Wisconsin
Rodriguez dominant on the mound in debut with Wisconsin Timber Rattlers
Minor League Baseball: Wisconsin Timber Rattlers ready for season
The Wisconsin Timber Rattlers are ready for the 2025 season after making the Midwest League playoffs last season and nearly winning the league title.
GRAND CHUTE − One couldn’t help but think a couple years down the road about what Manuel Rodriguez will look like in the Milwaukee Brewers starting rotation if he continues to pitch like he did in Friday night’s Midwest League season opener.
Rodriguez, who is just 19 years old, turned in a sparkling performance for the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers in a season-opening 4-1 loss to the Cedar Rapids Kernels at Neuroscience Group Field.
He struck out the side in the first inning on 13 pitches, struck out two more in the second, three in the third, two in the fourth and the one batter he faced in the fifth inning.
“The kid is pretty good,” Timber Rattlers manager Victor Estevez said. “The ball was cutting pretty good. He was getting a lot of swing-and-misses.
“He was able to strike out 11 guys in his Wisconsin debut. That was outstanding to see.”
Rodriguez did all that on 62 pitches.
“I want to thank God for helping me today,” Rodriguez said through an interpreter. “I felt a little nervous in the first inning but I got through it quick and settled in after that.”
Matt Wood, who was behind the plate catching Rodriguez, was impressed.
“It was unbelievable,” Wood said. “It’s like he placed the ball where he wanted it every single time. It’s really impressive for his age.
“He and I had a really good connection. We were on the same page, so it was a lot of fun.”
While those with scorebooks may have noticed Rodriguez’s strikeout total building, he didn’t.
“I was just trying to follow the game plan,” Rodriguez said. “I was trying not to pay attention to that.”
Rodriguez and Wood stuck to the game plan of staying away from the hot zones of the Cedar Rapids hitters and putting his pitches in areas where he would have success.
The lone run allowed by Rodriguez came in the fourth inning on a pair of walks and a single to right field by Billy Amick that scored Kyle DeBarge.
Rodriguez wasn’t the only pitcher adding to Wisconsin’s strikeout total.
Brian Fitzpatrick, who allowed three runs over two innings, struck out two, and Aiden Maldonado struck out three to bring the total to 17.
The only real rough patch for the Timber Rattlers pitchers was Fitzpatrick’s second inning of work where there were two singles, a walk, a double and a pair of errors.
Offensively, it wasn’t a great game for Wisconsin, which finished with five hits.
The Rattlers loaded the bases with one out in the first inning on singles by Yophery Rodriguez and Blake Burke and a walk to Wood but couldn’t score.
From then until the ninth inning, the Rattlers had only four base runners on three walks and an error.
In the ninth inning, they plated a run on singles by Wood, Juan Baez and Tayden Hall.
Cedar Rapids pitcher Charlee Soto, who is the Minnesota Twins’ eighth-ranked prospect, was in the upper 90s and hit triple digits with his fastball on a few occasions.
“He had some good velocity and his secondary stuff is pretty good, too,” Wood said. “You just had to get in the box and compete.”
Soto allowed two hits and three walks while striking out five over four innings.
GREEN BAY, Wis. (WBAY) – Wisconsin native and American Idol contestant Genevieve Heyward is anxiously waiting to see if she makes it to the top 14.
Two Mondays ago, she sang “Pink Pony Club” by Chappell Roan, and the judges had nothing but good things to say.
We spoke with Genevieve about exceeding her own expectations as she waits for the results.
“I just think going into any of these, specifically American Idol, you kind of have to just go in, and you got to be grounded through it. But that’s the other thing I’ve learned. You just got to stay grounded and don’t have any expectations for what you think is going to happen. You almost have to ride the wave,” said Heyward.
Viewers will find out if she advances to the next round on Monday, March 30th, right here on WBAY-TV 2.
Copyright 2026 WBAY. All rights reserved.
Crews are starting to work on the new Pizza Ranch in Wisconsin Rapids. We have an updated timeline for the restaurant.
WISCONSIN RAPIDS – Crews are starting to work on building the new Pizza Ranch in Wisconsin Rapids.
Angie and Gary Hall from Kellner will be the owners and operators of Pizza Ranch when the restaurant with FunZone opens near Home Depot in Wisconsin Rapids.
Angie Hall told a Daily Tribune reporter March 24 crews started preparing and clearing the land Tuesday morning in advance of putting in the building footings next week.
Pizza Ranch also became members of the Heart of Wisconsin Chamber of Commerce Tuesday morning and will host a groundbreaking ceremony at 10 a.m. April 6 on the property, Hall said.
Construction is estimated to take about six months to complete, and Hall said they’re expecting to host a grand opening in September.
Hall said she and her husband can’t wait for this chapter to start, and they strive to live Pizza Ranch’s vision, “to glorify God by positively impacting the world,” Hall said.
Pizza Ranch is not just a restaurant and FunZone, Hall said, but will be here for the community, giving back to the community in any and every way possible, she said.
After years of rumors Pizza Ranch would open a Wisconsin Rapids location, plans have been in the works since city leaders approved initial parking plans for the site, naming the 8,137-square-foot restaurant in October.
Hall told a Daily Tribune reporter in January she and her husband would be the owners and operators of the new location. Gary Hall is currently the general manager of the Stevens Point area location, and Angie Hall is a district manager for multiple locations throughout the state.
For more information, visit pizzaranch.com.
Contact Caitlin at cshuda@usatodayco.com or follow her on Twitter @CaitlinShuda.
Mr Basketball Zavier Zens leads Wisconsin Lutheran back to state title
Wisconsin Lutheran coach Ryan Walz speaks on a late steal and dunk by Mr. Basketball Zavier Zens to help the Vikings advance to the state title game.
Wisconsin Lutheran senior Zavier Zens rounded out a week that already saw him named to the Naismith High School All-American list, receive the Mr. Basketball Award from the Wisconsin Basketball Coaches Association and win a third consecutive WIAA state title with his Vikings teammates by being named the 2025-26 Gatorade Wisconsin boys basketball player of the year.
In a release from March 20, Gatorade announced Zens as Wisconsin Lutheran’s second Gatorade player of the year in the past three seasons, joining his first cousin, Kon Knueppel. The 6-foot-7 Northern Iowa commit averaged 23.4 points, 5.4 rebounds, 4.4 assists and shot 61.8% from the field, leading Wisconsin Lutheran’s second 30-0 season in the past three years.
In addition to his on-court impact, the Gatorade press release highlighted Zens’ community impact as a youth basketball coach, participation in community service through his church and a 3.38 weighted GPA in the classroom among the factors leading to his selection.
“Zavier is incredible,” Greendale coach Ryan Johnson said in the Gatorade release. “He has had an incredible season as the leader of not only the top-ranked team in the state, but one of the best teams in the country. He scores at all three levels, defends at a high level and is a true leader.”
Zens scored 21 points in a 68-61 WIAA Division 1 state semifinal win over Appleton North on March 20, before adding another team-best 20 points on 8-of-9 shooting to lead a 57-37 win in the D1 state title game over Madison Memorial on March 21.
He finishes his career as the No. 3 career scorer in school history (1,611 points), No. 7 in career rebounds (463), No. 2 in career threes (154) and single-season points (703), while holding the school record for converted field goals in a season (282).
Gatorade player of the year recognizes one state winner from each of the 50 states and Washington, D.C., in 12 sports, including: football, girls volleyball, boys and girls cross-country, boys and girls basketball, baseball, softball, boys and girls soccer, as well as boys and girls track and field. In total, 610 high school athletes are recognized each year. From the pool of state winners, one national winner is selected in each of the 12 sports by a committee that leverages coaches, scouts, media and other sources to determine each sport’s winner.
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