June 2, 2017 at 12:40 p.m.
3-run fifth leads Redbirds past Hodags in regional finals
3-run fifth leads Redbirds past Hodags in regional finals
De Pere scored three times following a controversial call in the fifth inning and went on to defeat the Hodags 4-2 in a WIAA Division 1 regional final at Aurora BayCare Field.
The call in question started innocuously enough as Jacob DeMeyer missed high on a fastball that Hunter Staiske appeared to check-swing foul off the handle of his bat. However, following a conference, the umpires determined that the pitch hit Staiske and not his bat.
"We heard a 'ting,'" RHS baseball coach Joe Waksmonski said describing the audible sound the ball made after contacting Staiske's bat on the call in question. "Unfortunately, the two most important people in the ball park that need to hear that didn't hear it that way and the call goes the other way."
Jordan Esser tied the game on a sacrifice fly two batters later and Jake Fietz followed with a fly ball that flew over Josh Randolph's head in left - a two-run double that gave the Redbirds the lead for good.
"Ultimately, defensively, they made a couple more plays than we did," Waksmonski said. "That kind of proved to be the difference today."
A game pitting two of the better-hitting teams in their respective conferences actually settled into a pitchers' duel for most of the way. Matt Freeman scattered three hits over 6 1/3 innings for De Pere while DeMeyer allowed six hits in five innings of work.
"I thought we came in with a pretty good plan," Waksmonski said. "JD, for the most part, threw well. He might have surprised them a little with how hard he threw. JD and the defense, for the most part, played well. We just didn't make every single play that we needed to make tonight."
Rhinelander had only one hit through the first five innings, but it was a big one. Tyler Blomdahl launched a two-run shot to left after Brad Quade reached on an error in the second to give the Hodags an early 2-0 lead.
"That put a lot of momentum on our side and took a lot of wind out of their sails," Waksmonski said. "I think they were kind of shocked at first and it took them a little bit to recover. Unfortunately, offensively, we had some opportunities to tack on some more. We just couldn't quite do it."
De Pere got a run back in the fourth as Freeman helped his own cause with a two-out single, scoring Esser.
"Then, ultimately, they kind of regained their composure and ultimately took the lead on us," Waksmonski said.
The Hodags had couple of other chances thwarted. In the fourth, Blomdahl hit a screaming liner to third that was caught, sparking an inning-ending double play.
In the sixth another close call went against the Hodags as Randolph was called out following a high throw to first. The umpires deemed that Max Huddleston slapped a tag on Rudolph before he reached the base. Easton Senoraske and DeMeyer singled behind that, but Brad Comer grounded to third, sparking an inning-ending double play.
"Our offense had a couple of hard shots right at their fielders," Waksmonski said. "There were a double play there. Tyler hit a nice shot and we had Quade running. They turn a couple double plays and their outfield tracked down balls. Our defense, we just couldn't make every single play we needed to make tonight."
The loss concluded a 17-6 season for the Hodags, their best record-wise since 2011 (21-3). It also wrapped up the high school playing careers for Blomdahl, Senoraske, Alec Modrow, Tait Spencer and Matt Rudolph, Kaden Umland and exchange student Oliver Ebrecht.
"Just thanking them for what they've done their four years," Waksmonski said. "The program's in much better shape now then when they came in. That's the sign of a good class. They leave with two winning season under their belt here at the varsity level. The message there for the younger guys is how hard they worked not only during the spring, but over the summer and over the course of the year as well."
Many of those seniors will still be around this summer for the American Legion baseball season, which will begin Monday for the Rhinelander Post 7 Rebels against Merrill Post 46 at Stafford Field.
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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