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VOL. 91 • NO. 23
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WEDNESDAY, MAY 28, 2025
Wildcats claim fifth regional title By Trenten Scheidegger CORRESPONDENT
Congratulations, graduates!
SONYA WILLIAMSON PHOTO Rock Valley Publishing
Stockton High School’s class of 2025 celebrate their high school graduation on Sunday, May 18, 2025.
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The River Ridge-Scales Mound Wildcats won their first regional baseball championship since 2019 when they beat the East Dubuque Warriors last weekend. RR-SM got hot at the right time. After getting off to a 9-16 start to the 2025 season, things weren’t too promising for the Wildcats, but you can’t count any of Jeremy Knauer’s teams out. Seven consecutive wins and a Regional Championship later, and the Wildcats have proven they have what it takes to win. The rally began on May 12 when the Wildcats had a comeback victory to beat Polo 5-4. Since then, RR-SM has found ways to win in any type of situation. After ending the regular season on a four-game winning streak, the Wildcats entered the postseason at the right time. On Monday, May 19, RRSM began their playoff run with a familiar opponent in the Orangeville Broncos. Back in April, the Wildcats beat the Broncos 10-0. The postseason proved the regular season matchup was no fluke as RR-SM went on to end Orangeville’s season with an 11-1 victory. The RR-SM pitching staff helped lead the way to victory in the postseason opener. Joe Winter collected the win on the mound. In two innings, Winter allowed one earned run off three hits, while striking out three. Damon Dittmar pitched two innings of shutout
ball with two strikeouts. Sam Rife also tossed two shutout innings, striking out four batters along the way. The Wildcats were expected to get that win over Orangeville, but that wasn’t the case when they took on the Galena Pirates in the semifinal round. Galena was the one seed in their bracket. They brought a record of 18-7 into their matchup with the Wildcats. The semifinal matchup had a little bit of everything. RRSM scored in four separate innings, including a four-spot in the third. When Kaden Deurr tripled to center in the top of the fourth, an error allowed him to round the bases and reach home safely. At the time, that gave RR-SM a big 8-1 lead over Galena. The Pirates would respond with five runs in the bottom of the fourth. By the end of the fifth, the Pirates had tied the game 8-8. In the end, Galena’s defense came back to bite them. The Pirates had seven errors in the game, including a passed ball in the top of the sixth, which ultimately cost them the game. Bode Dittmar scored the game’s winning run. Rife picked up the win from the mound. Galena put some pressure on with a pair of hits in the seventh, but Rife earned a fly out to get out of trouble. With that, RR-SM advanced to the championship round with a 9-8 victory.
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