May 10, 2017 at 2:45 p.m.
Curses again: Mosinee rallies past RHS softball 5-4 in extras
Curses again: Mosinee rallies past RHS softball 5-4 in extras
Rhinelander blew a 4-1 lead in the seventh and Mosinee went on to defeat the Hodags 5-4 in eight innings in Mosinee.
Ali Schickert, in her first game back since injuring her right knee April 18 in a 11-4 loss to Mosinee, struck out 13 batters but became erratic in the seventh inning, issuing three key walks as Mosinee rallied back to tie the game. The Indians won it in the eighth as Sydni Gburek collided with catcher Ella Mullikin sliding into home plate, causing the ball to spill out of the freshman's mitt.
"I'm disappointed," Hodag coach D.J. DeMeyer said. "I thought we played well enough to win and, hopefully they can build on this and we can start winning these games, pulling them out in the end."
Pardon the Hodags for feeling somewhat snakebit. It was Rhinelander's third straight defeat, all by a single run. Mullikin was thrown out trying to score the tying run in the seventh inning against Shawano and Kaukauna hit a walk-off two-run homer as the Hodags dropped a pair of 3-2 decisions Saturday in Kaukauna.
"It's going to build character," DeMeyer said of all the narrow defeats. "We're still building. I thought the girls played well ... Call it a little bit of pressure or whatever you want but sometimes the ball don't bounce the right way."
It looked like Mosinee was ready to crack under the pressure of a game with significant conference implications. The GNC leaders committed three errors in the top of the seventh, allowing the Hodags to plate two insurance runs and take a 4-1 lead.
But Schickert walked leadoff batter Megan Soukup to start the seventh and then Mosinee caught a bit of a break as a flare to shallow right off the bat of Jayde Ganzer barely nicked the glove of Stephanie Kuester, who made a leaping attempt at a catch. Then a wild pitch moved two runners in scoring position. Following a Brooke Wierzbanowski strikeout, McKinzey Johnson singled home a run and another wild pitch allowed a second run to score. A walk to McKayla Garski followed by a Miranda Rux groundout gave the Indians runners at second and third with two out.
Schickert got ahead of Brooke Hintz 0-2, but was unable to secure the out as Hintz spoiled a couple of two-strike pitches and eventually drew an eight-pitch walk. With the bases loaded, Jaycie Dulak hit a sharp ground ball back to the mound that Schickert deflected, but was unable to make a play on, tying the game. The play was scored an infield hit.
"I'm telling you Mosinee's got a horseshoe. Give them credit, they never give up," DeMeyer said. "I thought we played a good game. We had a 4-1 lead going into the bottom of the seventh and a blooper here and a key hit there and I think a couple walks and, the next thing you know it's tied up."
After the Hodags went down in order in the top of the eighth, Soukup singled off Stephanie Kuester in relief. Gburek, her courtesy runner, advanced to second on a wild pitch, and to third on Ganzer's bobbled sacrifice attempt. With runners at the corners and nobody out, Wierzbanowski hit a fly out to Mikayla Evenstad in shallow right. Gburek made a break for the plate, Evenstad's throw got there in plenty of time but Mullikin was unable to secure the tag as Mosinee celebrated at Rhinelander's expense again.
"The girls, they're sad. Ella thought it was her fault we lost because she dropped that ball, but it was a good slide, good throw and (Gburek) knocked it out of her glove. That's the way it goes," DeMeyer said.
The narrative is all too familiar for the Hodags, who are now 0-7 against Mosinee in DeMeyer's three seasons at the helm. Last May in Mosinee, Rhinelander led 3-1 going into the seventh, but two walks by Schickert helped load the bases with nobody out. Mosinee eventually tied the game and won it 4-3 in the eighth on a Schickert wild pitch.
On Monday, Makayla Kuester broke a 1-1 tie in the sixth with a lead off solo home run. She went 3-for-4 on the day and also had an RBI single as part of Rhinelander's two-run seventh.
"What can I tell you, she's the best hitter in the conference," DeMeyer said.
Rhinelander took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first after Ivy Packard worked her way out of a rundown between third base and home following a single by Makayla Kuester. Mosinee tied it in the bottom of the inning as Hintz drew a bases loaded walk.
Schickert settled in after allowing a hit, two walks and a hit-by-pitch in the first five batters she faced in the first. She only allowed one hit and one walk between the second and sixth innings. The Hodag senior returned to the mound a few days earlier than expected, 20 days after tweaking her right knee trying to field a ground ball in the seventh inning against Mosinee. She allowed only five hits, but walked six batters Monday, hit another and issued three wild pitches.
"I thought Ali pitched phenomenal. She got a little tired there in the seventh," DeMeyer said "I don't want to take anything from Ali her first time back. She really hasn't been throwing in three weeks and I think she had 12 Ks. I think if she's at full strength, she probably finishes that game."
Stephanie Kuester took the loss in relief for Rhinelander. The loss dropped Rhinelander two games behind Mosinee with three games remaining in the GNC race.
"It's demoralizing but, you know what, tomorrow's another day," DeMeyer said. "We'll keep working. We're building toward the end of the year. If we won this we would have been right in the hunt for the conference and, you never know, we might not be out of it yet."
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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