April 24, 2019 at 1:58 p.m.
Hodag fastpitch falls to Antigo 8-3 in season opener
Hodag fastpitch falls to Antigo 8-3 in season opener
A six-run second inning proved to be the difference as the Hodags fell to Antigo 8-3 Tuesday at Lake Park in Antigo.
Just getting out on the field was a win for a young Hodag squad that has very little varsity experience returning from last season. Playing an Antigo team that already had eight games under its belt didn't make matters any easier.
"The girls were very ecstatic to be outside playing a game. I'm very ecstatic," Hodag coach D.J. DeMeyer said. "We knew it was going to be a little rough today. We had basically a really crappy day of practice last Friday. Half the field was clear. Yesterday we had practice in the rain and mist. We really hadn't had a good day to get outside and practice. Today was beautiful to play a game.
"We were a little rusty. Antigo's played eight games already," DeMeyer added. "We did all right."
Hodag starter Brylee Ridderbusch was able to work around three walks in the first inning, but was not as fortunate in the second as the first nine Robin batters reached base against her. Alonna Weix singled and scored on a wild pitch. Three straight walks loaded the bases for the top of the order, which promptly cleared them. Taylor Arrowood hit a two-run double followed by a two-run single by Brinna Mauk to give Antigo a 5-0 lead. Allison Peters drew a bases-loaded walk against reliever Sophia McGinnis later in the inning to add to the lead.
Peters scored on an Arrowood RBI grounder in the fifth inning. Laynie Weix doubled and scored on an Alicia Turunen sacrifice fly in the sixth.
The Hodags entered the game with three pitchers who had not logged an inning of varsity action. Ridderbusch took the loss, allowing six runs on three hits over 1-plus inning with seven walks. McGinnis allowed a run on three hits with five walks and two strikeouts in 3 1/3 innings of relief. Alex Oestreich came on in the fifth and allowed a run on a hit with a walk over the final 1 2/3 innings.
"Brylee started and got through the first inning. (She was) a little erratic. I think the zone was a little tight. According to my catcher (Ella Mullikin), he wasn't calling the outside corner on her. That's all part of the game. I'm not complaining about the ups and Brylee's got to learn to make that adjustment," DeMeyer said. "We brought Sophia in and I thought she did all right. We had some walks. She was nervous. It was her first time pitching on the varsity level. We got a couple of innings out of her. She kind of settled down in there and then we brought Alex in in the sixth inning and she did fine, too. She hit her spots."
Rhinelander rallied in the third inning, keyed when Ridderbusch reached on a one-out error. Mullikin, the Hodags' lone returning all-conference player from last year, followed with an RBI single. McGinnis then doubled before Oestreich hit an RBI single. McGinnis later scored on a RBI by Kylee White. The Hodags had six hits in the contest, including two by Mullikin.
"We took a lot of strikes, good pitches," DeMeyer said. "I talked to them after the game and said, if that pitch is in there we have to attack it. We're not a team that's going to get a lot of walks and we have to be aggressive."
The Hodags' schedule goes from 0 to 60 in a blink of an eye with four games coming up over the next two days. Rhinelander travels to Tomahawk this afternoon to play a doubleheader and then is home tomorrow as it hosts Crandon and Ashland in a three-team triangular.
"We're going to really learn on the fly here," DeMeyer said. "We're going to have a lot of games where in a week and a half. We're going to have all of our games done in three weeks. We're not going to have a lot of practice time, but we are going to try to get better. That's all I ask the girls to do."
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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