May 1, 2017 at 1:27 p.m.
RHS beats Lakeland, splits games at Denmark
RHS beats Lakeland, splits games at Denmark
The Hodags played three games over the weekend alone, defeating Lakeland 15-0 Friday in a Great Northern Conference make-up game at Pioneer Park before splitting games Saturday in a triangular at Denmark. Rhinelander rallied past Kewaunee 5-4 Saturday before losing to the Vikings 12-2 in the second game.
"I think the girls are realizing we have to play as a team and I think they're starting to come along," Hodag coach D.J. DeMeyer said. "I know our record shows that we're just above .500, but I see great improvement over the last week."
Rhinelander 15, Lakeland 0
Molly Wagler outdueled Hallie Kalmakoff in a battle of reserve pitchers Friday. Wagler, the third pitcher on Rhinelander's roster, held Lakeland to only two hits while the Hodags pounded Kalmakoff, the T-Birds' No. 2 option, in a four-inning victory.
Rhinelander scored six runs in the first and eight in the second before clinching the game on a two-out error in the fourth.
The Hodags pounded out 12 hits in all, and benefitted from five walks and six Lakeland errors.
"It's all about being patient and that's what we've been telling the girls," DeMeyer said. "Even in our losses, we haven't been patient at the plate and waiting for the ball to get to us. We've been over-anxious. We're trying to build as the season goes. As long as we keep building in the right direction, we'll be all right."
Mikayla Evenstad had a pair of two-run base hits as the Hodags batted around in the first and again in the second. Stephanie Kuester had a three-hit day at the plate with RBI singles in the first and the second. Ivy Packard added a pair of hits in the contest.
That was plenty of run support for Wagler, who allowed only three base runners in the contest and struck out four batters.
The biggest Lakeland threat came in the second as Jalyssa Theobald tripled and Samantha Bauer walked with two outs, but Wagler got Kenadi Mayo to pop out, ending the inning. Syerra Farah hit a bloop single just over Makayla Kuester's leaping attempt at shortstop in the fourth, but was unable to advance past first base.
"Molly threw strikes and kept them on their toes," DeMeyer said. "She's got a great change-up, gets them off on their front foot. They hit a couple hard fouls, but that's just a long strike. She did great. I was happy for her."
Perhaps the biggest victory Friday was that the game was played at all. Three inches of snow Thursday pushed the game back 24 hours. There was still a half inch of snow in the outfield and puddles in the infield four hours prior to Friday's first pitch but, thanks to some sun, wind and a little elbow grease, the field was clear and ready in time for the contest.
"I had people texting me all day saying, 'You're not playing. You're not playing,'" DeMeyer said. "I called (Rhinelander AD Brian) Paulson and he said, 'No, we're getting the game in.' It actually turned out pretty good."
Rhinelander 5, Kewaunee 4
The Hodags needed a seventh-inning rally to beat Kewaunee in the first game of Saturday's Denmark Invite.
Makayla Kuester singled home Packard to tie the game in the top of the seventh and Wagler hit a one-out sacrifice fly to score Stephanie Kuester for what proved to be the winning run.
Stephanie Kuester mowed down the heart of the Kewaunee order in the seventh to secure the win. She allowed four runs six hits over seven innings with four strikeouts.
"We just kept on battling. We get to the top of the seventh and I say, 'Girls, we need two runs.' and, by golly, we got it," DeMeyer said.
The Hodags played from behind most of the way as Kewaunee scored three times in the bottom of the second to take a 4-2 lead. Makayla Kuester reached on an error with the bases loaded and nobody out in the fifth to pull the Hodags within a run, but Rhinelander was unable to do any more damage in the inning.
Packard had three hits in the game. Stephanie Kuester and Ella Mullikin had two each as the Hodags totaled nine hits in all. Sophia McGinnis added an RBI single as part of a two-run second for the Hodags.
"It was encouraging to see Ella and Sophia start hitting the ball and hitting it with some pop behind it," DeMeyer said.
Denmark 12, Rhinelander 2
Saturday's second game started out well for the Hodags, with Rhinelander collecting a pair of runs in the top of the first, but it was all Denmark from there in a five-inning route.
The Hodags left the bases loaded in the first following RBI singles by Wagler and Mullikin, but did not have a base runner the rest of the game. The Vikings, meanwhile, took the lead with three runs in the bottom of the first and scored in every inning. Jayden Lamant hit a three-run homer with nobody out in the fifth to end the game via the 10-run rule.
"Denmark can really hit the ball. They were able to scout us the whole game we played Kewaunee and go from there. They just kept getting a couple runs here and there," DeMeyer said. "We hit the ball hard. We hit it at them a
couple times. Denmark's a real good, quality team. I think they're one of the better teams you're going to see in D2, very well schooled offensively and defensively."
Stephanie Kuester took the loss for the Hodags, allowing nine runs while pitching into the fourth.
Rhinelander (5-4, 4-2 Great Northern) was scheduled to take on Antigo Monday, but that game was postponed by rain. The game will be made up as part of a doubleheader in Rhinelander May 16.
The Hodags travel to Northland Pines today and host Medford Thursday to begin the second half of the GNC schedule.
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
Comments:
You must login to comment.