May 2, 2018 at 1:46 p.m.
Double downer
Hodag softball loses to Wausau East, Northland Pines on back-to-back days
Double downer
The Hodags have now dropped three of their last four games, including a couple of stunners over the last few days, all at home. First, Rhinelander fell to Wausau East 1-0 in a non-conference game Monday at Pioneer Park. Then, on Tuesday, Rhinelander dropped the second game of a doubleheader against Northland Pines 3-1, after winning the first game 15-0.
East and Pines are teams Rhinelander has not been accustomed to losing to in recent years. Prior to Monday, Wausau East's last win over Rhinelander came in 2010 and Northland Pines had never defeated the Hodags in Great Northern Conference play. In fact, it was the Eagles' first GNC win of any sort since May 14, 2015.
"I've got some thinking to do," a befuddled Hodag softball coach D.J. DeMeyer said following Tuesday's doubleheader. "It's going to be a long season if they don't stop playing like this."
Wausau East 1, Rhinelander 0
Kit Kronberger's bloop single in the sixth inning drove in the only run as Wausau East's Gabby Braatz outdueled Rhinelander's Molly Wagler 1-0 Monday.
Braatz kept Rhinelander off balance all day, allowing only four hits over seven innings of work.
"I think we're too antsy. I think we're trying to pull everything," DeMeyer said. "I couldn't tell if they were outside pitches but if we're trying to pull the outside pitch, we're approaching the plate wrong. We've got to hit that to right field."
When the Hodags got on base they failed to capitalize, making three key outs on the base paths. Cami Buchmann was thrown out trying to leg a single into a double in the third. Stephanie Kuester was erased as the tying run in the sixth as she tried to advance to third on a ground ball to short by her twin sister Makayla. Ella Mullikin was thrown out trying to steal second in the seventh inning, after the Hodags were unable to bunt her along following a leadoff single.
"We just didn't hit the ball and we didn't get the signs down," DeMeyer said. "There were two opportunities for us to put the bunt down and neither of the girls got it down. That's really disappointing and we need to work on that.
"All the girls want to hit. We teach them to hit and they want to hit but when it comes time, as a team, you've got to put the bunt down know matter who it is."
East finally dented the scoreboard with a two-out rally in the sixth as Adrianna Jasso hit a double to left center before Kronberger delivered a little flair the fell perfectly in a hole between third base, shortstop and left field.
"They couldn't have placed it in a better spot," DeMeyer said. "Either way, we've got to score runs and we just didn't find the holes."
That run made a tough-luck loser out of Wagler, who scattered five hits, walked two and struck out four over seven innings of work. Braatz struck out seven and walked two for Wausau East.
Pines doubleheader
The Hodags appeared to have righted the ship in the first game of Tuesday's twinbill, scoring in every inning to defeat the Eagles via the mercy rule in four innings, 15-0.
Then, as if someone flipped a switch, Rhinelander's struggles at the plate reappeared and some shoddy defense dug the team an early 3-0 deficit in game 2 from which it could not recover.
"We weren't ready to play," DeMeyer said. "I don't know what happened, if it was all the senior night, parents night or that we blew them out the first game and we thought we had the second game. You can't take any team lightly."
Daleigh Neveaux grounded into a bases-loaded fielder's choice for Pines in the first inning as Tori Roberts was late with her throw home from third. The ball skipped into the Hodag dugout, allowing another run to score.
Two errors on the same play allowed Catherine Stepka to get to second to lead off the second for Pines. She came around two batters later on a groundout by Cassie Gauthier.
Meanwhile, Rhinelander's offense was stuck in neutral as Pines pitcher Taylor Olivotti faced the minimum through four innings.
The Hodags threatened in the fifth as Roberts singled home Hannah Worachek, but Rhinelander ran itself out of the inning when Buchmann sprinted for home on a Ridderbusch pop up and was doubled off third base.
It was one of three double plays Northland Pines turned in the doubleheader - all of them due to inattentive base running on fly outs.
"We had running errors again and coming from our seniors," DeMeyer said. "That's not acceptable. They should know better. I tell them before every pitch what they should do and they didn't do it."
Makayla Kuester, who went 0-for-3 in game 2, popped out to left in the sixth, stranding her sister, Stephanie on third and the Hodags went down in order in the seventh for a stunning defeat.
"We looked lethargic," DeMeyer said. "We had a little bleeder ground ball between first and second that we don't even attempt at. The second baseman attempts at it but she has to come a long ways. The pitcher didn't even take a step for it. We just looked lethargic and I said that."
Wagler was again the recipient of a tough luck loss in the circle, allowing only one earned run on four hits over seven innings.
Things went much better for Wagler and the Hodags in game 1. The Hodag senior had a five-RBI game at the plate as the Hodags jumped out early and never looked back.
Buchmann capped off a four-run first with a two-run double. Wagler delivered with the bases loaded in both the second and third, delivering a two-run single in the second and a three-run double in the third. Rhinelander tacked on three runs in the fourth before recording an out to evoke the 15-run rule.
"We hit the ball, and this is what really gets me, it's the same pitcher in game 1 (Olivotti) and we hit her hard. I think we had nine hits the first game," DeMeyer said. "There were some positives there but I don't know what happened the second game. I don't know if we were dipping our shoulders, trying to do too much. I know we were ahead of the ball constantly and we couldn't hold up. You've got to make that adjustment. We made it in Game 1. I don't know why it wasn't there in game 2."
Stephanie Kuester struck out nine of the first 10 batters she faced in the first game as she pitched a one-hit shutout for Rhinelander.
The Hodags (4-3, 1-1 Great Northern) travel to Medford for a doubleheader this afternoon.
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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