May 9, 2018 at 1:44 p.m.
Hodag baseball splits with Lakeland, snap 9-game winning streak
Hodag baseball splits with Lakeland, snap 9-game winning streak
Rhinelander took the first game of the doubleheader 10-0, but lacked the same intensity for much of game 2, according the RHS head coach Joe Waksmonski.
"The toughest part about playing these doubleheaders is it's hard to keep your energy up for 14 innings," he said. "After the way we won game 1, we didn't come out with the same energy and were just kind of dragging around. Unfortunately, it took us digging into that big hole for us to get going, emotionally, mentally."
That hole came to the tune of four runs Lakeland strung together thanks to some timely two-out at-bats in the fifth and sixth innings. Rhinelander rallied for three in the seventh, but stranded the trying run at first base.
After issuing back-to-back two-out walks in the fifth, the Hodags replaced starting pitcher Josh Randolph with Liam Stevens, who gave up a go-ahead RBI double to Gunnar Weitz on his very first pitch.
Waksmonski stood by the decision to pull Randolph in the middle of the inning despite having thrown only 90 pitches - 10 fewer than the daily maximum.
"He looked like he was tiring at that point," Waksmonski said. "He struck out two to start the inning and then he walked the two, so he already had 15-plus pitches in the inning. He looked like he was running out of gas, so we went to Liam right away."
Lakeland tagged Stevens for three more runs in the sixth to make it 5-1. Keegan McJoynt drew a two-out walk and, following a steal by pinch runner Collin Quade, Michael Campbell cashed in with an RBI single to center. Jamie Slavinsky followed with a run-scoring triple and Parker Biertzer followed with an RBI base hit to left.
"They had some great at-bats there, were able to put the ball in play on a line, find the holes," Waksmonski said.
Back-to-back two-out doubles by Brad Quade and Jacob DeMeyer, and an RBI single by Brad Comer, cut Lakeland's lead to 5-4, but Owen White was struck out looking on a 1-2 fastball by Austin Wanty to end the game.
The Hodags, who played four straight games without committing an error, committed one right away in game 2, as Slavinsky reached on a misfire by Comer at short to lead off the first. Following a passed ball, Caleb Menzia made the mistake even more costly with a single to right that put Lakeland ahead 1-0.
Rhinelander tied it in the third on a DeMeyer double that scored Spaulding, but the Hodags left the bases loaded that inning with White flying out to center to end the threat.
The Hodags had a runner at second with less than two outs in both the fifth and sixth innings, but weren't able to bring him across either time.
"We had chances all through out the game," Waksmonski said. "There was a bases-loaded situation early on. We had runners in scoring position. We had some base running mistakes where we didn't go to third on a ground ball and we got double up on a line drive - just stuff like that, that doesn't show on a stat sheet and too many crucial mistakes that, ultimately, cost us."
Wanty allowed nine hits in a complete-game effort for Lakeland with two strikeouts and three walks. Randolph pitched 4 2/3 innings of two-hit ball in a no-decision for Rhinelander. Stevens was saddled with the loss in relief.
DeMeyer and Brad Quade each had two-hit games in the nightcap as Rhinelander outhit Lakeland 9-6.
"We needed two or three more guys to step up and have a day like that," Waksmonski said. "In this situation, when you're playing all these doubleheaders, it takes an entire lineup to be hot. It's hard to maintain that energy and maintain that focus for 14 innings."
Hodags win big in first game
Bryce Schickert scattered two hits and Rhinelander took advantage of Lakeland's inability to catch a fly ball in the fifth inning as it took game 1 via the mercy rule, 10-0.
Lakeland dropped three fly balls in the final inning, allowing the Hodags to put eight runs on the board. The two clinching runs scored when Campbell and Tate Olson collided going for a fly ball by Cole Spaulding into shallow left.
DeMeyer broke open a 2-0 game with a bases-loaded two-run single and the Lakeland mistakes followed from there. After Comer was hit by a pitch, DeMeyer scored when Campbell couldn't field Owen White's fly ball to left. Brandon Boh then couldn't handle a Josh Randolph sacrifice fly to right and the Hodags tacked on two more runs before Spaulding's winning pop-up.
"It took them to get some errors and we did take advantage of that." Waksmonski said. "That was a good thing and a good sign. Obviously we hit the ball better in game 1. I thought we were a little more patient and when we got our pitch, it seemed like we were ready to hit."
That was more than enough run support for Schickert, who struck out five over five innings of work. The only spot of difficulty the Hodag southpaw encountered came in the third inning when a pair of walks and a hit loaded the bases with two out, but Schickert got Menzia to pop out to end the inning.
"Bryce threw the ball really well," Waksmonski said. "He was hitting his spot with both the fastball and the curveball. We made the play behind him, but he was dominant. I don't know how many strikeouts he had, but they seemed like they were in crucial spots."
Up next
The game 2 loss put Rhinelander a half game behind Antigo in the Great Northern Conference race nearing the halfway point of the season. Rhinelander travels to Mosinee, which sits third in the GNC standings, on Thursday in a crucial doubleheader in both the conference race and regional seeding.
"If we want to earn the bye for this postseason, we have to start winning two games against our (conference) opponents," Waksmonski said. "Mosinee's a common opponent in our region, so we have to win these two games."
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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