July 20, 2015 at 2:01 p.m.
Rebels rally past Merrill
Post 7 back to .500 ahead of regional tournament
Rebels rally past Merrill
The Rebels overcame four errors and a 9-4 deficit by scoring 10 runs in their final two at-bats to rally past Merrill 14-9 at Stafford Field. Kent Mathews drove in four in the victory, Kurt Zuiker (4-2) pitched 3 2/3 scoreless innings of relief and Post 46 handed Rhinelander some gifts in the comeback via walks and errors.
"We made some errors early in the game and we stuck together and fought back," Rebels manager Dan Huhnstock said. "Once they evened themselves out on the scoreboard, we were right back in the game and ended up getting a nice win."
Mathews capped off a 2-for-3 day at the plate with a go-ahead two-run double off the top of the fence in straightaway center field with the bases loaded and nobody out in the sixth. The Rebels then picked up some needed insurance runs as Trey Gwin scored on a wild pitch, Mathews scored as Scott Sedlacek reached on an inning-extending error and Trevor Young added a two-run double.
"Basically the guys just put some good at-bats (together) and the other team started returning the favor on some of the errors and stuff," Huhnstock said. "Things evened out and the next thing you know, we were back in the ball game. When we got a chance to take a lead on them, we took advantage."
Merrill scored a pair of unearned runs off starter Nick Spencer in the first thanks to a walk, an error and a pair of groundouts. Rhinelander answered with four runs in the first off Merrill starter Trey Stevenson. Spencer reached on an error and scored on a wild pitch, Mathews singled home Zuiker and Tyler Blomdahl, and later scored when Matt Rudolph drew a bases-loaded walk.
Rhinelander was primed to tack on more runs in the inning with the bases loaded on one out, but Sedlacek popped out on a bunt attempt with Ben Quade sprinting for home on a suicide squeeze, sparking an inning-ending double play.
Over the next three innings it was all Merrill. Drew Hoff singled and scored on a Jake Anderson grounder in the second and Post 46 took the lead with a pair of unearned runs in the third. Blomdahl misplayed a fly ball in left, giving Merrill runners at second and third with two out. Hoff followed with a two-run single before getting thrown out trying to stretch the play into the double.
Merrill tacked on four in the fourth. Anderson doubled home Jared Schmeltzer, who reached on an error to start the inning. Troy Pike scored when Rudolph threw over catcher Ben Quade's head on a play at the plate, Anderson scored on a wild pitch and Justin Pyan doubled home Adam Messerschmidt.
Rhinelander responded in the fifth, sparked by a string of hustle plays by Blomdahl. With the bases clear and two out, Blomdahl hit a slow roller up the third base line for an infield hit and reached second when the throw from third sailed into foul territory. Blomdahl took third and scored on a pair of wild pitches.
"As long as everybody plays the game the way it should be played - hustling and running everything out, going for all the balls - good things are going to happen," Huhnstock said of Blomdahl's play.
Mathews and Quade walked as the inning continued. Both scored on a double to right center by Brandon Hess, who later scored when Sedlacek reached on an error.
Young, Zuiker and Mathews had two hits each for the Rebels, who tallied eight hits overall. Merrill also had eight hits in the contest - including two each by Hoff and Pike. Messerschmidt took the loss for Merrill, allowing three runs in only 1/3 inning of work.
The win moved Rhinelander to 9-9 on the season prior to Monday night's regular season finale at Tomahawk.
"It's always nice to get a home win," Huhnstock said. "It's nice to get any win, but yeah, we will be seeing them potentially in the tournament and it's always nice to get a win against somebody you're going to be playing again."
Regionals ahead
Four teams will vie for a trip to the American Legion AA state tournament in the District 2 regional which runs Wednesday through Saturday at Stafford Field.
Rhinelander will play Antigo in the 8 p.m. game Wednesday. Merrill and Minocqua will open the double-elimination tournament at 5:30 p.m.
Rhinelander went 6-2 during the regular season against the teams in the tournament field, going 3-0 against Minocqua, 2-1 against Merrill (with the loss coming in extra innings) and 1-1 against Antigo.
Huhnstock said the Rebels' chances in the tournament will boil down to execution.
"As long as we play decent ball, I feel we can end up winning this tournament," Huhnstock said. "If we play sloppy ball, like we do on occasion, we're not going to go too far. We play good, clean ball and get decent pitching, we stand as good a chance as anybody to win it."
Having a deep pitching rotation will be key in a tournament where the winning team will have played anywhere from three to five games. Mathews, Spencer and Zuiker have logged the majority of the innings for the Rebels this summer, but Huhnstock feels his team is as deep as its been in a while in the pitching department.
"I feel we can actually go five deep with Brandon Hess and Matt Rudolph (as our Nos. 4 and 5 pitchers)," he said. "I'm confident to put any of them in the game at any time. They'll throw strikes and they'll compete."
The winner of the regional tournament will advance to state July 29-Aug. 2 in Kaukauna.
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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