August 7, 2013 at 1:32 p.m.
Rhinelander 10Us begin state tournament play Saturday
Rhinelander 10Us begin state tournament play Saturday
But the team - Rhinelander's 10U Little League All-Stars - has met or exceeded all expectations and has earned a spot in the Wisconsin Little League state tournament, which begins Saturday in Rice Lake.
Since being selected in June, this year's team has compiled a 9-2 record, and has consistently impressed its coaches.
"Once we molded this group together, we've just been pleasantly surprised," Johnson said. "I think they keep humble and compete. They play pretty loose and they play pretty sound baseball."
The Hodags got to state by winning the District 5 tournament last month. They routed Wausau American 12-1 in five innings in the championship game.
"I'm proud that my team has worked hard over these past few games, scrimmages and practices. All of us have worked our butts off to get to state," said team member Jesse Mahner.
The Hodags were not one of the favorites to reach the state tournament. They had to play an extra game during the first week of the six-team district tournament, but a 10-0 victory over Merrill and a 6-0 win over Lakeland (Minocqua) put the Hodags in the winners' bracket heading to week two.
Antigo was considered the pre-tournament favorite, but one of their top pitchers suffered an arm injury before the matchup with Rhinelander July 16 at Doepke Park in Wausau. The Hodags took that game 9-4 to clinch an opportunity to play for a championship.
"We ran into some good fortune," Johnson said. "Antigo has a real nice team and two fantastic pitchers. Unfortunately for them, one of them was injured and any team that runs into that is certainly going to adjust some things. At the same time, our kids went out and competed. We went out against their other ace and scored three runs off him. We hadn't done that the previous times we played them. It was a mix of good fortune, but also good baseball."
Rhinelander fell to Wausau American, which emerged from the losers' bracket of the double-elimination tournament, to set up a winner-take-all championship game. The Hodags turned the title game into a coming-out party.
"It is a great accomplishment for the kids," Johnson said of winning the district tournament and qualifying for state. "There are a lot of good qualities (about this team). They like being around each other. They pick each other up when things go down."
The biggest challenge the team faces as it prepares for the state tournament may be the long layoff between the district title game and the first game at state. Twenty-two days will have elapsed in between the two games. The team has tried to stay sharp with practices and scrimmages at Hodag Park.
Last Wednesday, the team scrimmaged against Rhinelander's 12U All-Stars and beat them handily. Just another pleasant surprise from a squad that has been full of them this year.
"They are confident," Johnson said. "This is a challenge to keep nine and 10-year olds (sharp), based on how the state tournament has rolled out this year. We're trying to keep them loose. We went into the scrimmage and they keep surprising us."
Johnson added there were plenty of benefits to playing older kids.
"(Rhinelander 12U) coach (Lonny) Schickert did some really nice things to help us out. He did some delayed steals, throw backs from the pitcher - those little things go a long way to outs and runs," he said. "It's also nice to go against bigger, harder-throwing kids and kids who can change speed. We are seeing more kids throwing changeups and breaking pitches (as the competition gets tougher)."
The Hodags will start tournament play at 4 p.m. Saturday against Lakeland (Milwaukee) and will play five consecutive days in a six-team round-robin format. Whitefish Bay, Appleton, Eau Clarie National and Kennedy also qualified for the tournament. The two teams with the best records following pool play will compete for the state title Aug. 15 at 4 p.m.
The prospect of playing in a state tournament has the young team excited.
"I think it's going to be really awesome," Harlan Wojtusik said. "We've never been there before so I really don't know what to expect. I really hope it's awesome."
Mahner added: "I'm hoping for the best. I know we're going to be playing some pretty hard teams. We're just going to do our best to go on and hopefully win a couple games."
Johnson said Rice Lake will put on a top-notch tournament and the competition will be strong.
"We know that we are going to see some of the best teams from around the state," he said. "That excites us to see where we stack (up). I think people are going to be surprised to see just how good nine and 10-year old kids can play baseball and our goal is for this to be a positive experience for our kids. There are certain things you look back to with a great deal of pride and I want this to be a highlight for them. We're going to balance baseball with fun and make it a memorable experience for them."
Team members include Tim Fox, Isaac Bixby, Quin Lamers, Wojtusik, Jordan Kuczmarski, Walker Hartman, Payton Johnson, Mahner, Conor Pequet, Jacksen Smith, Joe Schneider and Alex Fortier. Paul Johnson, Mike Wojtusik and Rich Fortier coach the team.
The team has raised roughly $900 to help fund their trip to state through a 50/50 raffle at a youth baseball game and cleaning clubs at a golf outing. Money raised will go to cover apparel, team pins, meals and to assist players' families with costs associated with the tournament.
To donate to the trip, contact Rhinelander Little League president Jeff Welk at (715) 360-0814.
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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