Coming off a much-needed weekÃÛèÖÊÓƵ rest, the Eau Claire Cavaliers put their offense to work in a Chippewa River Baseball League matchup on Sunday afternoon at Carson Park.
The Tilden Tigers and the Cavaliers took one game apiece. The Cavaliers outhit the Tigers in Game 1, but fell short with a 7-4 loss. The Cavaliers bounced back for Game 2 with an 11-7 victory.
The Cavaliers sit at second place in the South Division of the CRBL with a 9-4 record.
Eau Claire strung together nine hits in the first game. Brayton Thillman went 2-for-4 with two RBIs and Xavier Bembnister went 3-for-4 with one RBI.
Cavaliers coach Ryan Bembnister said Thillman and his son are two of the better hitters in the league.
“Those guys are both all-stars and they put the ball in play all the time,†Bembnister said. “They have really good approaches and even their outs are productive outs. They lead our team, they sit at the two most in important spots on any baseball team.â€
Thillman said he just looks to put the ball in play.
“I was looking for pitches that were in the zone, ready to swing at strikes and get on base for the guys behind me,†he said.
The Cavaliers made some defensive errors that put Tigers in scoring position.
“We had a couple of mental mistakes in the field that we need to avoid in Game 2,†Thillman said. “You have to keep the loss in the back of your mind and remember we are better than that, but learn to flush it as well. ItÃÛèÖÊÓƵ a new game and a new opportunity to a win.â€
Heading into the second game, Bembnister said the team needed to up their energy and intensity.
“We’ve got to have some energy when we’re here and have our pitcherÃÛèÖÊÓƵ back, no matter what happens out there,†he said. “We didn’t have that today with the three errors and the low energy, so we have to turn that around for the second game.â€
And the Cavaliers did just that. Xavier Bembnister came through with two RBIs, Caden Erickson with three and Sam Knickerbocker with four.
The Cavaliers outhit the Tigers again with 12 hits.
Andrew Milner took a loss on the mound and holds a 5-2 record. Cooper Dykes was on the mound for the second game and jumped to 2-1.
Ashton Crowell was taken out of Game 1 and did not return for Game 2. The Cavaliers left fielder made a play that not many athletes can make.
With a deep ball hit to the wall, Crowell sacrificed his body and head into the padding and made the out. Crowell was very slow to get up, but fortunately was able to walk off the field on his own.
“HeÃÛèÖÊÓƵ doing good, a little rattled,†Bembnister said. “There is a pretty good dent in the wall, itÃÛèÖÊÓƵ actually broken, but heÃÛèÖÊÓƵ doing okay. Luckily nothing is hurt, he is just shaken up.â€
© 2025 the Leader-Telegram (Eau Claire, Wis.). Visit . Distributed by
Copyright 2025 Tribune Content Agency.
Sorry, an error occurred.
Already Subscribed!
Cancel anytime
Thank you .
Your account has been registered, and you are now logged in.
Check your email for details.
Submitting this form below will send a message to your email with a link to change your password.
An email message containing instructions on how to reset your password has been sent to the email address listed on your account.
No promotional rates found.
Secure & Encrypted
Thank you.
Your gift purchase was successful! Your purchase was successful, and you are now logged in.
| Rate: | |
| Begins: | |
| Transaction ID: |
A receipt was sent to your email.
