May 11, 2018 at 1:11 p.m.
Mosinee hits Hodags hard in softball sweep
Mosinee hits Hodags hard in softball sweep
Mosinee churned out 14 hits as the Indians took the first game 8-1 at Pioneer Park and then blasted three home runs as they won the nightcap, 10-2.
"I was really impressed with their hitting," Rhinelander coach D.J. DeMeyer said. "They hit it hard. That's a good team and they're ready to go some places I do believe."
Mosinee hit game 1 starter Stephanie Kuester from the onset and broke the game open with a three-run, four-hit fourth frame that gave the Indians a 4-0 lead. Rhinelander had a chance to come back in the bottom of the inning, scoring a run on Tori Roberts' bases-loaded RBI infield single, but Stephanie Kuester flew out to center to end the threat.
"Game 1, we had a couple opportunities," DeMeyer said. "That could have been a big game changer."
Rhinelander had base runners in every inning except the seventh, but couldn't generate much offense against game 1 starter Sydni Gburek, who allowed four hits and four walks in a complete game win.
"I don't think we hit the best today," DeMeyer said. "I think we had (six) strikeouts in the first game and three or four strikeouts in the second game. That isn't too bad, but we just weren't barreling up on the ball. We had a couple and we hit them right at them hard."
Mosinee put any Rhinelander comeback aspirations to bed with a four-run seven inning that included a trio of Rhinelander errors.
Paige Wicklund, Brooke Wierzbanowski and Skyler Witz all had three hits in the opener. Stephanie Kuester allowed seven earned runs on 14 hits for Rhinelander in defeat.
Mosinee then jumped on game 2 starter Molly Wagler for seven runs in the second inning and never looked back. The inning included two-run shots by Gburek and Witz. Witz hit another two-run homer off Wagler in the fourth, part of a four-hit, five-RBI game for the Mosinee designated player.
"They just hit the ball," DeMeyer said. "I don't know if Molly was just missing her spots, but they hit Molly pretty hard."
Rhinelander's offense came via RBI singles by Ella Mullikin and Wagler in the third inning.
Wagler allowed 10 runs on 10 hits over 3 1/3 innings. Makayla Kuester finished out the game, allowing no runs on three hits over the final 2 2/3.
Mosinee clinched a share of its ninth-straight GNC title with the win while eliminating the Hodags from conference championship contention. The Hodags will have one final chance to bolster their playoff resume on Tuesday with a doubleheader at Antigo. The regional seeding meeting will take place the following day and regionals will commence May 22.
"Conference is pretty much out the window after today," DeMeyer said. "We need to start focusing on the playoffs and see if we can make a deep run. I do believe in our team. I think we have a team that could surprise some people and, if we have our bats going, we can do some damage."
The Hodags are in Baraboo today for a three-game non-conference tournament.
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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