June 29, 2015 at 2:44 p.m.
Rebels fend off Medford 6-4
Rebels fend off Medford 6-4
The Rebels (5-5) got another quality start from Kurt Zuiker, Tyler Blomdahl collected a pair of hits and the Rebels made an early 5-0 lead hold up, though Medford (4-2) made it interesting in the late going.
"We got on them early, put some numbers up on the board and that was big for us - to get out in front right away," Rebels manager Dan Huhnstock said. "That's something we haven't been able to do with any consistency this year."
Rhinelander hung up three runs in the second inning. Blomdahl led off with a single and Bradley Comer was hit by a pitch, putting two on for Easton Senoraske, who bunted back to pitcher Brett Paul. Paul's throw to first went wide and Blomdahl scored on the two-base error. Two batters later, with two out in the inning, Brandon Hess smacked a single up the middle to drive in Comer and Senoraske.
Lead off baserunners helped the Rebels again in the third. Nick Spencer singled and Kurt Zuiker doubled to give Rhinelander two on with nobody out. The two came around to score on a single by Blomdahl and a ground out to short by Comer.
Zuiker (3-1) mowed through the first nine Medford batters he faced, but ran into a rough patch in the fourth - walking Nick Drott and Trenton Woebbeking and allowing a single to Lloyd Bernatz to load the bases with nobody out. Mikel Delzer singled to right to score Drott. Woebbeking tried to score from second on the play, but was thrown out at the plate.
"Brandon Hess threw a beauty into the plate on a base hit out to right field and cut down a runner scoring. That was huge play in the game," Huhnstock said.
Bernatz scored on a Paul sacrifice fly, but that's all the damage Medford would do in the inning.
Rhinelander made it 6-2 in the fifth with a two-out rally as Senoraske singled, stole second and scored on a single up the middle by Tait Spencer.
"I thought it was really big when Medford did come back on us, we got another run and took away any of the momentum that they gained," Huhnstock said.
Zuiker worked out of a bases loaded jam unscathed in the sixth. Bernatz singled, Delzer walked and Paul singled to load the bases with one out, but Zuiker got Nate Gradberg to strike out looking and Scott Sedlacek made a diving play on a Hunter Anderson grounder to short to retire the side.
Zuiker went six innings for the Rebels, allowing a pair of runs on four hits with four walks and four strikeouts. That was without his best stuff on the mound, according to Huhnstock.
"He tired a little bit," Huhnstock said. "He wasn't really loose like he normally is, even though it was warm out. He lifted today and he was a little bit tight. He was still well within his pitch limit, but we felt it best to take him out and bring Nick in to finish the game off."
Spencer ran into trouble in the seventh, plunking the first batter of the inning, Jed Miller. After fanning pinch hitter Brady Loertscher, Spencer walked Drott and gave up a single to Woebbeking to load the bases for the heart of the Medford order. Bernatz singled up the middle to plate two and cut Rhinelander's lead to 6-4. Woebbeking made it to third and Bernatz took second as Zuiker's throw home from center sailed wide.
With the tying run in scoring position, Delzer hit a dribbler back toward the mound. Spencer corralled it and threw home in time to cut down Woebbeking. Paul grounded out to short to end the game.
"He worked through it," Huhnstock said of how Nick Spencer navigated the seventh-inning jam. "Luckily we had a couple run cushion there and gave him room to work through it."
The Rebels tallied nine hits from eight different players in the contest. Blomdahl went 2 for 4. Jacob DeMeyer, Nick Spencer, Zuiker, Senoraske, Sedlacek, Tait Spencer and Hess also recorded hits. Blomdahl, who figures to be Ben Quade's replacement behind the plate for the Rhinelander High School baseball team next spring, is starting to put things together at the plate. He had homered in back-to-back games before Friday's two-hit effort.
"He's been doing a lot of cage work individually," Huhnstock said. "He's putting in the extra effort and that's what it takes. You can't just show up at game time and expect to make adjustments. He's been working real hard in the cage and doing good things for us."
Paul took the loss for Medford, allowing six runs on nine hits in a complete-game effort. Bernatz went 3 for 4 at the plate for Post 146 with two RBIs.
Rhinelander played at Rothschild/Schofield/Weston Monday in a game that finished after deadline. The Rebels return home Wednesday to face Antigo.
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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