June 28, 2011 at 10:14 a.m.
Rebels roll, sweep tournament
Rebels roll, sweep tournament
By Andrew Hildebrand-
The Rebels began the five-team round-robin tournament Friday with a bout against neighboring Tomahawk. The contest was headlined by a strong pitching performance by 2011 Rhinelander High School graduate Nate Schmidt (2-0), who went the distance, fanning nine and walking one in a complete game one-hitter.
Tomahawk took the early lead in the third inning after tallying the night's lone hit against Schmidt. The runner would eventually score on a passed ball with two outs for the 1-0 advantage.
That lead wouldn't last long, however, as in the top of the fourth inning Joe Zuiker knocked a no doubter over the fence in left-center field for his first home run of the year, tying the game at one apiece.
All was quiet until the sixth when with the bases loaded, Micah Baumgartner drew a walk to force home Kyle Comer for a 2-1 advantage.
Comer then extended the lead in the top of the seventh with a two-RBI single. Zuiker was up next, but things turned scary when a stray curveball struck him in the face. He was taken to the hospital with a possible broken nose and observed for concussion-like symptoms.
The trend continued Saturday when the Rebels took on Rothschild-Schofield-Weston (RSW). Comer took the mound and from the first pitch, utterly confused the RSW hitters, throwing only 58 pitches, while striking out nine in a five-inning no hitter.
Equally as impressive were the bats, coming alive after only managing four runs the day before against Tomahawk. With the combination of more stellar starting pitching and a vintage performance by the offense, the Rebels cruised 12-0 to move to 2-0 in the tournament.
Rhinelander started hot as Lucas Michlig set the table with a lead off double. Alex Henkel followed with a fielder's choice and preceded to steal second base. Next came Comer, who brought home a run while reaching on a poor throw. Baumgartner knocked a two RBI single and later scored on another RSW error.
The Rebels continued to swing the bats well, notching two in the second, one in the third, and five more in the fourth, taking advantage of the 10-run rule for an early finish.
Saturday's twilight game welcomed back Shane White who made his summer debut against Minocqua. He struck out eight while walking five in a five inning 12-2 victory.
Minocqua was ahead 2-1 in the fourth, but Nate Schmidt emerged victorious in a play at the plate after colliding with their catcher following a Bryan Kronberger ground ball. White kept things going with a run scoring single and Dan Kellen, making his first appearance since playing at the Wisconsin Baseball Coaches Association All-Star Classic, replaced Alec Baumgartner and hit a towering three-run, pinch-hit shot over the fence in center-right. The lead swelled to 8-1 when Schmidt and Comer each added an RBI respectively.
In the fifth, the Rebels plated four more runs, with Comer collecting an RBI single to push the margin to the necessary 10 runs needed to seal the victory.
The win over Minocqua set up a game Sunday against Antigo that would decide the tournament's champion. Rhinelander proved to be up for the task.
The script was all too familiar as the Rebels blew out rival Antigo 14-3 in six innings behind another solid pitching performance and explosive hitting to claim the championship.
Kronberger was on the bump and seeking his second win of the summer. He gave up two earned runs and struck out four over six innings.
However, it was the same old cast of characters that have been terrorizing opposing pitchers all year that stole the show.
The Rebels leaped out to an early 3-0 advantage in the first behind an RBI base knocker by Kellen, an Antigo error that plated Comer, and an RBI double by Ryan Morris.
The offense refused to let up in the third and after a Henkel double and Comer reached after getting hit by a pitch, Kellen singled home a run. With two on, Morris smashed another deep double, bringing home both runners.
Antigo managed a run in the bottom of the third, but Rhinelander returned strong in the fifth. Comer started things with a single and Kellen got on after getting hit by a stray pitch. Schmidt came through with a deep, three run bomb. Two batters later, Baumgartner jacked another one over the fence and Antigo saw any chance of a tournament championship slip away. Mitch Reinthaler hit a sacrifice fly later in the inning to increase the lead to 11-1.
Antigo scored two in the bottom of the fifth to stay alive, but Rhinelander closed the door on any kind of comeback in the sixth, plating three more runs and winning their third consecutive victory by way of the 10-run rule.
After a day off yesterday, Rhinelander will travel to Plover today for a doubleheader.
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