After a sluggish 5-6 start to Chippewa River Baseball League play, the Bears ripped off an 11-game win streak to close out league play and springboard into the playoffs, in which they upended No. 1 seed Whitehall and No. 3 Osseo to claim the league title and a Wisconsin Baseball Association playoff berth.

This year, the Bears picked up right where they left off, compiling a 20-2 league record, with both losses coming to Whitehall. The 20 wins are a program record, as are the 206 runs they’ve scored this summer. Eau Claire has been clicking on all cylinders, winning 34 of its last 36 league games dating back to the start of last season’s run, and it doesn’t appear to be slowing down with the playoffs starting on Wednesday.

“The better you play, the more confident you are, and when you get on a roll, it’s easier to stay on a roll than it is to falter,” Bears utility player Brian Menard said.

Part of Eau Claire’s success has to be attributed to the laid back attitude of the squad. Most of the players returned from last year’s team, breeding a sense of familiarity among the Bears. Even the fresh faces added to the roster have gelled right away, and Eau Claire is playing some of the CRBL’s most cohesive baseball.

“You can’t start anywhere if you don’t have talent to begin with, and we’ve got a really talented group of young guys,” manager Reed Pecha said. “We’ve kind of been rebuilding our franchise, and I think we have a really good, young core group that’s just kind of coming together.”

The Bears don’t have any one particular star heading the charge but rather a well-balanced lineup — 10 Bears were named All-Stars — that further supports their team-first mentality.

Eau Claire has been especially deadly at the plate, boasting a lineup that can score runs at any time. Three batters have 30-plus hits, and Palmer Buss especially has been dangerous at the plate, knocking in a franchise-high 28 runs this season.

“I think our offense is better than it’s ever been,” Menard said. “We’ve got some young guys who are just killing the ball and three or four guys who have over 20 RBIs, and that’s unheard of in this league.”

In addition to their potent offense, the Bears also rely on a strong stable of pitchers. Pecha estimates the rotation is bolstered by about six or seven capable arms, along with several players on the roster who pitched in high school but haven’t been called upon to serve on the mound because their rotation is so deep.

The Bears also benefit from playing an ample nonleague slate, squeezing in an extra 12 games during the CRBL’s 22-game schedule. Eau Claire is 7-5 in nonleague games, but more important to the Bears than their nonleague record is using the extra games as a chance to work out the kinks.

“That’s a way for everyone to kind of figure out your swing, if you’re hot you can stay hot and keep going through the motions,” Pecha said.

Eau Claire’s path to its second straight CRBL championship may very well go through Whitehall, where the Bears will hope for a different outcome than the first two games they’ve played this season — and, incidentally, for a repeat of last year, when the Bears fell to the Wolves twice in the regular season before getting revenge in the playoffs.

But as far as the Bears are concerned, there’s no reason to stress. After all, they haven’t done that all season long.

To sum up the history of the Eau Claire Bears requires the understanding of a few simple statistics.

Eight South Division titles, seven league titles and three Wisconsin Baseball Association state championships certainly stand out, but the most important number is 14. All of that success has come in just 14 years in the Chippewa River Baseball League.

In a city surrounded by baseball, the Bears have been a constant since they replaced the Eau Claire Red Sox in 1998.

Using players primarily from city schools, Eau Claire won its three state titles in 2005, 2008 and 2009.

Since then there's been some rebuilding, but the Bears are off to a 15-2 run, including a clean sweep of the North Division, in what could be the  franchise's most successful season ever.

"The last couple of years we've been bringing in a young group of guys and now I think a big part of our success is those younger guys are a year, two or three years in now to playing with the team," manager Reed Pecha said. "They know the team, they know the league and there's a huge learning curve when you go from playing against kids to playing against grown men with wooden bats. Now the guys are starting to put it together."

Recent city graduates such as Sam Janni, Greg Button and Jeremy Nicolai have teamed with veterans Pecha, Jon Huth, Matt Lunde and Brian Menard to form one of the deepest rosters in the league.

For some of the young players, there's been a bit of a learning curve, but so far it hasn't been an issue.

"I don't think people realize how many good players are in this league," Janni said. "I certainly didn't until I played against these guys."

Having younger players join the team in recent years has helped Pecha, who used to be an area high school coach, grow in his role as Bears manager.

"I coached a lot of these guys," Pecha said. "We're lucky, fortunate here in Eau Claire to have two really good public high schools and Regis as well. There's a lot of guys who went to North and Memorial who are playing with other teams in the league as well. So it's a really good talent pool that we have around this area."

Regardless of when players graduated or what high school they came from, the Bears are all about camaraderie.

"Just going through North and Memorial, whether you like someone or not, you gain respect for how well they can play baseball," said Nicolai, an All-Star in his second year. "When you get a little bit older and you get into these leagues, you learn that we're on the same team now and can really make something great happen."

The season has been beyond great for the Bears as several team records have already fallen.

And while it's the younger players who have been key to this team's success, many of the veterans are already among the best to play in the league.

Matt Lunde is the league's career leader in ERA. He entered the All-Star break at 2.17.

Huth is one of four players in league history to record two no-hitters. His next one will make him the lone player with three.

Earlier in the season, Pecha became just the 13th player to have a six-hit performance in a league game.

Having a veteran presence around has been crucial to developing many of the young players who have at most a season of college ball under their belts.

"The veteran players, they keep us younger guys in line and they keep us on track," Nicolai said. "They keep us focused and because of them we're having the success that we are."

Add in a few players from North's state title team in 2011 and you've got a recipe for success.

"A lot of these kids know how to win," Pecha said. "Sometimes it takes time, you have to build up that confidence. A lot of it has to do with playing in big games as high schoolers and understanding what it takes to win."

With all the winning Eau Claire is doing in 2012, it's no surprise the team is hoping to regain its foothold atop the WBA.

"The ultimate goal is to win a state title," Pecha said. "No matter what happens during the season, the goal is to get back to state and hopefully make a run."

Eau Claire Bears

Manager: Reed Pecha.

Home field: Stein Field.

Colors: Black, white.

Franchise W-L: 165-87 entering 2012.

Former teams: Eau Claire Badgers, 1908-09 (10-20); Eau Claire Cubs, 1934 (3-11); Eau Claire Giants, 1909 (2-4); Eau Claire Lakers, 1952 (n/a); Eau Claire Nationals, 1930 (0-14); Eau Claire Oilers, 1949 (n/a); Eau Claire Pioneers, 1986-91 (63-40); Eau Claire Red Sox, 1996-97 (5-27); Eau Claire Silhouettes, 1930 (9-6); Eau Claire Skelly Oilers, 1938 (12-2); Eau Claire Tommy Millers, 1960 (12-1); Eau Claire Union, 1928-29 (7-10); Gillette Rubbermen, 1929 (5-5); Leif's Conoco Oilers, 1950, 52-53 (30-6); Twin City Sports, 1966-68 (21-12).

Hall of Famers: Vic Johnson, P, 1938-39, 53 — Threw 93 innings between the EC Skelly Oilers, Girard's Hillbillies and Leif's Conoco Oilers. Posted 1.94 ERA with 9-2 record, 101 strikeouts.

Notable former players: Scott Wolfe, P/3B 2000-08 — Posted 2.71 ERA, 3-1 record in 69.2 innings for the Bears. Recorded nine saves. Also batted .342 in 190 games. ... Shane Bobb, P, 2001-07 — Had 3.59 ERA in 125.1 innings. Struck out 121. ... Mike Curtis, P, 1928 — Struck out 100 batters in 98 innings. Went 10-1 with 2.85 ERA in only season. Justin Kunferman, P, 2004, 06-08 — Struck out 105 batters in 72 innings. Finished with 7-1 record, 1.63 ERA. ... Matt Olson, P, 2004-09 — Went perfect 9-0 with 1.66 ERA in 65 career innings. ... Collin Boone, OF, 2008-10 — Played in 48 games for Bears. Hit .290 with 13 doubles and 33 RBI. ... Shawn Coyle, 1B/P, 1997-2000 — Played 46 games between Red Sox and Bears. Batted .380 and drove in 21 runs. ... Nate Stafford, OF, 2003-10 — Career .298 hitter. Played 117 games. Scored 68 runs, drove in 42. ... Scott  Biederman, manager, 1999-07 — Led Bears to 103-59 record, five division titles, three league titles in nine seasons at helm. Won first of Eau Claire's three WBA titles.

Professionals: Jon Huth, 2005-present — Played  Rookie ball for the 1988 Texas Rangers and Single A for the Kansas City  Royals from 1989-90. ... Kelly Werner, 2008-present — Played two seasons of Rookie ball for the Milwaukee Brewers in 2000 and 2001.

WBA History: Bears have qualified for WBA tournament 12 times. Reached finals in 2002 and from 2004-09. Eau Claire has most WBA titles of any CRBL team with three (2005, 08, 09) and has 14-4 record in finals.

Records/league leaders: Jon Huth is one of four players in league history with two no-hitters, having done so in 2007 and 2008. ... Shane Bobb has also thrown a no-hitter for the Bears. Bobb did it in 2004. ... Matt Olson holds single-season record for ERA. Allowed no earned runs in 21 innings in 2006. ...  Justin Kunferman's 83 strikeouts led league in 2004. ... C.J. Martin led league in ERA in 1989 and 1991 while leading the league in wins and strikeouts in 1990. Tied for lead in RBIs with 24 in 1990. Shawn Coyle was league's batting champion in 1999. Hit .489. ... Nate Larson was league batting champion in 2011 at .463.

— Compiled by Ben Peterson from statistics and records provided by Andy Niese, CRBL Secretary

The Bears are fresh off their fifth Chippewa River Baseball League title in six years and their second consecutive Wisconsin Baseball Association title.With the bulk of last year's roster returning, manager Reed Pecha hopes that 2010 is just more of the same.

"We look to continue our tradition of winning," Pecha said. "Right now we're off to a slow start but it's a long season and we hope to be there in the end."

The Bears are 3-2 overall in 2010 but Pecha has faith in a strong pitching staff and a veteran lineup.

"We have gotten off to a slow start with our bats but we did that last year too and we rebounded from it," Pecha said. "Anytime you have a good pitching staff you'll have some success."

And the Bears have a good one.

Nate Larson, Kelly Werner, Jon Huth and Matt Lunde headline a seasoned staff of accomplished pitchers. The staff also will see returners in 2008 Eau Claire Memorial graduates Brady Sand and Chevy Tollefson, as well as newcomer and 2009 Eau Claire North graduate Matt Prosek.

"We have a few young guys and it's important for us as a group who is starting to age to add guys who are younger," Pecha said.

Tollefson will join the team late as he is competing with Madison Area Technical College in the Junior College World Series.

With such an experienced core of pitchers, Pecha said he wants to prepare and groom his pitchers for the "marathon" of a season they have ahead of them.

"We do a really good job of pacing our pitchers," Pecha said. "Some other pitchers are throwing a lot of innings early in the year and that provides us with an advantage. We can keep our pitch counts low so they're fresh at the end of the year."

One of the key factors in the Bears' recent and historical success comes from a very simple concept — familiarity.

Every member of the 2010 Bears graduated from either North or Memorial high school, giving the players plenty to talk about on and off the field.

"The fun thing is that most of the guys either played with or against each other at some point in their careers," Pecha said. "Everyone understands the game real well and it makes it a lot of fun. You constantly learn when you're around people who know the game."

Pecha and the rest of the Bears hope that a local feel to the team will give both the players and fans an exciting experience in 2010.

"Most importantly if you go to a Bears game, you will recognize a name on the roster," Pecha said. "If you pay attention to any local baseball in the past 20 years, you will know people on our team. We truly do not have any players outside of North or Memorial on our roster. If you're an Eau Claire person you'll recognize some of these guys."

Though the Bears' accolades have been impressive of late, Pecha says that it's not all about being the best. Despite the fact that the Bears are now the first CRBL team to win three WBA titles and the first to win two straight, that isn't the reason that the same players return to the ballpark year after year.

"We just can't get enough of playing baseball," Pecha said. "That's why we do it."