cavaliers look to continue their success on what they have achvieved in the past two seasons as a member of the Chippewa River Baseball League. Returning from the last years team is All-CRBL First Baseman Tom Mewhorter (.394 AVG, 17 2B, 51 RBI), CRBL Honorable Mention Jake Jenneman (7-2, 77 K’S, 3.88 ERA), and CRBL Rookie of the Year Paul Petit (.386 AVG, 3 2B, 1 3B, 19 SB and went (3-2, 38 K’S, 4.44 ERA).

Other returning are Jordan Wilson (.425 AVG, 11 2B, 3 3B, 5 HR, 33 RBI, 16 SB), Tyler Herman (.405 AVG, 12 2B, 1 3B, 5 HR, 31 RBI).

Field Manager Matt Miller returns for his fifith season and will lead the Cavaliers into competition in the Chippewa River Baseball League in 2019.

The Cavaliers would like to wish all of teams of the Chippewa River Baseball League the best of luck in the league in 2019. We invite all baseball fans to come to Carson Park for baseball action at its best this summer.


The 2018 Sturgeon season could best be described as chaotic. A two-year trend of attrition left the team without most of the regulars from 2016.

Among those Jim Falls counted on, the need to moonlight—to take on paying jobs—superseded the desires to be available for many games. As a result, a set lineup eluded erstwhile manager Matt Nelson, one of only two players, along with the departed Mike Cohen (12 R, 17 SB), who appeared in every game. As a result, the Sturgeons enter 2019 in full rebuild mode.

New manager Nick Pitsch assumes the job of compiling a dependable roster to build on for this year and beyond. Gone are such hitters as Landon Mueller (.429), Matt Nelson (.359), and the ageless Steve ”Pickle” Nelson (.321), the team’s honorable mention All-CRBL player. Among returning veterans besides Pitsch are Justin Martell (.375), the steady Bob Maurer (.243), and pitcher Dylan Waters (51.2 IP). The hope is that several young players who have shown promise will form a core for long-term future growth. Some of them got a taste of CRBL ball last year, notably Luke Schemenauer (4-5, .800) and Peter Thaler (5-12, .417). Watch this spot next year for names of others who may explode upon the scene this season.

If the snows finally melt, the Sturgeons hope for some hot times in the old town with several fresh and exciting faces. Come see this school of Sturgeons grow. Welcome to 2019.

“The Sturgeons mourned the passing of long- time umpire, Maynard Bergeron in March.” “Thanks for the memories, Maynard!!!”


The Slammers finished the 2018 season 6-16 and hosted the 2018 WBA regionals losing to Wausau 10-0.

The Slammers had four players in the 2018 All-Star game hosted by Whitehall: Luke Merritt was the starting pitcher and Keith Smasal, Brandon Wright, and Kevin Christorf were reserves. Brandon Wright was the Slammers Honorable Mention All-CRBL selection. The Slammers will be looking at the young players along with the few veterans remaining to help make 2019 a successful season. The Slammers would like to wish everyone in the CRBL good luck on the upcoming second and look forward to a great summer of baseball.

Roster: Kevin Christorf, Keith Smasal, Kasey Van Den Heuval, Ryan Joten, Brandon Wright, Brandon Herrick, Reece Drost, Scott Horn, Tanner Henderson, Clayton Peters, Noah Gilingham, Bryan Mason Neil Hebert, Collin Meyer, Luke Merritt, Matt Drost, Jeremy Bremness, Zach Edwards, Zak Ingersol, Ian Lagasse, Cole Ciokiewicz, Shane McQuilllan, James Zastrow, Jakob Rosemeyer, Bryce Lingen
Manager: Brandon Geist
Assistant Manager: Brian Smasal


After coming up short in the WBA State Tournament, the Tilden Tigers wills set their sites high for the upcoming 2019 season. They will return the core group of guys from the previous few years.

Jon Schoch, Austin Lemay, Jordan Steinmetz, Nolan Baier and Cole Zwiefelhofer will round out the outfield as years passed. Carl Krumenauer, Drew Steinmetz, Alex Ruf, and Sam Sorenson will shore up the infield. PJ Lequia, Ben King, Justin Ignarski, and Carl Krumenauer look to take a majority of the innings on the mound. We will be adding some younger talent in Dane Weiland, Couper Fosvick, and Lucas Steinmetz to our roster. Jake Bohl will later in the season after coming off surgery last year. Ryan Baier will stick to managerial duties. We are thankful for the opportunity to play at the beautiful Casper Park again for the upcoming season. We want to thank our local sponsors for helping us out and giving us an opportunity to play the game that we all love! GO TIGERS!

Roster: Nolan Baier, Austin Lemay, Cole Zwiefelhofer, Alex Ruf, Ben King, Dane Weiland, Drew Steinmetz, Jordan Steinmetz, Lucas Steinmetz, Justin Ignarski, PJ Lequia, Carl Krumenauer, Chase Stoffel, Jon Schoch, Sam Sorenson, Jake Bohl

Manager: Ryan Baier


While 2018 was a tough year record-wise for the Augusta Athletics, they did produce some banner individual seasons.

Matthew Gilbertson was named to his fifth All-Star Game, and was named Honorable Mention All-CRBL. He just missed making his first, All-CRBL Team, finishing fourth among outfielders in the voting. Matthew led the A’s in batting average at .404, hits with 26, runs with 15, doubles with 5 and RBI with 14. He was also the only Athletic to play in all 22 games.

Congratulations to Grant Witcraft on being a finalist for the CRBL’s “Rookie of the Year”. Grant had a terrific season, batting .262 and finished in the Top 5 on the team in at-bats and hits.

Pitcher/Third Baseman James Gilbertson was chosen to play in his eighth All-Star Game and First Baseman William Mallett-Brown was selected to his first All-Star Team!

In addition to those three, the A’s return a number of players who both have experience in the league, yet are under the age of twenty-five! Peyton Bethke, J.J. Breaker, Isaiah Gilbertson, Mitchell Hong, Quinn Kirchoff, Kayne Korger, Josh LaGow, Zac LaGow, Trevor Fischer, and Mitch Hong will comprise the nucleus of an improving franchise.

2019 is the 40th Anniversary of Jan Krueger’s Augusta Athletics! It is also the 25th Anniversary of the club’s 1994 Wisconsin Baseball Association State Championship! There will be much to celebrate this summer at Jan Krueger Diamond at Memorial Field in Augusta!


As another season of Bullfrogs Baseball begins, the team is looking to continue to stay alive and compete in the tough south division of the CRBL. Some new face’s along with the returning vet’s will continue to provide opportunities for players and fan excitement.

Be sure to come out to the “Swamp” and support and cheer on the Bullfrogs this year. It’s going to be another exciting summer of baseball, as we host the area’s and state’s best amateur baseball teams. Three big promotional nights are planned again this season. Thank you to all our loyal and generous sponsors and fans for your support! As always……..”RIP IT, RIP IT”

Roster: KYLE BALASH, BRENDEN MCCABE, DUSTIN NELSON, TAYLOR RATHKE, CAL SAROU, LOGAN BERG, ZACH BERG, TIM PRINCE, NICK FLATER, KYLE MAUG, JESSE VEN ROI, JOVOHN MASTERS, DOUG RENTZ,

Coach: SCOTT SORENSON


The 2019 Eau Claire Bears look to keep things rolling after another successful season in which the Bears won 17 games in Manager Chevy Tollefson’s first year.

The Bears had a great run in the WBA playoffs last year winning their regional in haugen to advance to state last season. The Bears came up short in the State Tournament losing in the first round.

Individually the bears had one All CRBL player last year in Sam Janni. Janni led the CRBL last season in hits last year with 36 and finished the year batting .474. Bears also would like to recognize Brian Menard as he collected 23 hits last season bringing his career total to 410 hits. That makes Menard only the 7th player in history to surpass 400 hits and makes him number 7 in all time hits. To top it of Menard also tied Jim Falls Legend Roger Bergeron for the all time record for triples with 14. Also to mention Reed Pecha was awarded an honorable mention all CRBL award.

The bears will look to continue their run of success this year returning their main core of players but also adding a couple of notable CRBL players as well. 2018 ALL CRBL award winners Todd Lasher and Jimmy Anderson will join the Bears to round out an already explosive offense. And newcomer Jonathan Novas looks to bring an exciting new bat and arm to the roster. The Bears are excited to start their second season at Cinder City Park in Altoona. We hope to bring you another exciting season this year and look to bring home some gold. GO BEARS!

ROSTER: Chevy Tollefson, Todd Lasher, Jeremy Nicolai, Austin Neu, Sam Janni, Josh Halling, Ty Fadness, Jake Sandstrom, Dan Olsen, Reed Pecha, Alex Jinkins, Brian Menard, Jim Thill, Matt Lunde, Jimmy Anderson, James Gunderson, Blake Johnson, Jordan Dickerson, Matt Flesher, J.R. Lukes, Jonathan Novas, Alex Mazata


2019 marks the third season of play for the Eau Claire Rivermen. Established in 2017, the ‘Men have been right on the cusp of qualifying for the CRBL playoffs each of their first two seasons.

Sporting an 11 and 11 record in 2018, the Rivermen had an incredible nine games decided by one or two runs. During those nail biters, they managed to swim away with six wins and three losses.

The 2019 version of the ‘Men will have several familiar faces, as stalwart veterans Josh Briggs, Tyler Gray (2018 All-CRBL, Utility), Andy Niese (2018 All-CRBL, Catcher), Zach Parr, Hans Soukup, and Sawyer Sturz return for another round of CRBL battles.

Solidifying their place in CRBL and Rivermen lore are returning standouts Matt Alley (2018 CRBL Honorable Mention, Utility), Dayton Gutsch, Dalton Hutton, and Alex Rocksvold.

The mound staff for the guys in Navy Blue and Grey will be built on the right-handed arms of ironclad durable Tyler Gray, hard throwing Jesse Urbanek, and crafty James Davis. The additions of big lefty Will Petrosky as well as young righty Cade Osborn will provide needed depth and variety for Eau Claire’s newest amateur baseball team.

The Eau Claire Rivermen would like to sincerely thank our loyal fans and generous sponsors as we eagerly look forward to playing baseball in 2019. GO RIVERMEN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Roster: Matt Alley, Shane Boettcher, Wes Boyarski, Josh Briggs, James Davis, Joel Effertz, Dayton Gutsch, Tyler Gray, Dalton Hutton, Andy Niese, Zach Parr, Will Petrosky, Dave Roubal, Alex Rocksvold, Jordan Ruppelt, Tim Schaller, Sawyer Sturz, Carson Soukup, Hans Soukup, Jesse Urbanek, Tim Wilson


After two seasons of knocking on the door, the Merchants finally kicked it in, defeating the Sparta Miller 7-0 for the WBA state title.

Along the way, the boys went 20-2 in CRBL action (33-2 overall), won the South division, captured their third straight CRBL championship, as well as the prestigious Plum City Memorial Day tournament crown. All 25 men on the roster contributed along the way. Pitching and stellar defense were the strengths of the 2018 squad, along with an unwillingness to give up. Many games were decided late or in extra innings. The Merchants look to return the bulk of last year’s team, along with a few new faces. Things look bright for the 2019 season. Thanks to the businesses and individuals in the area who continually sponsor and donate to our many fund-raising causes. Without them none of this would be possible. See you at Jon Soiney Field at Merchant Park this summer. WWMD!


The Wolves finished the season 19-3 in league play and 20-6 overall. The Wolves will once again rely on pitching and defense as their strength. The pitching staff will once again be led by the strong arms of our veterans Alex Byom, Scott Hovell, Troy Sharp, and Zak Pronschinske.

Newcomers Blake Theisse, Jon Cieminski, and Isaac Marley look to give the Wolves quality innings this year. All our younger pitchers will need to prove that they can get good CRBL hitters out by minimizing walks and free bases.

The defense behind these pitchers is led by our veterans Tyler Manley, Scott Hovell, Nate Pronschinske, Kyle Servais, and Alex Petroski. We will be looking for Sam Schweisthal to replace long-time utility player and strong hitting Brad Schank, who retired after last season. We will miss his play and leadership. Brett Lettner, who was a rookie in the league last year, will be an infielder we will count on this year as well. The Wolves speedy outfield is led by centerfielder Trent Vondrasek. On either side of Trent will be Isaac Marley and Peyton Slaby. Max Ferguson handles the catching duties and is a big part of holding down opposing team’s running game. You have to score runs to win titles as well and in the offensive department the Wolves are led by Scott Hovell, Trent Vondrasek, Kyle Servais, Max Ferguson, Alex Byom, Tyler Manley, and Zak Pronschinske. The Wolves will be playing a tough 25 game schedule this year so all players on the roster will have opportunities to contribute.

The Whitehall Wolves would like to thank our sponsor Dave Pientok of Tri-City Sanitation and the entire Whitehall community for their support of Wolves baseball. We would also like to thank Tom & Connie from Newcomb Valley Inn for hosting and supporting our annual fundraiser each year. Finally, we would like to thank Mary Little, Terry Taylor, and Butch Halama for their tremendous coverage of Wolves’ baseball. These guys cover nearly every Wolves’ game no matter where we play. We hope to see you at the park this summer for some exciting Chippewa River Baseball League games.

Manager: Louie Ferguson

Roster: Trent Vondrasek, Alex Byom, Max Ferguson, Tyler Manley, Scott Hovell, Troy Sharpe, Sam Hirshbeck, Alex Petroski, Payton Slaby, Kyle Servais, Zach Pronschinske, Sam Schweisthal, Collin Manley, Nate Pronschinske, Jon Ciemenski, Blake Theisse, Zach Theisse, Brett Lettner, Isaac Marley, Parker Windjue, and Trace Bjorge