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VOL. 88 • NO. 21
YOUR FREE HOMETOWN NEWSPAPER
Wildcats get tenth win The River Ridge-Scales Mound Wildcats picked up their tenth win of the season when they beat the Pearl City Wolves last week. The Wildcats came into the week with an overall record of 8-13 and three scheduled games in just four days. On Wednesday, May 11, the Wildcats kicked off their week with a matchup against the Durand-Pecatonica Rivermen. It was the Wildcats who found themselves trailing early on as the Rivermen posed a threerun inning in the bottom of the second. RR-SM finally got the zero out of their score column in the top of the third inning. Following a leadoff walk to Damon Dittmar, an error on a groundball hit by Dylan Diehl would allow Dittmar to score. The Rivermen would quickly get that run back, however, as a run in the bottom of the third would maintain Du-Pec’s three-run lead. After Du-Pec scored another run to extend their lead in the bottom of the fifth, the Wildcats found themselves trailing by four with just two innings remaining. They knew they would need a spark in the late innings if they had any hopes of a comeback. Diehl got the top of the sixth
started with a four-pitch walk. Later in the inning, with two outs, Jacob Deurr and Thomas Hereau hit back-to-back singles to drive in a pair of runs, bringing the Wildcats within two. Once again, the Rivermen would get run back in the bottom half, as they took advantage of an error by the RRSM defense. The Wildcats came to the plate in the top of the seventh trailing 6-3. With such a deficit and only one inning left to play, RR-SM would need more than a couple things to go right if they wanted to pull off the late rally. They found themselves in business after Ryan Winter reached base thanks to an error by the DuPec shortstop to lead off the inning. Following a fielder’s choice, Zayden Ellsworth and Diehl took back-to-back walks to load the bases with one out. A wild pitch would allow Ben Richmond to score, bringing them within two. Maddox Knauer then knocked a pair of runs when a single to left was mishandled, allowing Diehl to score, and tying the game at 6-6. It was Knauer who scored the eventual game winning run with a steal of home plate, one of the most exciting plays in baseball. His aggressive base running put the Wildcats up 7-6 going into the bottom of the seventh.
Diehl came in for the save on the mound, where he trusted his defense behind him. Collecting a flyout and a pair of groundouts, Diehl capped off the day with a save in the 7-6 victory. Diehl was also impressive at the plate, reaching base four times as he went one for two with a pair of walks and one run scored. Knauer was one for three with a walk, one run scored, and two runs batted in. Hereau was one for three with a pair of RBI, and Deurr was one for four with a run scored in the win. Three days later, after suffering a 2-0 loss to Fulton, the Wildcats were back in action as they faced off with the Pearl City Wolves. The Saturday, May 14 matchup featured a dual pitching performance from Knauer and Derek Distler. The duo combined to keep the Wolves off the basepaths, giving the Wildcats a chance to pick up their tenth win. The game did not start so easily, however. Pearl City took an early lead when they tallied two runs thanks to three singles and a pair of walks in the top of the first inning. The Wildcats wouldn’t crack the scoreboard until the bottom of the third, when they were still trailing by a pair. Knauer was hit by a pitch to lead off the inning. A single by Breyton Fry and a groundout
by George Winter would allow a pair of runs to come in to tie the game at 2-2. Things then settled down for a bit as the game remained tied until the bottom of the fifth, when the Wildcats took their first lead of the day. A twoout single by Fry gave the Cats an opportunity as Fry began to show off his baserunning skills. After stealing both second and third base, Fry would eventually score as a wayward pickoff attempt at third base allowed him to reach home safely. In the bottom of the sixth, the Cats picked up some key insurance runs as a pair of singles by Ellsowrth and Dittmar, followed by a Pearl City error which allowed the Cats to go up 5-2. With the safe lead, Distler shut down the Wolves in the top of the seventh to hold on for their tenth victory of the season. Ellsworth was two for three with a run scored in the victory and Fry was a perfect three for three with a pair of runs scored. Dittmar was efficient offensively, going one for one with one run scored and one RBI. Knauer was also one for three with a run scored. Knauer was solid on the mound, going three innings with three hits, three strikeouts, two walks, and two runs allowed. Distler was impressive in relief, going four innings with just one hit allowed, while striking out five and walking none. Distler’s relief played a key role in the Cats’ tenth win. The Cats will travel to face off with East Dubuque in the opening round of the playoffs, Thursday, May 19.
815-369-4112 lenaads@rvpublishing.com WEDNESDAY, MAY 18, 2022
SUBMITTED PHOTO Rock Valley Publishing
Beekeeping
Isaac Rife is dressed in a bee suit as part of the educational session on beekeeping for the River Ridge FFA Ag Day.
Will interest rate hike slow farmland market? 416518
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By Daniel Grant FARMWEEK
The Federal Reserve approved a rare half-percentage-point interest rate hike this month as it attempts to reel in inflation. The move marked the first time the Fed increased interest rates by .5 percent, or 50
basis points, since 2000. Rate increases often occur by quarter-point increments. It raises the central bank’s benchmark federal-funds rate to a target range between .75 percent and 1 percent. The Fed also announced plans to shrink its $9 trillion asset portfolio starting next month to
ease inflation, which jumped 8.5 percent in March—the highest since 1981. Overall, the Fed’s goal with the interest rate hikes is to tamp down demand for goods and services to help ease inflation. It previously boosted
See RATE HIKE, Page 9