June 28, 2017 at 1:23 p.m.
Rebels fend of Minocqua 7-3
Rebels fend of Minocqua 7-3
The Rebels (7-2, 3-2 Great Northern Legion Conference) jumped out to a 7-0 lead after five innings before the 89ers were finally able to cash in on a few Rhinelander miscues with a three-run sixth, but starter Bryce Schickert and reliever Easton Senoraske held Minocqua in check, allowing only two hits on the evening.
Rhinelander had to change up the lineup a bit, with Jacob DeMeyer out of the lineup attending a wrestling camp. Brad Comer played but was a late scratch from the mound as he was scheduled to attend a baseball showcase camp later in the week. So Rhinelander leaned on some of its younger players to carry the weight. Schickert worked 5 2/3 innings in the win while Josh Randolph added a pair of hits and a couple of RBIs.
"We shook things up a little bit. It's nice to see the contributions," Rebels manager Dan Huhnstock said.
Rhinelander took advantage of a few Minocqua mistakes to beat the 89ers for the third time this season. Cole Spaulding and Comer both drew walks in the first and came around on Randolph's two-out single to left.
In the third, Randolph reached on an error to load the bases and Kurt Zuiker followed with a chopper along the first base line. Minocqua's Bryce Crabtree fielded the ball halfway down the line, but Zuiker eluded Crabtree's tag and Spaulding scored on the play.
Tait Spencer followed with a two-run double on the very next pitch, part of a three-RBI night for the Rebel first baseman.
"It was really nice to see Tait come through in a clutch position," Huhnstock said. "It's been a little lacking from him. Maybe this a turnaround for him where he starts to do that a little more consistently for us."
The Rebels added two more runs in the fifth was Spencer was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded and Brandon Hess followed with an RBI groundout.
That was plenty of cushion for Schickert, though the southpaw didn't make it easy on himself, walking eight batters during his stint on the mound. After striking out the first two batters of the second, Schickert walked the bases loaded before fanning Crabtree to get out of the jam. Schickert worked around a walk and a pair of errors in the third and got through a pair of one-out walks in the fourth unscathed.
"Bryce battled through not having real good command tonight," Huhnstock said. "He actually gave up only two hits. Pretty good outing overall from him. He threw just enough clutch pitches when we needed them."
Minocqua finally got the Schickert in the sixth. Skylar Giampa and Tanner Nicklaus walked in the inning, setting the stage for a two-out single up the middle by Crabtree to plate the 89ers first run. Nicklaus scored when Danny Zuiker couldn't handle Tyler Teichmiller's two-out grounder to second. Teichmiller and Crabtree then executed a
double steal of second and home to cut Rhinelander's lead to four.
Senoraske came on in relief and got Sam Killian to pop up to get out of the sixth. The Rhinelander senior worked around two walks close things out in the seventh.
The victory, coupled with Mosinee's 7-6 loss in nine innings to Chequamegon Monday night, brought the Rebels back to within a game and a half of Mosinee in the GNLC standings nearing the halfway point of the season. Rhinelander and Mosinee will play again July 11 in Rhinelander.
The Rebels were scheduled to host Medford in a doubleheader Wednesday night at Stafford Field. Rhinelander travels to Eagle River to take on Northwood Friday before taking a brief break over the holiday weekend.
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
Comments:
You must login to comment.