July 10, 2015 at 2:41 p.m.
Rebels rally again
Plate four in the 9th to defeat RSW 11-10
Rebels rally again
The Rebels twice rallied from deficits of three runs or more - including a three-run deficit in the ninth - to defeat Rothschild/Schofield/Weston Post 492 11-10 Wednesday night at Stafford Field.
The Rebels (7-5) won despite committing seven errors in the contest. Kent Mathews pitched all nine innings in the victory and Bradley Comer's bases-loaded single in the bottom of the ninth led to the winning run.
"It wasn't a pretty game, that's for sure, but we ended up finding a way to stick together and win the ball game," Rebels manager Dan Huhnstock said.
RSW scratched across the tying run in the top of the sixth as Jordan Steinagel reached on a Trevor Young error and scored from third when Alec Modrow could not hang on to Ben Quade's attempt to throw out the stealing Tre Lemmer at second.
From there, both teams hung zeroes on the scoreboard until
the ninth inning when RSW jumped on Mathews, who had already logged 134 pitches through eight innings. Cody Jensen hit a one-out chopper over Young's head at short, plating two runs. Jensen later stole second and scored on a Steinagel single.
Mathews finished the night having thrown 156 pitches. He struck out nine, walked four and allowed five earned runs in the victory.
"He just wanted the ball," Huhnstock said of the decision to leave Mathews on the hill in the ninth.
"He's a big horse. He can take that kind of load. He wanted the ball. He wanted to finish it and hopefully come out with a win, like we ended up doing. He threw the ball well. He threw the ball hard. He had a little bit of a slider working for him tonight and it was a whale of an effort on his part."
Rhinelander fought back in the bottom of the inning. Kurt Zuiker walked, Mathews singled to right and Ben Quade walked to load the bases with one out. Trey Gwin the smacked the first pitch he saw into right, plating Zuiker and setting the stage for Comer.
On a 1-0 pitch Comer ripped a shot to left, scoring Mathews and Quade. The ball was bobbled in the outfield, allowing Gwin to score all the way from first, sparking a wild celebration.
"We just told them to keep battling," Huhnstock said. "You start getting little stuff working your way and all of a sudden Trey comes up with a clutch hit and we just keep one scratching and then Comer comes up and clears the bases for the win."
It was the second time in the contest Rhinelander dug itself out of a large hole. Shaky defense allowed RSW to take an early lead.
Lemmer reached on an error to start the game and scored on a Brady Uekert double. Brandon Hess singled home Mathews to tie the game in the second, but RSW responded with four runs in the third.
Lemmer walked, Logan Langbehn singled and Uekert reached when Tyler Blomdahl could not come up with his hard-hit ball to first, loading the bases with nobody out. Bryce Beherns singled to right, scoring Lemmer. Jensen plated Langbehn on a misplayed grounder to short, Uekert crossed the plat on a passed ball and Behrens scored on a grounder by Steinagel.
Rhinelander was quick to respond. Blomdahl's first of two doubles in the contest plated Young and Zuiker with two out in the bottom half of the inning.
After RSW added a run in the top of the fourth, the Hodags responded with four in the bottom half of the frame. Nick Spencer singled home Matt Rudolph. Scott Sedlacek singled and scored on an error. Trevor Young walked and scored on a wild pitch and Blomdahl drove in Spencer with a gapper to left center.
Rhinelander collected 12 hits in all - including a 3-for-3 night from Hess, and two-hit efforts by Young and Blomdahl.
"Lots of guys had good at-bats," Huhnstock said. "You expect that this time of year. The guys have seen a lot of pitches, after we've played our tournament and a number of other games. You hope that they are in mid-summer form."
The win moved Rhinelander to 2-2 this summer in extra-inning contest.
Uekert, Behrens and Steinagel each had two-hit nights for RSW. Beherns took the loss, pitching five innings of relief for Steinagel, who departed with the bases loaded and one out in the fourth.
RSW does not have to wait long for a rematch as the two teams square off at 5 p.m. Friday in the first round of the Merrill Invite. The Rebels play Holmen and Jefferson Saturday as part of the three-day event and will close out the tournament Sunday afternoon against Merrill.
"It will be a big weekend," Huhnstock said. "We'll see some real serious competition down there. Hopefully we can play some real good ball and compete well down there."
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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