May 25, 2018 at 1:30 p.m.
Merrill outlasts Hodags in regionals
Merrill outlasts Hodags in regionals
Thursday marked the sixth time in seven years the Hodags were eliminated from one round shy of the sectionals as Merrill pulled away to a 10-3 win at the Merrill Area Rec Center.
Merrill took the lead with four runs after two outs in the second inning and padded their lead late thanks to some untimely Hodag miscues.
"We had some throwing errors that cost us some runs, I don't know, four or five," Hodag coach D.J. DeMeyer said. "The game was a lot closer than it ended up and that's been the story of our season, to be honest. We just can't come up with the big out."
Rhinelander jumped out to an early 2-0 lead on back-to-back two-out RBI hits by Ella Mullikin and Molly Wagler. The Hodags collected 10 hits overall, but left several runners in scoring position while the game was still close in the first five innings.
Merrill then capitalized on some pitching mistakes by senior Stephanie Kuester to take the lead in the second. Kuester missed on a 3-2 pitch to Kelsie Belfiori to load the bases with two outs in the second and then surrendered a two-run single to Patience Pyan on an 0-2 pitch to tie the game. Maddix Bonnell followed with a two-run single to give Merrill a lead it would never relinquish.
"I think Steph was supposed to throw an outside curve, that's what (pitching coach) Danny (McDonald) usually does," DeMeyer said of Kuester's 0-2 offering to Pyan. "She just got a little too much of the plate there and they scored two runs. Then they had another two-out hit and scored another two runs. Give credit to Merrill, they hit the ball. We've just got to make a better pitch there."
Stephanie Kuester got Rhinelander back to within a run in the fourth as she hit a hard liner off of third base for a single that scored Hope Wissbroecker. Merrill answered, however, with a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the inning and then tacked on five runs, only one of which was earned, after the Hodags committed three errors between the fifth and sixth innings.
"Merrill hit the ball and we knew they would," DeMeyer said. "They're a good-hitting team. They're well coached. They're sound defensively. You didn't see any errors from them and they really get a jump on a fly ball. They hit their cutoffs and do everything right."
Stephanie Kuester allowed six earned runs on 12 hits over six innings in the loss and was 2-for-4 at the play. Mullikin went 3-for-4 at the plate while Wissbroecker was 2-for-3. Makayla Kuester, one of Rhinelander's top offensive weapons, went 0-for-4 with a strikeout.
Rhinelander 9, Lakeland 4
The Hodags jumped out to a big early lead and then fended off a late-inning push to defeat Lakeland 9-4 Wednesday at Pioneer Park and advance to the regional final round.
Rhinelander pounded Lakeland pitcher Tatum Morris for 14 hits in the contest and had a 7-0 lead through four innings.
"Fourteen hits, that's encouraging," DeMeyer said. "If we can just clean up the defense and have everyone doing their job when I ask them to (we'll be OK)."
A defensive miscue opened the door slightly for Lakeland in the fifth inning as Wagler misfired on a throw to second after a grounder by Emma Salquist. Amanda Kosmen came all the way from first to score on the play as the ball ended up in right field. After Britta Salquist was hit by a pitch, she and her sister executed a double steal of second and home to close Rhinelander's lead to 7-2.
Kosmen added a two-run single in the sixth to make it 7-4 before the Hodags answered back with a pair of runs in their half of the inning.
"Then we had an error in the fifth inning, ending up giving them two runs basically on that," DeMeyer said. "I don't know if it was a tight zone or not, but you can see that Lakeland's improved. They had like seven, eight hits."
Rhinelander led 2-0 before an out was recorded in the bottom of the first as Stephanie Kuester, Mikayla Evenstad, Mikayla Kuester and Mullikin all collected hits to lead off the inning. Wagler added a sacrifice fly to make it 3-0.
Rhinelander tacked on three more in the third, keyed by a two-out, two-run double by Wissbroecker. Tori Roberts then scored her with a base hit.
"That's good to see," DeMeyer said of Wissbroecker's double. "She's been hitting ball. She's been robbed of about six, eight hits this year just hitting it right at them. We need her to hit. Steph hit it hard, Makayla hit it hard, Mikayla I think had two hits. Ella had a hit or two."
Stephanie Kuester hit a solo home run to center off Morris in the fourth. A wild pitch and a RBI grounder by Makayla Kuester brought home Rhinelander's two runs in the sixth.
Stephanie Kuester struck out eight batters over seven innings. She allowed two earned runs on eight hits. Makayla Kuester led the Hodags, going 3-for-4 at the plate. Stephanie Kuester, Evenstad, Mullikin and Roberts collected two hits each.
Saying goodbye and looking ahead
Thursday marked the end of the playing careers of six Hodag seniors - the Kuester twins, Wagler, Wissbroecker, Roberts and Cami Buchmann.
"It was fun coaching them for four years. There were six seniors there who are really good kids, phenomenal players," DeMeyer said.
Rhinelander finished the year 12-11 overall and DeMeyer said it's imperative for the underclassmen returning to improve during the offseason to help rebuild a roster that will lose six starters and its top two pitchers. "It's going to be a really young team next year and, if they don't put in the work this winter, it's going to be a long season," he said. "We've got to get to work. Our top two pitchers are gone. All we've got are JV pitchers, and they were hurt most of the season and didn't get to throw. We've got a new pitching staff and they've got to put in the work."
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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