July 6, 2018 at 1:03 p.m.
Team review: RHS baseball
Up-and-down season ends short of sectionals
Team review: RHS baseball
Then May hit.
Following a torrid start to the season, the Hodags hit a swoon and eventually finished the year only a game above .500.
Rhinelander began to find its stride again right before the playoffs, but were denied their first trip to sectionals since 2004 in a one-run loss to eventual state qualifier Mosinee.
Here are five storylines from the Rhinelander baseball spring season.
Hot then not
The Hodags were rolling to start the regular season. Rhinelander started the season 9-0 and had visions of a Great Northern Conference title and a deep tournament run dancing through their heads.
But a 5-4 loss to Lakeland on May 7 began a downward spiral for the team as they dropped eight straight games. The biggest culprit was an offense that struggled to produce runs. After averaging nearly 10 runs per game during their nine-game winning streak, the Hodags scored only 2.9 runs per game during their slide. It took a near perfect game from Josh Randolph against Tomahawk to finally put the Hodags back in the win column.
Coach Joe Waksmonski said the tepid offensive numbers were a symptom of the team's struggles rather than the cause. He diagnosed the problem as a lack of practice due to a condensed schedule that saw the team play its 21-game regular season in a matter of 28 days.
"I think the toll of the doubleheaders and the way our season played out kind of just took a toll on the team, physically, mentally and emotionally," he said. "Playing doubleheaders like that two, three times a week is pretty exhausting and I just felt the team kind of ran out of gas a little over halfway through the regular season."
Conversely, Waksmonski said the team's hot start was a byproduct of all the practice time the team had while stuck inside for virtually the entire month of April due to the late thaw.
Playoff roller coaster
The postseason resembled the regular season in a number of ways for the Hodags. Following a hot start, struggles nearly cost the team in its playoff opener. When those struggles continued in the second game, the cavalry arrived too late to save the season.
The Hodags led Medford 5-2 after one inning in the playoff opener, but a small strike zone spelled trouble for Rhinelander ace Jacob DeMeyer, who couldn't make it out of the third inning and left with the game tied at five.
Junior Bryce Schickert helped save the day, pitching 4 1/3 innings of strong relief and coming up with go-ahead RBI singles in both the fourth and sixth innings as Rhinelander prevailed 7-6.
Rhinelander wasn't so fortunate two days later when Mosinee shelled starter Brad Comer for five runs over only 1 1/3 innings. Down 5-0 at one point, the Hodags rallied to get back within a run, but eventually fell, 7-6.
"I thought that was the trademark of this team this year, the ability to handle adversity and battle back," Waksmonski said afterward.
Senior leaders
The Hodags were led by their seniors, especially at the plate.
DeMeyer hit .507 with a home run and 28 RBIs while Comer hit an even .400 with a home and 23 driven in. Both received All-State recognition by the Wisconsin Baseball Coaches Association - DeMeyer as a first-team outfielder and Comer as an honorable mention infielder.
"Toward the end of the year, I don't think there was a player in the state hitting the ball harder than JD," Waksmonski said. "Brad had a great year statistically too as well, had a high batting average and had some power numbers as well to go along with it. Both of those guys are talented and worked hard, not only this year but in their four years here in high school. Their awards were very deserving."
Seniors Owen White, Brad Quade and Cole Spaulding also received All-Great Northern Conference recognition. Those five highlighted the top of the Rhinelander lineup much of the season.
New faces
White could be classified as a fresh face, having not played baseball since his freshman season, but he showed no signs of rust in a season where he hit .408 with a home run and 16 RBIs.
Most of the underclassmen on the roster helped to fill holes in the pitching staff and on defense.
While DeMeyer and Comer were considered the team's top two pitchers, it didn't pan out that way statistically. Schickert, a junior, led the team in appearances (9), innings pitched (34) and strikeouts (39). Another junior, Randolph, was second on the team in innings (33 2/3) and strikeouts (30) and led the team in ERA (1.93).
Junior Liam Stevens saw 19 1/3 innings on the hill. Sophomores Abe Laggis and Tegan Guckenberg took over spots in the outfield and freshman Walker Hartman turned into the team's everyday catcher - allowing DeMeyer to stay in center field and Comer to stay at shortstop on days they were not pitching.
What's next
Rhinelander should be fine in the pitching department next season, with Schickert, Randolph and Stevens scheduled to return. Martin Hoger, who was unable to play this spring, has looked good so far this summer and pitched 4 2/3 scoreless innings an a win over Mosinee in Legion play.
Where the Hodags will need a lift is on offense. In DeMeyer, Comer and White, the team loses three .400-plus hitters who combined for 67 RBIs. Quade and Spaulding, the team's two other seniors, were Nos. 4 and 6 on the team in batting average. Of the varsity players scheduled to return, no one hit better than .268 this spring.
Waksmonski said he's hoping that the end of the spring season, plus a strong start to the legion season will help those bats come around and pay dividends next year.
"Really, I thought this last week of (spring) practice was exceptional for our guys," Waksmonski said following the playoff loss to Mosinee. "I thought we had five really good practices where we got a lot out of it and we seemed to got a lot better. That paid off, especially for our younger guys, going into the postseason. Hopefully that bodes well for our future."
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