May 5, 2017 at 1:42 p.m.
RHS softball uses twin magic to edge Medford
RHS softball uses twin magic to edge Medford
What better tandem than sisters to rely on when needed?
The Kuester twins - Makayla and Stephanie - both had big outings, one at the plate and one in the pitching circle, as Rhinelander held off Medford for a 5-2 win.
Stephanie Kuester allowed just two runs on eight hits, while Makayla went 3 for 3, with three RBIs and a home run.
"Steph pitched really well, she looked really good, she fielded real good and what can I say about Makayla?" RHS head coach D.J. DeMeyer said. "She was 3 for 3 and an intentional walk. She hit the ball really hard today. Really hard. In fact, on her third at-bat they were trying to pitch around her and they got it too close and she smacked it up the middle."
The Kuesters got things going early, as Steph walked in the first inning and Makayla drove her in on the next at-bat with a two-run blast to start the scoring.
Medford clawed back in the top of the third, as pitcher Hailee Clausnitzer tied the game with a two-run shot of her own to deep center, but it didn't take long for Rhinelander to respond.
Makayla Kuester doubled to lead off the bottom of the third, Lindsay Juedes followed with a single, and Molly Wagler had a sacrifice RBI to regain the lead.
Makayla Kuester would single in Ivy Packard in the bottom of the fifth for insurance.
The Lady Hodags did strand 10 runners, and left the bases loaded twice, but they came up with 11 hits in the game after going through some woes at the dish as of late.
"I thought we hit the ball hard," DeMeyer said. "A couple times we it at them, and even like last weekend I saw improvement. We didn't get hits, but I saw us hitting the ball harder and hits usually start to come if you center on it. If you hit the ball at them, that's alright, just hit the ball hard and it'll find holes."
While Rhinelander left runners on base, so did Medford.
The Lady Hodags, however, found ways to consistently get out of jams all game.
The go-ahead run was at the plate with two outs in the top of the seventh, but Stephanie Kuester forced Rylee Anderson to hit it right back toward the circle for the final out of the game.
In fact, Kuester got all three outs in the seventh on ground balls right to her.
"I think we left bases loaded twice and Medford's a good team, so that's a tribute to them," DeMeyer said. "They're sound and they're coached very well. They had bases loaded in the [top] of the seventh and we were able to get out of it. We weren't really worried about the runs. We'd take an out for a run. We got the first out and we were up by three. We'd take a run for an out to get end the game any day."
Rhinelander didn't allow any runs in the inning and were able to end the game.
The Lady Hodags have now picked up two wins this week after dropping four of their previous six outings.
Already dealing with an injury that has kept starting pitcher Ali Schickert out of the lineup, Steph Kuester came into the game with some ailments, but it appears that Rhinelander is on the mend.
"I thought the whole team played really well," DeMeyer said. "We executed some bunts and we got some steals. I don't think we had any errors, so I'm really happy the way we're developing in this season, because it's been a tough season. We're really growing and I'm looking forward to this weekend."
Rhinelander (6-4, 5-2 GNC) is slated to travel to Kaukauna for two games today.
The Lady Hodags will face the hosts, along with Shawano, before taking a trip to GNC-leading Mosinee on Monday.
Nick Sabato may be reached at [email protected] or via Twitter @SabatoNick.
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