May 18, 2018 at 5:30 p.m.
Walk-off win gives Hodags split with Tomahawk
Walk-off win gives Hodags split with Tomahawk
The Hodags scored two in the last of the seventh to come from behind and beat Tomahawk 3-2 in game 1 at Pioneer Park. That's after the Hodags gave up the go-ahead run in the top of the inning and after the Hodags had nobody on and two out in their half of the seventh.
"The girls came back and battled back," Hodag coach D.J. DeMeyer said. "I told them after that game I was so proud of them for not getting down on themselves and just battling."
Tomahawk's strategy once Cami Buchmann reached on a two-out error on a ground ball past first was not to let Rhinelander's Kuester twins beat them. They didn't, but the Hodags got two perfectly-placed balls from Mikayla Evenstad and Ella Mullikin instead.
After Buchmann reached, Tomahawk intentionally walked Stephanie Kuester - who was 3 for 3 and a triple short of the cycle at that point - to get to Evenstad. The slap-hitting lefty blooped a shot between first and right field that landed six inches inside the line in fair territory and Buchmann beat a throw home to tie the game. With runners at first and second, Tomahawk intentionally walked Makayla Kuester to get to Ella Mullikin and the sophomore delivered a swinging bunt up the third-base line. With Stephanie Kuester already well on her way to the plate, third baseperson Jennifer DuPlayee's only play was to first and the Hodags won the game when Mullikin beat the throw to the bag.
"We made contact, did what we had to do and got the run in," DeMeyer said.
The game was a pitcher's duel for the most part with Stephanie Kuester tossing a two-hitter that neutralized much of a sloppy five-error performance from the Hodag defense.
Kuester struck out three and walked four in game 1. Additionally, she was 5-for-6 in the doubleheader at the plate.
"A two-hitter, that's going to keep you in a lot of games," DeMeyer said. "Steph is pitching really well and it's good to see her bat come alive. It was hot early in the season, kind of got in a little funk but she's ready."
Stephanie Kuester went the other way for a solo home run down the right field line in the third inning, which was the only run in the game until the top of the fifth when Hope Wissbroecker was unable to squeeze Sophia McGinnis' throw to first with two outs, allowing Jordyn Kaminski to score from second.
Kaminski doubled for Tomahawk to lead off the seventh and scored on a sacrifice fly by Courtney Theiler to give the Hatchets a brief 3-2 lead.
Rhinelander collected three runs on six hits off Rachel Dallman, despite an 11-strikeout performance from the reigning conference player of the year. Dallman walked four batters - all intentionally - including three free passes to Makayla Kuester who has been feared by opposing pitchers all season after winning the GNC's triple crown a season ago.
"She's got to be leading the state in intentional walks, if there's a stat on that," DeMeyer quipped. "Very proud of the girls, Dallman's a very tough pitcher and we were able to get three runs off her."
Game 2 woes continue
Tomahawk took its game 1 frustrations out on game 2 starter Molly Wagler, shelling her for 10 runs on nine hits over 3 1/3 innings as the Hatchets took the nightcap 12-2.
"That's been our luck on doubleheaders. We have one good game and we have one that's not so good as the first one," DeMeyer said.
Tomahawk scored twice in the first and never looked back, breaking the game open in a seven-run fourth inning. Seven of the first eight batters reached base that inning and all seven crossed the plate.
"Tomahawk hit Molly pretty hard," DeMeyer said. "We had some errors, some hard-hit balls I thought we should get that we didn't get but give Tomahawk credit. They hit her hard. Molly's not quite the same way she was last year. We can't put the finger on it. (Pitching coach) Danny (McDonald) and I've been talking about it all season and we've been working on her. She still goes out and battles though. I give her all the credit in the world. And, unfortunately, all season we don't give her any run support. That's shame on us."
Makayla Kuester extended the game for the Hodags with a two-out, two-run double in the fifth inning, but allowed the clinching run to cross in the sixth via a wild pitch.
Playoffs ahead
The good news for Rhinelander is there are no more doubleheaders on the schedule. The postseason will begin Wednesday as the third-seeded Hodags face sixth-seeded Lakeland in the WIAA tournament.
Rhinelander was seeded ahead of Medford and Antigo for the No. 3 spot Wednesday night, a result that was validated Thursday as the Hodags moved to 6-6 in the GNC and finished tied for third in the conference with Antigo. Medford, meanwhile, split a doubleheader with Lakeland to finish in a fifth-place tie in the conference with the T-Birds.
Rhinelander has beaten Lakeland twice via the 10-run rule this spring, but also dropped the first game of a doubleheader against the T-Birds 4-1 in Minocqua May 7.
DeMeyer knows, as Medford found out Thursday, Lakeland is good enough to spring an upset if the Hodags are not on their game.
"If we don't do what we're supposed to do, they can beat anybody," he said. "They're getting better. They're sound and if we're not disciplined at the plate and reaching for the ball, you keep them in the game. You give a team a chance and they'll beat you."
The winner of Wednesday's game would advance to the regional finals where, barring an upset, they would travel to second-seeded Merrill on Friday. That could potentially set up a rematch of last year's regional semifinal round when Rhinelander squeaked past the Bluejays 2-1 before losing to eventual D2 state champ Rice Lake in the regional finals.
"Merrill's a good team. They've got the two seed, got about the same record as us and have about the same team they had last year," DeMeyer said.
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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