April 8, 2019 at 12:10 p.m.
Double the fun
Hodags rally in Game 1, sweep season-opening doubleheader from Notre Dame Academy
Double the fun
The Hodags rallied from down four runs with only four outs remaining to defeat Notre Dame Academy 11-7 in extra innings in the first game of the twinbill and then silenced the Triton bats to take the nightcap, 4-0, at Harold Neville Park.
The conditions were less than ideal, as the teams played through off-and-on rain showers, temperatures in the upper 40s and occasionally gusty winds. The Hodags didn't seem to mind, given it was their first time on a diamond all spring.
"It was a great experience. It was going to be one of those days where it was just miserable enough with the rain and everything to make this game a little bit miserable but we're just happy to be outside, happy to be on grass," coach Joe Waksmonski said. "We're happy to be on a regulation diamond. We're happy to hit the ball in the air and everything."
Game 1: Hodags 11, NDA 7
Senior Bryce Schickert helped send Game 1 to extras with a two-out, two-run double in the seventh and the Hodags broke the game open with five runs in the ninth.
"We had the bad inning where we were down 6-2," Waksmonski said. "We misplayed a couple balls but we just chipped away. We got two to make it 6-4 and then we made it 6-6. You go into extra innings and obviously we had the big inning there. The guys just kept hitting. We could have stopped at 7-6 but we just kept at it and made it 11-6."
The turning point in the game came in the sixth with a runner on second, two out and sophomore Payton Johnson at the plate. After falling behind 0-2 in the count, Johnson worked an 11-pitch at-bat - fouling off five straight pitches at one point - before connecting on an RBI double to the left center gap. Walker Hartman followed with a double of his own as the Hodags trimmed the Triton's lead to 6-4.
"It's not all the time where an umpire comes up to me and says that was an amazing at-bat, and it's true," Waksmonski said. "That was a great at-bat. He battled off I don't know how many pitches and then hit the ball to the left center gap, because all of his foul balls were hit hard, but down the right field corner, so they aligned their defense on the right field side and he came back to the left center gap. That was a great at-bat."
Singles by Isaac Bixby and Martin Hoger gave Rhinelander runners at first and second with two outs in the seventh for Schickert, who smashed a ball to left center. Hoger trucked all the way around from first to tie the game.
"We had Martin at first base and we told Martin the pitch before, if there's anything in the gap, you have to score," Waksmonski said. "Sure enough, Bryce gets a pitch to hit, drove it to the left center gap and Martin was able to score on that."
Twice Notre Dame got the winning run aboard in the seventh, but the Hodags used a pickoff play and a double-play ball to end the threat. The Tritons threatened again in the eighth, with runners at first and second with one out, but Johnson caught a line drive to left by CJ Skogg and Liam Stevens struck out Caden Capomaccio to send the game to the ninth.
"Payton's only been practicing out in left field this past week. He hasn't had too many reps out there. For him to handle that line shot was huge because that's the ballgame right there if that gets past him," Waksmonski said.
Hoger began the rally for the Hodags in the ninth with an infield hit to short before Stevens laced a double to right center that gave Rhinelander its first lead since the top of the first inning.
Notre Dame bungled a chance to throw Stevens out at third on a Schickert grounder and Abe Laggis drew a walk to load the bases for Johnson, who came through again with a two-run single to right past a drawn in infield. Walker Hartman followed with an RBI grounder and Quinn Lamers made it 11-6 with a run-scoring single.
The late production made a winner out of Stevens (1-0) on the hill. That didn't seem likely when he relieved Schickert on the mound with two outs in the fourth and gave up four consecutive RBI doubles that gave Notre Dame a 6-2 lead. Stevens settled in from there, retiring the next eight batters he faced and worked through the eighth inning. Hoger pitched the ninth, allowing an unearned run on a passed ball.
The Hodags took a 2-0 lead in the top of the first as Bixby reached on an error, took second and third on wild pitches and scored on a Tim Fox sacrifice fly. Stevens reached on a dropped fly ball to right and eventually came around on a passed ball. Notre Dame tied it in the bottom of the inning on a two-out, two-run double by Caleb Rinard.
Game 2: Hodags 4, NDA 0
For all the talk of the senior arms in the RHS pitching rotation, it was a sophomore who came in and stole the show in Saturday's second game.
Bixby (1-0) scattered three hits and struck out five in five innings of scoreless relief as he and Hoger combined to shutout the Tritons in Game 2.
"Isaac, I can't say enough. That's more than a pleasant surprise that we got today from Isaac to get the work he gave today, to keep their hitters off balance," Waksmonski said. "It's not often you can get a pitcher that can command the zone like he did, especially in his first outing of the year in the conditions we had today. That was outstanding on Isaac's part."
Bixby helped his own cause with a pair of RBIs in the game. He drew a bases loaded walk on a 3-2 pitch with two out in the second inning and hit a run-scoring grounder in the fourth. Rhinelander gave Bixby a little more breathing room in the fifth as Johnson hit a sacrifice fly to score Hoger and Danny Zuiker followed with an RBI single.
Statbook
The Hodags, who had only two hits through five innings in Game 1, came alive offensively and finished the first contest with 13 hits. Bixby, Hoger, Stevens, Schickert and Johnson had two hits each while Johnson drove in three runs.
Schickert went 3 2/3 innings, with six strikeouts and four walks before being relieved by Stevens, who fanned four and did not walk anybody over 4 2/3 innings of work. The plan was to keep Rhinelander's starting pitchers under 75 pitches Saturday so they would be available to pitch a doubleheader today against Tomahawk at Wausau East.
"I thought they did well for the most part. Each of them had a stretch there where they had a bout of wildness, but they overcame it to be able to make those adjustments on the fly in game," Waksmonski said. "We can't go out there and work with them, pitch for pitch, like we have at practice. It was important for them to go out and make the adjustments on their own."
Rhinelander collected only five hits in the second game, including two from Eric Grulke off the bench.
Marcus Hornacek took the blown save and the loss for the Tritons in Game 1, overshadowing a 2-for-3 game at the plate. Capomaccio started and lasted four innings in Game 2, taking the loss. Hornacek collected two of the Triton's four hits in Game 2.
Trainer's room
One of Rhinelander's top arms, and projected starting shortstop, Josh Randolph missed the game due to injury and the Hodags became thinner at short when Lamers left Game 2 after being hit by a pitch in the second inning. The high pitch hit both Lamers' helmet and right thumb, the thumb was of greater concern following the game. Stevens moved from third to shortstop after Lamers' injury.
"In Game 1 Quinn made some plays at shortstop that their guys weren't making," Waksmonski noted. "That saves your pitching, saves your defense a ton of runs when you can have a performance like that. Then after he got hurt, Liam moved over to short and did a pretty good job there."
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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