July 5, 2013 at 2:28 p.m.
Little Leaguers moving on
Hodags fighting in second-chance bracket following extra inning loss
Little Leaguers moving on
The Hodags are still alive in the double-elimination tournament, but will have to come through the second-chance bracket following a 5-4 loss in seven innings to Wausau National Tuesday at Hodag Park.
Rhinelander made a furious comeback in the top of the sixth inning to force extras but the Nationals, serving as the home team by virtue of a coin flip, got a walkoff single with one out in the bottom of the seventh.
A night earlier, Rhinelander defeated Northwoods (Eagle River area) 13-3 in four innings in a first-round game.
This year's Hodag All-Star team does not have a single member from last year's team, which went undefeated in districts and finished fifth at state, but put forth a championship-worthy effort with its rally in the sixth inning Tuesday.
Trailing 4-1 heading to the final frame, Connor Cooper sparked the rally with a single. Liam Rappley followed with a single of his own and Bryce Schickert hit a one-out single down the third base line to score Cooper.
Danny Zuiker nearly tied the game, pulling a 2-2 pitch just foul down the left field line, but struck out looking on the next pitch. Down to the final out, Hunter Stojadinovic came up with a double to the right center gap to tie the game.
After giving up a lead-off walk in the bottom of the sixth, Cooper sat down the next three batters in order to strand the winning run at third.
Rhinelander had a chance in the seventh. Rappley reached on a two-out error and Josh Randolph followed with a single, but Schickert flew out to end the threat.
In the bottom of the seventh, Wausau's Jack Eder doubled to left center and scored the winning run on Jackson Meyer's single to right.
Before the sixth, Rhinelander's lone run came in the fourth as Cooper walked and came around to score on a two-out error. Rappley was thrown out trying to score on the play.
Rappley started on the mound for the Hodags and went 3 2/3 innings, striking out three. He allowed four runs, two earned, on four hits. Cooper went 2 2/3 innings in relief. He struck out one. The only hits he allowed came in the seventh inning.
Cooper, Rappley and Randolph each had two-hit games for the Hodags. Dante Steinmetz, Max Spaulding and Stojadinovic collected the other hits.
The Hodags kicked off the tournament Monday, defeating Northwoods via the 10-run rule.
Rhinelander collected 17 hits in the rout. Steinmetz had three hits. Eric Grulke, Rappley, Cooper and Stojadinovic each had two hits. Randolph, Zuiker, Alec Kurtz, Bridger Flory, Spaulding and Brock Lieder also collected hits.
Stojadinovic started on the mound for the Hodags, and struck out four over 3 1/3 innings to get the win, scattering six hits. Randolph struck out the final two batters to end the game.
The Hodags will now need to win five games in five days next week if they want to repeat as district champions. That road will begin Monday against Wausau American in an elimination game at Doepke Park in Wausau.
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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