May 26, 2017 at 2:46 p.m.
Softball: Hodags hang on against Merrill 2-1
Softball: Hodags hang on against Merrill 2-1
The hand-wringing must have picked up when ace pitcher Ali Schickert hit a batter to put the tying run aboard and, eventually, into scoring position for the top of Bluejay order.
But, this time, the Hodags had the seventh inning answer as Schickert got Kelsie Belfiori to ground out to second and the Hodags advanced to the WIAA regional finals for the fourth time in the last five years.
"I was really proud of the girls to be able to pull one out," coach D.J. DeMeyer said afterward. "We've lost a lot of games by one run. We've been working on it and I'm really proud of them."
The win earned the Hodags a trip to Rice Lake for a regional final contest Friday afternoon that concluded after deadline.
Rhinelander didn't make it easy on itself after jumping on Merrill for three hits and a 2-0 lead in the first. Merrill answered with a run in the top of the second and the teams traded zeroes the rest of the way.
Merrill thought it had tied the game in the fourth when Maddix Bonnell scored from third on a fly out to center by Lindsey Casper. Rhinelander threw out Calle Johnson trying to advance to third for an inning-ending double play but, as most of the players were heading back to the dugout, the Hodags elected to make an appeal at third base, claiming Maddix left the bag before Ivy Packard caught Casper's fly ball. The Hodags won the appeal and maintained their one-run lead.
"I didn't really see it, but my coaches did and they said appeal it," DeMeyer said of the play that proved to be the turning point of the contest. "What the heck, why not appeal it? We had the third out so appeal it and maybe (prevent) the run and it went our way. For once this year, a call went our way."
Schickert had to wiggle out of a couple more jams to keep Rhinelander's one-run lead intact. A walk and a two base-error on a bunt attempt gave Merrill runners at second and third and two out in the fifth, but Schickert fanned Patience Pyan to end the inning - one of seven strikeouts for the Hodag senior.
Shortstop Erica Counter made a heady play on a cue-shot ground ball in the sixth. She alertly threw to second to retire Calli Oberg in a bang-bang play at the base to prevent the Bluejays from getting a runner in scoring position.
Schickert allowed only two hits in the game - one of which came on a bunt - and the Hodags played solid defense behind her.
"We played sound defense. We only had one error. I thought we played very good defensively," DeMeyer said. "Ali pitched great. I thought she got stronger as the game went on."
The game settled into a pitcher's duel following the first inning and a half. Packard singled to lead off the bottom of the first for Rhinelander and came around on a base knock by Makayla Kuester. Counter came through later in the inning with an RBI base hit on an 0-2 pitch to give the Hodags a two-run lead.
"Erica got the big hit. I thought that first inning, we get on and get a run right away and Erica comes up with that big two-out hit to get an extra run. That's huge," DeMeyer said.
Oberg singled and Johnson walked to start the Merrill second. They advanced on a Casper sacrifice and Oberg scored on a wild pitch.
Rhinelander had only three base runners after the first inning against Merrill's Taylor Krueger, who walked no one, scattered five hits and struck out four in the loss. Stephanie Kuester was stranded following a double in the third, Packard was caught stealing following a bunt single in the sixth and the Hodags couldn't advance Lindsay Juedes in the seventh after she reached on a two-base error.
"I thought we were going to hit the ball a little more, but she started getting it on the corners and we started beating it down on the ground," DeMeyer said. "But overall we played well. Merrill's a good team. I knew it was going to be a good game."
DeMeyer was hoping for more of the same Friday when his team traveled to top-seeded Rice Lake.
"There's no pressure on us," he said. "They're the No. 1 seed. We're the underdog. We go there, their field, they don't know (about us). If we can jump on them right away, it puts a lot of pressure on them."
Check out RiverNewsOnline.com for a brief recap of Friday's game. A full report will be published in Tuesday's River News. The winner of that game will face the winner of Friday's Antigo-Mosinee matchup on Tuesday.
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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