The 97th season of Chippewa River Baseball is set to open on Saturday April 26, 2025 with a matchup between the Bloomer Woodticks and the Jim Falls Sturgeons at Grudem Field. With 110 games played throughout the season, teams will have a collection of doubleheaders, two, 7-inning games, and single 9-inning games.

Other Notable Schedule Dates

• Sunday, July 6th – CRBL All-Star Game hosted by the Tilden Tigers at Casper Park, 2 pm (Hall of Fame Classes of 2025 to be honored)
• Wednesday, July 30th – Wildcard Wednesday
• Saturday, August 2nd – Championship Saturday

The 2025 season saw the Eau Claire Rivermen fold and were replaced by the Whitehall Whitetails to keep the South Division at six teams.

Both the Tilden Tigers and Osseo Merchants claimed back-to-back titles a season ago, Tigers in the North division and Merchants in the South division. The Merchants hoisted the best league record at 18-2, but lost 6-5 on Wildcard Wednesday to the Eau Claire Cavaliers. The Tigers dropped their wildcard matchup to the Eau Claire Bears 8-4. The Cavs went onto win their first CRBL championship defeating the Eau Claire Bears 6-4 on August 3, 2024 at Cinder City Park.

Tilden and Osseo will continue to be the teams to beat in the North and South Divisions. Both Eau Claire teams, Bears and Cavaliers, should challenge Osseo for the South title while Cadott, Chippewa and Jim Falls may have the firepower to dethrone Tilden. Bloomer looks to improve on their one win season from a year ago. Augusta and Beef River will have a large hill to climb in the ultra competitive South division.

A noteable event took place during the winter meetings of the league. Andy Niese, longtime secretary and treasurer of the CRBL, stepped down after 28 years serving the league. Niese is widely known for his CRBL record book and beginning the CRBL Hall of Fame. He also managed the Chippewa Falls Lumberjacks, before moving the team to Eau Claire and renaming them the Eau Claire Rivermen in 2017.

After nearly a three-decade tenure, and one of the largest league contributors to the history of the CRBL, Andy Niese has stepped down as secretary and treasurer of the Chippewa River Baseball League (CRBL). Niese, who began as the Vice President in 1997, has been the league secretary and treasurer since 1998. Additionally, Niese began the CRBL Hall of Fame in 2009 recognizing baseball players throughout the league history and completed a CRBL record book the same year. His record book was accepted into National Baseball Hall of Fame library at Cooperstown.

Niese commented, “It is hard to believe that nearly 30 years have gone by, but the never-ending obligations of life and work have necessitated that I reprioritize how and where I am giving my time.  In some manner I will always stay involved with the CRBL, just not quite to the extent I have been since becoming a league officer in 1997.”

Luke Anderson will step in as the secretary and Pete Thaler will accept the role of treasurer. Anderson, who has been a part of the Osseo Merchants for more than a decade, brings a lot of experience to the officer position. Thaler, the current manager of the Jim Falls, has managed the Sturgeons squad since 2020.

League president Rick Danielson said about Niese, “Andy has been a tremendous asset for the CRBL for close to three decades. His fingerprints are all over the league. Without him, we would not have a CRBL Hall of Fame or a CRBL record book. The league would like to thank him for all the hard work he has put in over the years.”

Niese, who is the all-time CRBL hits leader at 660, also managed the Chippewa Falls Lumberjacks from 2007 to 2016 before transferring the team to Eau Claire and franchising the Eau Claire Rivermen in 2017. Niese is statistically scattered throughout the CRBL record books as a player and manager. He is the all-time leader in hits, singles, doubles, at-bats and games played as a player. He also holds the record for the most wins as a manager with 209 victories. Only one other manager has coached more CRBL games, Scott Stuckert managed 486 games, while Niese finished his managing career writing out the lineup 370 times.

Longtime Jim Falls Sturgeon and league Vice President Keith Pitsch added, “Since its inception, and even since its roots in the old Chippewa Valley League in the early 20th Century, there have been many people who have given greatly of their time and talents to make this an institution in West-Central Wisconsin, but I don’t think there is anyone who has done more for it than Andy. As I recall, the multitude of leagues that once spotted Wisconsin and are now only memories, the continued existence and flourishing of the CRBL is a testament to dedicated people, and none have been more dedicated than him. It has been an honor and a pleasure to have played against him, played with him, and worked with him over the years. His departure leaves a gaping hole which we will patch but never fill. I know many baseball lovers, like me, send our utmost gratitude to this man, one of a kind.”

The Eau Claire Rivermen, formerly the Chippewa Falls Lumberjacks, have folded and will not return for the 97th year of Chippewa River Baseball League (CRBL) baseball. The Rivermen moved from Chippewa in 2017. Whitehall has been re-instated into CRBL play after folding in 2021 with a new name. Formerly the Whitehall Wolves, who began CRBL play in 2005, this version will be called the Whitetails.

The Whitehall squad will replace the Eau Claire Rivermen in the south division.

Manager Nick Steig will lead the Whitetails onto the field, while Chad McCune will act as general manager and player personal for Whitehall.

The Chippewa River Baseball League (CRBL) annual meeting with be held on Saturday, January 18th at the Whispering Pines Golf Course in Cadott — 12 pm start time.

The CRBL scheduling meeting is slated for February 2. Location and time to be determined.

View all the hitting and pitching Chippewa River Baseball League (CRBL) statistical league leaders for the 2024 season. A big thanks, to league secretary and historian Andy Niese for compiling and tabulated all the statistical data.

CRBL Hitting Leaders

Player	Team	H	AB	AVG (min 44 AB’s)
Sam Knickerbocker	Eau Claire Cavaliers	25	55	.454
Luke Erickson	Cadott Red Sox	21	49	.429
CJ Varsho	Chippewa Falls LumberJacks	25	59	.424
Drew Saylers	Eau Claire Bears	25	59	.424
Mason Tester	Jim Falls Sturgeons	23	55	.418
Corey Poirier	Bloomer Woodticks	22	54	.407
Jordan Steinmetz	Tilden Tigers	20	53	.377
Tyler Plitzner	Eau Claire Bears	23	61	.377
Lucas Steinmetz	Tilden Tigers	17	46	.370
Todd Wienkes	Osseo Merchants	21	57	.368

Player	Team	AB
Logan Burzynski	Cadott Red Sox	70
Logan Brown	Augusta Athletics	69
Taylor Rathke	Beef River Bullfrogs	67
Ryan Freitag	Osseo Merchants	65
Cole Zwiefelhofer	Tilden Tigers	63

Player	Team	Hits
Sam Knickerbocker	Eau Claire Cavaliers	25
Drew Saylers	Eau Claire Bears	25
CJ Varsho	Chippewa Falls LumberJacks	25
Logan Brown	Augusta Athletics	23
Tyler Plitzner	Eau Claire Bears	23
Mason Tester	Jim Falls Sturgeons	23
Cole Zwiefelhofer	Tilden Tigers	23

Player	Team	2B
Jesse Brockman	Osseo Merchants	9
Mason Tester	Jim Falls Sturgeons	8
Ryan Freitag	Osseo Merchants	7
AJ Schemenauer	Jim Falls Sturgeons	7
James Davis	Eau Claire Rivermen	6
Drew Saylers	Eau Claire Bears	6

Player	Team	3B
Lucas Steinmetz	Tilden Tigers	2
Ten players tied with 1		1

Player	Team	HR
Nolan Baier	Tilden Tigers	3
Logan Burzynski	Cadott Red Sox	3
Ryan Freitag	Osseo Merchants	3
Jonah Hanson	Cadott Red Sox	3
Jaxon Kostka	Osseo Merchants	3
Chad Kron	Cadott Red Sox	3
Lucas Steinmetz	Tilden Tigers	3

Player	Team	RBI’s
Jesse Brockman	Osseo Merchants	21
Ryan Freitag	Osseo Merchants	21
AJ Schemenauer	Jim Falls Sturgeons	21
Nolan Baier	Tilden Tigers	18
Hunter Guenther	Eau Claire Bears	16
Lucas Steinmetz	Tilden Tigers	16

Player	Team	R
Ryan Freitag	Osseo Merchants	21
Nolan Baier	Tilden Tigers	20
Jacob Lacy	Tilden Tigers	20
Hunter Guenther	Eau Claire Bears	19
Jack Kein	Cadott Red Sox	19
Chad Kron	Cadott Red Sox	19

Player	Team	SB
Lance Lettner	Eau Claire Rivermen	14
Jordan Steinmetz	Tilden Tigers	13
Jacob Lacy	Tilden Tigers	11
Lucas Steinmetz	Tilden Tigers	11
Logan Brown	Augusta Athletics	10
Ryan Krumenauer	Chippewa Falls LumberJacks	10

Player	Team	GP
Jack Bowe	Chippewa Falls LumberJacks	20
Logan Brown	Augusta Athletics	20
Caden Erickson	Eau Claire Cavaliers	20
Ryan Freitag	Osseo Merchants	20
Ryan Krumenauer	Chippewa Falls LumberJacks	20
Lance Lettner	Eau Claire Rivermen	20
Andy Niese	Eau Claire Rivermen	20
Tyler Plitzner	Eau Claire Bears	20
Corey Poirier	Bloomer Woodticks	20
Taylor Rathke	Beef River Bullfrogs	20
Mason Tester	Jim Falls Sturgeons	20
Jake Varsho	Chippewa Falls LumberJacks

Team	Hits	AB’s	AVG
Eau Claire Bears	199	599	.332
Tilden Tigers	198	608	.326
Jim Falls Sturgeons	169	545	.310
Cadott Red Sox	180	582	.309
Osseo Merchants	180	589	.306
Beef River Bullfrogs	173	630	.275
Eau Claire Cavaliers	151	551	.274
Chippewa Falls LumberJacks	153	567	.270
Eau Claire Rivermen	151	569	.265
Augusta Athletics	150	587	.256
Bloomer Woodticks	111	502	.221

Team	RS	RA	RDiff
Osseo Merchants	165	31	+134
Tilden Tigers	183	68	+115
Eau Claire Bears	155	60	+95
Cadott Red Sox	133	104	+29
Eau Claire Cavaliers	104	80	+24
Chippewa Falls LumberJacks	91	100	-9
Jim Falls Sturgeons	105	136	-31
Eau Claire Rivermen	89	124	-35
Beef River Bullfrogs	107	175	-68
Augusta Athletics	99	196	-97
Bloomer Woodticks	54	211	-157

CRBL Pitching Leaders

Player	Team	ER	IP	ERA (min 20 IP)
Stephen Scatassa	Tilden Tigers	2	22.2	0.79
Logan Boettcher	Osseo Merchants	2	20.2	0.87
Tyson Lucas	Chippewa Falls LumberJacks	6	42	1.29
Alex Byom	Osseo Merchants	5	32	1.41
Luke Eide	Osseo Merchants	13	61.2	1.90
Chevy Tollefson	Eau Claire Bears	9	41	1.98
Andrew Milner	Eau Claire Cavaliers	12	52.2	2.06
Ryan Flock	Eau Claire Bears	6	26	2.07
Hunter Guenther	Eau Claire Bears	9	36.2	2.21
Zack Thiesse	Cadott Red Sox	22	82.2	2.40

Player	Team	IP
Zack Thiesse	Cadott Red Sox	82.2
Luke Eide	Osseo Merchants	61.2
Andrew Milner	Eau Claire Cavaliers	52.2
Jesse Urbanek	Eau Claire Rivermen	49.2
Will Jacobson	Jim Falls Sturgeons	45.2

Player	Team	W
Zack Thiesse	Cadott Red Sox	8
Luke Eide	Osseo Merchants	7
Hunter Guenther	Eau Claire Bears	5
Tyson Lucas	Chippewa Falls LumberJacks	5
PJ LeQuia	Tilden Tigers	5
Andrew Milner	Eau Claire Cavaliers	5

Player	Team	Win % (min 5 decisions)
Hunter Guenther	Eau Claire Bears	1.000 (W – 5 L – 0)
Tilden Tigers	Tilden Tigers	1.000 (W – 5 L – 0)
Luke Eide	Osseo Merchants	.875 (W – 7 L – 1)
Tyson Lucas	Chippewa Falls LumberJacks	.833 (W – 5 L – 1)
Zack Thiesse	Cadott Red Sox	.800 (W – 8 L – 2)
Alex Byom	Osseo Merchants	.800 (W – 4 L – 1)

Player	Team	K
Luke Eide	Osseo Merchants	86
Zack Thiesse	Cadott Red Sox	64
Andrew Milner	Eau Claire Cavaliers	64
Wes Boyarski	Beef River Bullfrogs	49
Tyson Lucas	Chippewa Falls LumberJacks	48

Player	Team	Saves
Luke Eide	Osseo Merchants	2
Tyson Woodcock	Eau Claire Cavaliers	2
nine tied with		1

Player	Team	Shutouts
Tyson Lucas	Chippewa Falls LumberJacks	3
Andrew Milner	Eau Claire Cavaliers	3
Zack Thiesse	Cadott Red Sox	3
Luke Eide	Osseo Merchants	2
Alex Byom	Osseo Merchants	2
Chevy Tollefson	Eau Claire Bears	2

Player	Team	K’s/9 IP (min 20 IP)
Luke Eide	Osseo Merchants	12.55 (86 K/61.2 IP)
Stephen Scatassa	Tilden Tigers	11.51 (29 K/29.2IP)
Wes Boyarski	Beef River Bullfrogs	11.31 (49 K/39 IP)
Alex Byom	Osseo Merchants	11.25 (40 K/32 IP)
Andrew Milner	Eau Claire Cavaliers	10.94 (64 K/52.2 IP)

Team	ER	IP	ERA
Osseo Merchants	25	149	1.51
Eau Claire Bears	42	148	2.55
Tilden Tigers	47	150.2	2.81
Chippewa Falls LumberJacks	62	145	3.84
Eau Claire Cavaliers	62	139.1	4.00
Cadott Red Sox	67	142	4.25
Jim Falls Sturgeons	87	136.1	5.74
Eau Claire Rivermen	104	148.2	6.30
Beef River Bullfrogs	136	150.1	8.14
Augusta Athletics	139	143.2	8.71
Bloomer Woodticks	148	127.1	10.46

Pitching

• On June 5th, the Cavs’ Andrew Milner pitched the 69th no-hitter in CRBL history, beating the EC Rivermen 10-0 in seven innings.
• On June 30th, Osseo’s Alex Byom spun a 5-inning, 17-0 no-hitter vs. the Bloomer Woodticks. This was the 5th no-hitter of the righty’s dominant CRBL career. Alex’s five no-hitters are a CRBL record.
• With a 4 and 2 mark this season, the Rivermen’s Tyler Gray now has 102 wins in his 19-season CRBL career, good for 2nd place all-time behind Hall of Famer Jim Hoepner’s 109 victories.
• With two shutouts, the Bears’ Chevy Tollefson now has 17 shutouts over his 17-season career, tying him for 2nd place all-time in that category with Hall of Famer Tom Dachel. The all-time leader is Jim Hoepner with 19 shutouts.

Hitting

• The Bears’ right-handed slugger Todd Lasher became the CRBL’s all-time leader in RBIs. By knocking in 12 runs this season, Lasher now has 372 RBIS for his 23-season CRBL career. The former leader was Bloomer great and CRBL Hall of Famer Scott Stuckert, who drove in 365 runs during his 35-season career.
• With 17 total bases this season, Lasher also moved into second place all-time in that category, with 808 over his tenure, passing Tilden Hall of Famer Randy Baier who finished his 25-season CRBL career with 804. The all-time leader in total bases is the Eau Claire Rivermen’s Andy Niese with 891.

Managerial

• In guiding Tilden to 17 and 3 record, Tiger skipper Ryan Baier jumped to 9th place all-time in managerial wins with 127. The leader in managerial victories is current Rivermen manager Andy Niese with 209.
• With the Rivermen qualifying for the 2024 WBA, it marks the 16th season Niese has managed a team to the state tournament, breaking a tie with Augusta legend and CRBL Hall of Famer Jan Kruger, who managed the Athletics from 1989 to 2004.

The Chippewa River Baseball League (CRBL) managers have voted and selected the 2024 all-league awards.

Position	Player	Team
OF	Drew Saylers	Eau Claire Bears
OF	Lucas Steinmetz	Tilden Tigers
OF	CJ Varsho	Chippewa Falls LumberJacks
3B	Tyler Plitzner	Eau Claire Bears
SS	Mason Tester	Jim Falls Sturgeons
2B	Jack Kein	Cadott Red Sox
1B	Cole Zwiefelhofer	Tilden Tigers
C	Sam Knickerbocker	Eau Claire Cavaliers
UT	Hunter Guenther	Eau Claire Bears
DH	Ryan Freitag	Osseo Merchants
P	Luke Eide	Osseo Merchants
P	Tyson Lucas	Chippewa Falls LumberJacks
P	Zack Thiesse	Cadott Red Sox

• Among the thirteen individuals selected for 2024 All-CRBL awards, there were ten first time award winners.
• There were no unanimous selections.
• Two individuals were repeat winners from 2023.
• The all-time leader in All-CRBL awards is the Eau Claire Rivermen’s Andy Niese with 13.

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Honorable Mention All-CRBL

Team	Player	Position
Augusta Athletics	JJ Breaker	UT
Beef River Bullfrogs	Will Thibodeau	UT
Bloomer Woodticks	Corey Poirier	2B
Cadott Red Sox	Luke Erickson	CF
Chippewa Falls LumberJacks	Jake Varsho	SS
Eau Claire Bears	Jack Sandvic	UT
Eau Claire Cavaliers	Xavier Bembnister	OF
Eau Claire Rivermen	Joel Effertz	3B
Jim Falls Sturgeons	Jace Cota	OF
Osseo Merchants	Jesse Brockman	SS
Tilden Tigers	Jacob LeQuia	P

• Of the eleven individuals recognized with an Honorable Mention All-CRBL award, six were first time selections
• Tyler Gray’s seven Honorable Mention Awards are the CRBL record.

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Gold Glove Awards

Team	Player	Position
Augusta Athletics	Logan Brown	OF
Beef River Bullfrogs	Mason Bauer	OF
Bloomer Woodticks	Connor Hicks	1B
Cadott Red Sox	Luke Erickson	CF
Chippewa Falls LumberJacks	CJ Varsho	OF
Eau Claire Bears	Jim Thill	2B
Eau Claire Cavaliers	Cade Mueller	3B
Eau Claire Rivermen	Lance Lettner	OF
Jim Falls Sturgeons	Colton Turner	1B
Osseo Merchants	Logan Matson	INF
Tilden Tigers	Jordan Steinmetz	C

• This is the fourth season for the CRBL’s Gold Glove Awards.
• Of the eleven gold glove recipients, nine were first time winners.

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Other CRBL Awards

Award	Player	Team
Rookie of the Year	Drew Saylers	Eau Claire Bears
MVP	Luke Eide	Osseo Merchants
Jim Hoepner – Pitcher of the Year	Luke Eide	Osseo Merchants
Jan Krueger – Manager of the Year	Aaron Hagberg	Osseo Merchants
Sportmanship Award	Bloomer Woodticks

• Luke Eide joins Alex Byom (’16 & ’18) and Ryan Freitag (’17 & ’19) as two-time CRBL MVP winners.
• The Bloomer Woodticks have the most CRBL Sportsmanship Awards of any team/organization with 11.

• Saturday, August 3rd at Cinder City Park in Altoona, 12:30 pm.
• This will be the Bears’ 11th championship game appearance and their first since 2016. Since joining the CRBL in 1998, the Bears have won 6 CRBL crowns. Their last championship was in 2014.
• The Cavs will be making their third appearance in the CRBL championship game and their first since 2019. Since joining the CRBL in 2017, the Cavs have yet to win a CRBL title.
• The Tilden Tigers have won a league record 19 league championships and has made a record 39 appearances in the championship game. The Tigers’ first year of league play was 1946.
• The next closest franchise is the Chippewa Falls Lumberjacks with 7 CRBL crowns.
• In 2023, the Osseo Merchants beat the Tilden Tigers, 2 to 1 at Casper Park.
• Pitcher Luke Eide of Osseo was named MVP of last year’s contest.
• CRBL Hall of Famer Shane Dutton is the only player to win multiple championship game MVP awards, doing so for Augusta in 1998 and 1999. The award has been given annually since 1998.
• The first championship “contest” was a series, taking place in 1928 when the Eagleton Eagletons beat Eau Claire Union 2 games to 0.
• Including 2024, this is the 96th season of play in CRBL history. Within that time frame, there have been 11 championship series. This Saturday marks the 61st championship game.

The Chippewa River Baseball League (CRBL) managers have voted and selected the 2024 North and South All-Star teams. The CRBL All-Star game will be hosted by the Jim Fall Sturgeons on Sunday, July 7th at 2 pm. The 2024 Hall of Fame Class will be inducted during the game.

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North All-Stars

Position	Player	Team
C	Jonah Hanson	Cadott Red Sox
1B	AJ Schemenauer	Jim Falls Sturgeons
2B	Jack Kein	Cadott Red Sox
3B	Chad Kron	Cadott Red Sox
SS	Mason Tester	Jim Falls Sturgeons
OF	CJ Varsho	Chippewa Falls LumberJacks
OF	Luke Erickson	Cadott Red Sox
OF	Jace Cota	Jim Falls Sturgeons
DH	Corey Poier	Bloomer Woodticks
EH	Bob Mauer	Jim Falls Sturgeons
P	Zack Thiesse	Cadott Red Sox
P	Jacob Lequia	Tilden Tigers
P	Will Jacobson	Jim Fall Sturgeons
P	Tyson Lucas	Chippewa Falls LumberJacks
P	Dawson Rice	Chippewa Falls LumberJacks
P	Cole Schwab	Bloomer Woodticks
P	Gio Basile	Cadott Red Sox
C	Patrick Callaghan	Bloomer Woodticks
C	Bobby Soran	Jim Falls Sturgeons
1B	Cole Zwiefelhofer	Tilden Tigers
2B	Brendan Bresina	Tilden Tigers
SS	Jake Varsho	Chippewa Falls LumberJacks
3B	Matt Martineau	Chippewa Falls LumberJacks
OF	Jack Redwine	Cadott Red Sox
OF	Blake Trippler	Chippewa Falls LumberJacks
OF	Jacob Lacy	Tilden Tigers
UT	Jackson Simmons	Bloomer Woodticks

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South All-Stars

Position	Player	Team
C	Jack Sandvic	Eau Claire Bears
1B	Blake Johnson	Eau Claire Bears
2B	Cody Dayton	Eau Claire Cavaliers
3B	Tyler Plitzner	Eau Claire Bears
SS	Hunter Guenther	Eau Claire Bears
OF	Drew Salyer	Eau Claire Bears
OF	Xavier Bembinster	Eau Claire Cavaliers
DH	Ryan Freitag	Osseo Merchants
EH	JJ Breaker	Augusta Athletics
P	Chevy Tollefson	Eau Claire Bears
P	Andrew Milner	Eau Claire Cavaliers
P	Tyson Woodcock	Eau Claire Cavaliers
P	Wes Boyarski	Beef River Bullfrogs
P	Ethan Bartles	Beef River Bullfrogs
P	Luke Eide	Osseo Merchants
P	Ryan Flock	Eau Claire Bears
P	Connor Weltzien	Osseo Merchants
C	Sam Knickerbocker	Eau Claire Cavaliers
C	Jake Becker	Eau Claire Rivermen
C	Brady Ingersoll	Augusta Athletics
UT	Will Thibodeau	Beef River Bullfrogs
1B	Joe Zawacki	Osseo Merchants
2B	Brett Jensen	Eau Claire Rivermen
3B	Cade Muelller	Eau Claire Cavaliers
SS	Jesse Brockman	Osseo Merchants
2B	Cole Stensen	Augusta Athletics
OF	Brayton Thillman	Eau Claire Cavaliers
OF	Kyle Maug	Beef River Bullfrogs
OF	Mason Bauer	Beef River Bullfrogs
OF	Jaxon Kostka	Osseo Merchants
DH	Todd Lasher	Eau Claire Bears
DH	Joe Halling	Eau Claire Bears
DH	Devon McCune	Osseo Merchants

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• 68th All-Star game
• The South leads the series 34-16
• The South won the last meeting 6-4 on June 30th at Casper Park