League: Chippewa River Baseball League
Primary League
8 vs 1 
Augusta Athletics
0 vs 14 
Tilden TigersJim Falls Sturgeons vs Bloomer Woodticks
WP Curtis dachel 9in 3h 2r 2er 5bb 11k
Bloomer errors 3
Leading hitters
Sam elling 3 for 5 2rbis
Nate Leibfried 3 for 5
Lp Dylan waters 5in 6h 5r 4er 5 bb 1k
Jim falls errors 2
Leading hitter
Matt Nelson 1 for 3 1rbi
2 vs 14 Tilden Tigers
Scott Wolfe
Shortstop, 3rd Baseman, Closer
Augusta Athletics 1999; Eau Claire Bears 2000-10
Often referenced but rarely seen, a “five tool” player is the unique ball player that can hit for power, bat for a high average, run with speed, throw with velocity, and play defense with accuracy and flare. In the world of amateur baseball in the CRBL and the state of Wisconsin, few individuals exhibited those skills better than the Eau Claire Bears’ Scott Wolfe.
After spending his rookie CRBL season of 1999 as a part-time player for the Augusta Athletics, the lanky infielder came back to his hometown of Eau Claire to play for the Bears in 2000. After hitting .319 (14 for 44) that season, “Wolfie” emerged as a standout all-around player the next season for Eau Claire. In the CRBL’s return to wood bats in 2001, Scott hit .362 (21 for 56) while leading the league in runs scored with 16. He also appeared in his first All-Star game and was recognized as an All-CRBL third baseman, his first such award.
In total, the right-handed stick hit over .300 in nine of his twelve CRBL seasons, including .400+ marks in 2003 (.412, 28 for 68) and 2004 (.489, 22 for 45). In addition to his leading 16 runs scored in 2001, Scott also paced the CRBL with 73 at-bats in 2006, 8 home runs in 2007, 6 doubles (tied) in 2010, and tied for the circuit lead in saves with 1 in 2002 and 2 in 2004.
Beyond the obvious quantifiable numbers, Wolfe had the immeasurable intangible of excelling in the clutch within all facets of the game. Used primarily as a closer, Scott received a rare start in the 2002 South Division tie-breaker vs. the Augusta Athletics. At Augusta, the righty twirled a 3-hit, 7 inning shutout while striking out 8 and walking just 1 in the Bears’ 11-0 win. Two weeks later, Wolfie’s bottom of the 10th two-run homer put Eau Claire past Ellsworth 6-4 in the first game of the WBA tournament as the Bears were on their way to their first Final 8 appearance.
Earlier in the 2002 campaign, Scott had been named the MVP of the CRBL All-Star game at Hallie in the South’s 7-4 win over the North as he had the go ahead single in the bottom of the 7th inning to put the South ahead 3-2 in addition to being the winning pitcher in relief (4 IP, 1 R, 0 ER, 2 HA, 0 BB, 2 K).
Further evidence of Scott’s clutch DNA are numerous. In the 2006 CRBL championship at Carson Park, Wolfe was named game MVP by going 2-for-4 with 1 run, 2 RBI’s and a double. Moreover, Wolfe was remarkably named the Most Valuable Defensive Player of the WBA tournament three times (2005, 2008, 2009) with each recognition coming for his play at the shortstop position. As of 2016, Scott is one of only three players to have ever won the WBA Defensive MVP award more than once.
Of course, Scott shined in the regular CRBL season as well. Perhaps his brightest day occurred on Sunday, July 15th, 2007 in the Bears’ doubleheader sweep vs. the Whitehall Wolves. In the Bears game two, 11-0 six inning win, Wolfe drilled 3 home runs and drove in 5. In the game one’s 9-1 victory, Scott hit one home run and drove in 2. On the day, the big Wolfe was 5-for-6 with 4 home runs, 7 RBI’s, 5 runs scored, and a double.
The string of success that the Bears enjoyed throughout the 2000’s was unquestionably tied to the presence of Wolfe in their line-up. In Scott’s eleven seasons playing for the Bears, Eau Claire won eight South Division titles (2002, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010), five league titles (2004, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2009), made it to seven Final 8’s (2002, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009) and captured three WBA state crowns (2005, 2008, 2009).
Individually, Wolfe played in five All-Star games (2001, 2003, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2010) and received six All-CRBL awards (2001, 2003, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2010), with his first three at third base and his last three coming at shortstop.
Upon induction, Scott can be found amidst the all-time CRBL leaders in saves (tied for 8th), batting average (26th), slugging percentage (tied for 32nd), and doubles (32nd).
Rocky Thompson
Class of 2017
Manager
Osseo Merchants 2001-2006
Board Member & Organizer
1999 through induction
Since their inaugural season of CRBL competition in 1999, the Osseo Merchants have admirably developed in to one of the elite amateur baseball organizations in the state of Wisconsin. In figuratively and literally laying the groundwork for the Merchants’ existence, Rocky Thompson has remained one of the most dedicated, supportive, and influential members of Osseo’s enthusiastic baseball culture.
Thompson’s most visible role for the Merchants occurred from 2001 to 2006 when he selflessly fulfilled the role of team manager. Over Rocky’s seven season tenure, Osseo’s CRBL squad qualified for the WBA tournament in four seasons – 2001, 2002, 2003, and 2005. Fueled by a crew of veteran ballplayers, Thompson’s Merchants attained the franchise’s first Final 8 appearance in 2002, losing their opening Finals game 12-10 to the Oulu Blue Jays at Augusta.
Returning the next year to the Final 8, the Merchants met a similar fate, this time in Abbotsford but once again to Oulu, as they were beaten 11-1 by those same Blue Jays. In returning to the WBA’s Final 8 in 2003, the Osseo Merchants and Rocky became only the sixth team in CRBL history to make consecutive Final 8 appearances.
After stepping away from the managerial reigns in 2006 – a season in which he was given a CRBL Honorable Mention award as a coach — Mr. Thompson remained a vital part of the Merchants and the Osseo baseball community. Lauded for everything from his book keeping to his willingness to work in the concession stand, Rocky truly has been a man willing to lend his skills and knowledge to the betterment of baseball in Osseo as well as in the CRBL. An affable gentlemen, the Chippewa River Baseball League appreciatively recognizes Rocky Thompson as a deserved member of its elite Hall of Fame.
Ron Rubenzer
Class of 2017
1st Baseman, Outfielder
Jim Falls Sturgeons 1986-90, 93-03; Cadott Red Sox 1991-92
A left-handed slugger, Ron Rubenzer’s large stature and monstrous swing cut an imposing presence for Chippewa River Baseball League pitchers during his 18 seasons of league play.
As a young player, Ron entered the CRBL in a part-time role with the talented, successful, and veteran laden Jim Falls Sturgeons of the late 1990s.
Moving to the Cadott Red Sox in 1991, Rubenzer had a breakout campaign, getting named All-CRBL as an outfielder on the merits of his .397 average (23 for 58) to go along with 4 doubles, 3 home runs, and 11 RBI’s.
After one more season in Cadott, the Big Lefty returned to his hometown Sturgeons in 1993, which began an eight season run (1993-2000) in which he averaged over 4 home runs and 14 RBI’s while hitting a accumulative .325 (145 for 446). Within that stretch, Ron had perhaps his finest season in 1994, when he hit .500 (26 for 52) with 4 doubles, 5 home runs, and 16 RBI’s in route to his second All-CRBL award as an outfielder.
Rubenzer’s performance in his last two seasons as a full-time CRBL player in 1999 and 2000 validates his reputation as a true masher. In 1999, the Big Sturgeon tied for the CRBL lead in home runs with 7 while knocking in 26 run in 18 league games. He followed that up in 2000 by hitting .411 (23 for 56) with 6 long balls and 22 RBI’s in another 18 game CRBL season. In both years, Ron was named Honorable Mention All-CRBL.
Rubenzer was also a very durable and valuable pitcher for both Cadott and Jim Falls. Logging 422 innings over his CRBL career, the left-handed thrower posted a league leading ERA of 2.66 in 1990 (7 ER in 22.2 IP) for the Sturgeons. In six seasons, Rubenzer pitched over 40 league innings (1991, 1992, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999) and surpassed 50 innings twice – 54.1 in 1992 and 54 in 1997.
From 2001 to 2003, Ron circled back to a part-time player role with the Sturgeons before going on to finish his amateur baseball career with the Weyerhaeuser Black Hens of the Dairyland League, playing in to the late 2000s.
A participant in ten All-Star games (1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1994, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000), the thunderous power and towering home runs that Rubenzer regularly displayed make him one of the most prodigious power hitters in CRBL history. Upon induction, Ron’s highest all-time rankings can be found in home runs (9th), slugging percentage (14th), RBI’s (33rd), and innings pitched (39th).
Tim Peterson
Class of 2017
Media
Chippewa Herald 1978-86, 96; Leader-Telegram 1986-94
Arriving on the Chippewa Valley sports scene in the late 1970s, journalistic and statistical wizard Tim Peterson began covering the CRBL in 1978. In short order, Mr. Peterson quickly recognized that the Chippewa River Baseball League’s documented history and decades- long existence separated it from the common ambiguity of amateur baseball leagues.
When he debuted his “CRBL League Leaders” column in July of 1980, Tim permanently altered nearly every facet of the CRBL from that day forward. For the first time in league history, player stats, names, and performances were now being regularly viewed and assessed by thousands of people through the public forum of a newspaper – the Chippewa-Herald.
Through that pursuit of clarifying the documentation of CRBL statistics, Peterson made his most impactful contribution when implemented a standardized template for the “abbreviated” box scores to be used by CRBL team managers reporting to the local papers. Instituted in June of 1984, the “leading hitters” and “winning/losing pitchers” box score format exponentially improved the consistency and accuracy by which game stats and results would be recorded.
Mr. Peterson’s arrival at the Leader-Telegram in 1986 brought extended coverage of the CRBL back to Eau Claire’s paper after nearly a 20 year absence. Tim’s comprehensive and sincere reporting on the CRBL reintroduced the league to the city of Eau Claire and coincided with the Eau Claire Pioneers’ inaugural season of play in 1986. Not since the Twin City Sports in 1968 had the city of “clear waters” fielded a CRBL squad.
Justly stated, the CRBL’s cooperative relationship with local media as well as the strength and traditions of the All-CRBL awards, the CRBL Record Book, the CRBL All-Star Game MVP award, and the CRBL Championship Game MVP award can all be attributed to the professional methods and expectations that Mr. Peterson instituted in the late 1970s.
It is just and righteous that Tim Peterson be inducted in to the Chippewa River Baseball League Hall of Fame. Plainly stated, the CRBL Hall of Fame would not exist if not for the visionary and influential methods employed by Tim nearly forty years before his induction. Thank you Mr. Peterson!!!
Ben Morrison
Class of 2017
Utility
Augusta Athletics 2002-09
A left-handed hitter, Ben Morrison used a smooth and easy inside-out stroke to become one of the greatest contact hitters the Chippewa River Baseball League will ever see.
Joining an already potent Augusta line-up in 2002, Ben hit .383 (18 for 47) his rookie year in the CRBL for an Athletics squad that went 12 and 7 from the South Division. Marching through the WBA, Morrison and the 2002 A’s made it to the Final 8 at Augusta before losing in the tournament championship to the Hudson River Rats, 19 to 9. In total, Ben and the Athletics partook in six WBA tournaments together (2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2008).
Possessing the uncanny ability to hit behind the ball, Morrison’s line-drive producing swing wore out left-center gaps across the CRBL in route to his shining .382 lifetime batting average. In Ben’s eight seasons of competition, he eclipsed the .400 mark three times — .441 (26 for 59), .413 (19 for 46) in 2005, and a career best .475 (29 for 61) in 2007.
Falling just short of the 500 at-bat qualifier for the “Top 50” career batting average list, the portside swinger’s .382 career mark would have placed him third in CRBLhistory.
Excelling as a utility player, Ben was a regular off the mound for Augusta, logging 181.1 innings and gathering 14 wins during his CRBL career. His best season pitching came in 2008, when the right-handed thrower was 5 and 2 with a 3.55 ERA and 29 K’s in 50.2 innings framed.
In addition to being named Honorable Mention All-CRBL in 2005, Morrison was voted All-CRBL in five (2002, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2008) of his eight seasons. The frequency of accolades given to Ben brightly illustrates his place as one of that era’s best players. As a member of the CRBL Hall of Fame, he will forever be remembered as one of the CRBL’s all-time greats.
Shane Dutton
Class of 2017
Outfielder
Augusta Athletics 1997-2010
One of the most consistent and explosive hitters to ever play in the Chippewa River Baseball League, Shane Dutton was truly an offensive force during his 14 seasons of competition for the Augusta Athletics.
A highly regarded and respected player, Dutton’s vicious right-handed swing resulted in season after season of elite production accentuated by an array of laser-like doubles and booming home runs.
Hitting in the middle of Augusta’s volcanic 1990s line-up, Dutton hit an incredible .380 for his CRBL career. Shane captured a batting title in 2006 when he paced the circuit with an unearthly .508 mark (30 for 59) while also leading all hitters that year in hits with 30 and doubles with 9.
The hard swinging righty’s other league leading outputs cam in 2000 (34 hits), 2001 (4 doubles, tied), and 2009 (28 hits and 5 doubles).
A member of three South Division Champions (1997, 1998, 1999) and two CRBL champions (1998, 1999), Dutton was the championship game MVP in back to back years of 1998 and 1999. In Augusta’s 1998 5 to 4 CRBL title game win over Tilden at Augusta, Shane was the difference maker, going 3-for-3 with 2 doubles, a solo homer, 3 runs scored, 2 walks, and 1 RBI. His performance in the 1999 championship series – in which Augusta swept Tilden, 2 games to 0 – was truly awesome. In the two game set, Dutton went a combined 7-for-10 with 3 home runs, 7 runs scored, 4 RBI’s, and 3 walks.
The league success of Shane and the Athletics carried over to the WBA, where together they qualified for the tournament 11 times (1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2008) as well as two Final 8’s in 1999 and 2002. In the 2002 Finals held at Augusta, the Athletics lost to the Hudson River Rats 19 to 9 in the WBA Championship, marking the third time the A’s had appeared in the WBA title bout (1993, 1994 champions, 2002).
A participant in six All-Star games (1998, 1999, 2000, 2002, 2006, 2007), Dutton was a bestowed All-CRBL in eight campaigns (1998, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2006, 2009), as well as Honorable Mention All-CRBL in 2007.
Upon induction, the right-handed slugger’s all-time rankings show him 4th all-time in batting average, 9th in slugging percentage, tied for 13th in doubles, tied for 14th in home runs, 18th in total bases, 20th in hits, 22nd in runs scored, and 24th in RBI’s.