July 9, 2018 at 10:34 a.m.
Mixed bag for Rebels in Merrill
Rhinelander suffers first loss of season but clinches share of GNLC
Mixed bag for Rebels in Merrill
The Rebels went 3-1 in the tournament, with convincing wins over Stevens Point and Medford, an error-plagued loss to reigning AA state champion Holmen and a resounding win over Everest.
That loss to Holmen was the Rebels first of the season, which left a bit of a sour taste in the team's mouth in what was otherwise a well-played tournament.
"I would have been really happy if we would have played a better game against Holmen," Rebels manager Dan Huhnstock said. "It was uncharacteristic for us. We played a real sloppy game that game. If we get beat and we play a good game, that's one thing. If we beat ourselves, that's another thing."
The Rebels also picked up a bit of a bonus on Saturday, clinching at least a share of the Great Northern Legion Conference title with a 9-3 win over Medford. That, coupled with Mosinee's extra-inning loss to Tomahawk a night earlier, put the Rebels three up in the loss column on both Mosinee and Medford with three conference games remaining.
Holmen 10, Rhinelander 4
The Rebels winning streak to start the season ended at 12 games Saturday afternoon in the feature game of the tournament as Holmen scored in every inning except the seventh and defeated the Rebels 10-4.
Mistakes, especially early in the game, cost the Rebels. Rhinelander committed seven errors in the game, including five in the first two innings, as Holmen built a lead and never looked back.
"Good teams will take advantage of that," Huhnstock said. "We've done that a lot of times in the past and gotten wins that way. This game it was their turn because we didn't play sharp.
"We sure picked a bad time for that, but we were still in the game. Most of the time, when you have that many errors, you are going to be done in the five (innings) and we were still in the game. That just tells you a lot about the character of this team. We're going to battle and give ourselves a chance to make noise against some of the best teams in the state."
Holmen took the lead for good in the second inning when Brett Mahlum scored on a passed ball. Mahlum added a sacrifice fly in the third and, two batters later, Drew Becker hit a two-run single that gave the Vikings a commanding 6-2 lead.
Rhinelander briefly tied the game in the bottom of the first as Jacob DeMeyer singled home Easton Senoraske and Brad Quade hit a sacrifice fly to score DeMeyer. The Rebels then got to within 6-4 in the third. Josh Randolph scored on a throwing error following a stolen base attempt by DeMeyer, who later scored on a Quade single.
Holmen responded with single runs in the fourth and fifth, and two in the sixth, to put the game out of reach.
Randolph took the loss for the Rebels, who were outhit 11-10 in the contest. Only one of the four runs he allowed over the first two innings was earned. Comer worked the final five innings allowing seven runs on seven hits.
DeMeyer went 3-for-4 at the plate in the game and the Rebels got hits from eight different players in the contest.
Rhinelander 9, Medford 3
The hitting performance against Holmen was a continuation of the Rebels' hot hitting earlier Saturday when it strung up 15 hits and beat Medford 9-3.
A four-run sixth inning helped put the game, and perhaps the conference title, out of Medford's reach.
"It was a very important game for us," Huhnstock said, unaware of Mosinee's misfortune the night before. "It sets us up pretty good for the last week of the conference season. Another win or two and we should be the champions of the Great Northern again for another season."
The Rebels jumped out to a 4-0 lead early in the contest. RBI singles by Comer and Quade plated two runs in the first and Rhinelander scored twice more in the third on a single by Comer and a wild pitch that scored DeMeyer.
After Medford got a run back in the fourth inning, the Rebels answered on DeMeyer's two-out single that plated Payton Johnson. DeMeyer, Bryce Schickert and Jacob Dreifuerst all had RBI hits in the sixth inning.
Randolph, Senoraske and DeMeyer each had three hits in the win for the Rebels.
"Hitting's not been the problem," Huhnstock said. "We've got a lot of very good hitters on our team - guys who work the count and take advantage of pitchers' mistakes. We can hit the ball."
Martin Hoger worked into the seventh to get the win for Rhinelander. He allowed three runs on five hits with a couple of strikeouts. Schickert came on to shut things down after Hoger loaded the bases with nobody out in the seventh.
Rhinelander 11, Stevens Point 0
What the Rebels figured was going to be one of their more difficult games of the weekend turned out to be the easiest. Rhinelander took advantage of an ineffective Stevens Point pitching staff and routed the Sixers 11-0 Friday night.
The Rebels got those 11 runs on only four hits - none of which occurred after the second inning. Five Stevens Point pitchers combined to walk seven batters and plunk four others as Rhinelander picked up free bases in spades.
"A very, very patient night for us at the plate," Huhnstock said. "It was one of those where our guys took what the pitchers were giving them, which wasn't much. We got our base runners. They had a few errors. We got a couple hit batsmen, a couple well-placed hits and ended up with a very convincing win over what should be a very good Stevens Point team."
Comer was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded to start the scoring in the first inning. That was followed by RBI singles by Quade and Schickert and a sacrifice fly by Hoger.
Rhinelander scored seven times without the aid of a hit in the third inning. Teagan Guckenberg, Randolph, Senoraske and DeMeyer all drew free passes with the bases loaded, a couple of runs scored after Comer reached on a two-out error and a wild pitch brought home another run.
Up 11-0 in the third Huhnstock called an audible and pulled DeMeyer from the hill so that he could be available later in the weekend, if necessary. Comer pitched 1 2/3 innings of scoreless baseball to earn the win and Senoraske retired all four batters he faced in his first pitching performance of the summer.
"It worked out very well for us," Huhnstock said. "In a tournament like this you've got to keep your options with the pitch count rules and save everybody's arms as much as you can."
Rhinelander 11, Everest 1
The Rebels book-ended the tournament with lopsided wins over Wisconsin Valley Legion League teams. They cranked out 12 hits Sunday and defeated Everest 11-1.
Rhinelander jumped on Everest for six runs in the second inning and never looked back. Comer homered and drove in four during the contest and the Rebels got six solid innings on the mound from Schickert.
A leadoff single by Quade followed by back-to-back errors set the table for the Rebels in the second with the bases loaded and nobody out. Walker Hartman drove in a run with a swinging bunt down the first base line and Dreifuerst added an RBI double. Singles by Senoraske and DeMeyer were sandwiched between sacrifice flies by Comer and Randolph as the Rebels opened a commanding lead.
A couple of contentious plays in the top of the second inning actually may have served as the catalyst for the Rebels' explosive bottom half of the inning. Brady Sendelbach was called out for runner interference after he trucked over Comer, who was attempting to field a pop-up down the first base line. Later Cody Duffrin and Randolph appeared to make contact as Duffrin made a hard, head-first slide into second on a stolen base attempt. Randolph and Schickert combined to pick Duffrin off second base moments later to end the inning.
"It always seems like whenever we have a game against D.C. Everest, there's always a play that gets everybody excited," Huhnstock said. "It happened again but, it seemed to be a little bit of a rallying point amongst our fans and our dugout."
After DeMeyer doubled home a run in the fourth Comer continued to take his frustrations out on Everest, launching the first pitch he saw from Ty Tretter over the left field fence for a two-run homer.
Comer nearly hit another in the sixth, but settled for an RBI single off the fence, and Quade capped off a 3-for-4 day at the plate, ending the contest with a base hit up the middle.
Everest's lone run came in the top of the fourth, following a Rhinelander mistake. Comer nonchalantly rolled the ball back to the pitcher's mound as Schickert trotted away, both thinking the side was retired following a ground out to short. In fact, there were only two outs and the gaffe allowed Tretter to score from third.
That was the only blemish on Schickert's line as he scattered seven hits and struck out three over six innings.
Up next
The Rebels were scheduled to play Chequamegon on Monday, but that game was postponed at Chequamegon's request. No make-up game was immediately scheduled. Rhinelander rounds out conference play at Mosinee tomorrow night and against Medford on Friday night in a contest that will be held in Whittlesey.
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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