Chippewa River Baseball League full of steep competition

The Chippewa River Baseball League, a little over a month into its season, is off to its best start in years.

The Tilden Tigers boast the top record (11-2) followed by the Cadott Red Sox (7-2) and the Osseo Merchants (6-3).

But, every team despite varying records seems to be in the mix every night.

“The story of this season right now is how good every team up and down both sides of the conferences are,” Eau Claire Cavaliers coach Ryan Bembnister said. “The parity in this league is better than it’s ever been, and the teams are stronger than they’ve ever been, and it’s only getting stronger.”

“I’ve been doing this for 12 years and this is by far the most parity I’ve ever seen across the league,” Eau Claire Bears coach Blake Johnson said. “There’s been an influx of young kids. I think the (UW-Eau Claire) Blugold college team coming back to town in the last six years has helped. The league’s just gotten young and it’s just gotten more competitive.”

The Cavs (4-3) and Bears (3-7) have had middling starts to their campaigns.

The Cavs, having dealt with rainouts and postponements, have yet to develop a flow this season.

Still though, they find themselves tied with the Beef River Bullfrogs and Whitehall Whitetails for just a game back of the Merchants for first place in the South Division.

“We got an opportunity to take advantage of our schedule ahead of us, and hopefully rattle off some wins and get right back in the thick of things for leading our conference,” Bembnister said.

Pitching has led the way for the Cavs, with workhorse starters Andrew Milner and Eli Rathke taking up most of the mileage on the hill followed by James Schutte and Mason Yarrington.

The Cavs’ bats have struggled at times, but are looking to come around for a five-game homestand at Carson Park next week.

“We got to get more into our schedule, where we can really get more consistent hitting and more at-bats,” Bembnister said. “You can see the approach at the plate is really good for all the guys up and down our lineup. It’s just the fact that we have to see more live pitching to get into a groove.”

The Bears, like the Cavs, need to break out the bats more. Of the Bears’ seven losses, four have come by two runs or fewer.

“(We’re) definitely not playing up to our potential coming off the league title last year and winning it all,” Johnson said.

Defensive mishaps have also hurt the veteran-laden Bears, who hope a new influx of four North high school players can help improve their standing.

“We’re excited to have them,” Johnson said. “Before they were with us, I bet you our average age was around 32 and so to add a group of young guys to that is important.”

Now, it all comes down to the Bears developing consistency.

“We know who we are, we know what our roster looks like, and we know what our roster is going to look like in August,” Johnson said. “In this league, the WBA (Wisconsin Baseball Association) tournament is the important part. It’s just about playing consistent baseball and getting ready for that.”

Bembnister and Johnson will face one another next Wednesday at Carson Park, their third meeting this season. The Cavs took the first two games, including the Billy Noss Memorial Day game.

No matter the result, both are excited for the league going forward.

“To have the teams and league be way better, where it’s a competitive level for seven innings or nine innings, it’s just way more fun,” Bembnister said. “It’s more electric. It brings more notoriety to the league, because this league deserves more notoriety in the area.

“I would rather have it this way than any other way.”