May 3, 2019 at 1:54 p.m.
Pines sweeps Hodag softball in doubleheader
Pines sweeps Hodag softball in doubleheader
Rhinelander could not slow down Northland Pines' offense, which used big innings to propel it to a pair of five-inning wins, 17-7 and 13-3, Thursday night in Eagle River.
"Errors kind of let us down, passed balls and stuff like that. We have a new catcher and the loss of Ella for the season is going to hurt us a little bit," coach D.J. DeMeyer said afterward. "They were still cheering, still positive. It's tough. This is the bounce-back game from Ella getting hurt and we'll try again tomorrow."
The Hodags got to within 11-7 in the first game of the twinbill before Northland Pines clinched the game with a six-run fifth inning. The final blow in the contest was an RBI double by Jen Pyne that plated the clinching run.
Sophia McGinns started and allowed four earned runs on three hits over two-plus innings before being relieved by Alex Oestreich, who gave up three earned runs over the final 2 2/3 frames. The Hodags committed four errors in the contest that led to 10 unearned runs.
Hannah Worachek drove in a pair of runs in the first game as the Hodags collected nine hits. Mikayla Evenstad and Brylee Ridderbusch had two hits each.
Eight straight batters reached, and all eight scored, as part off a nine-run frame for the Eagles in the fifth inning of Game 2 to help break open what was a 4-1 game after four innings.
Worachek hit her second home run of the season in Game 2 of the doubleheader and the Hodags got RBI singles from McGinnis and Oestreich in the fifth inning, but left the bases loaded in the frame with the game-extending run stranded on third. Rhinelander left the bases loaded four times overall in the doubleheader.
"We had opportunities to score runs, we just couldn't get the big hits," DeMeyer said. "I think we had bases loaded two or three times and just couldn't get it there."
The Hodags had six hits in Game 2, including two by Ridderbusch. Ridderbusch took the loss for Rhinelander in the second game, allowing eight earned runs on six hits in 4 1/3 innings of work.
The losses dropped Rhinelander to 1-8 overall on the season.
"We have some young ball players and it's about keeping the girls focused on what they should be doing if the ball's hit to them - just basic mental toughness," DeMeyer said. "They're trying and that's all I can ask for. Give it 100 percent. Errors are going to happen, just learn from it and move forward. We're going to just talk about staying mentally sharp and improving every game, some facets."
The Hodags hosted Antigo Friday in a game that concluded after deadline and return to action Monday and Tuesday with a home-and-home series against Medford.
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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