May 8, 2019 at 1:51 p.m.
SPLITSVILLE
Hodag baseball splits with Mosinee, now 1 1/2 games out of first in wide open GNC race
SPLITSVILLE
Mosinee scored four unanswered runs - including two in the bottom of the sixth - to defeat the Hodags 4-2 in the second game of a doubleheader Tuesday at Stafford Field. It came on the heels of a 6-3 win for the Hodags in the opening game.
The loss was Rhinelander's third of the season and all three have come in the second game of conference doubleheaders.
"We had our chances early on to score some runs and put some breathing room (between us), but we just kept hitting the ball hard right at their guys," RHS baseball coach Joe Waksmonski said.
A couple of miscues ultimately came back to bite Rhinelander in the second game. Ryan Walsh was ruled safe on a high throw to first to lead off the fourth inning (although photographic evidence appears to show first baseman Bryce Schickert came back down on the bag before Walsh got there). Trey Fitzgerald followed with a walk and both scored on a Cole Vandehey two-run single to left to tie the game.
Hits by Fitzgerald and Matt Olson gave Mosinee a pair of base runners in the sixth. Vandehey's sacrifice fly scored Fitzgerald and Loucas Trzinski - Olson's courtesy runner - scored when the Hodags were not able to handle the relay throw back in the infield.
"With a team like that, they have the highest batting average in the conference, you just can't give them those extra opportunities and we did," Waksmonski said. "To our pitchers' credit, all the hits that they had were singles. It wasn't like Mosinee was hitting the ball all over the yard.
"Offensively, when we weren't scoring, we needed both pitching and defense to be tremendous for us. Unfortunately, the defense kind of let us down in spots."
Liam Stevens gave Rhinelander a 1-0 lead in the third on a single, but the Hodags' rally stalled from their on a double play ball by Bryce Schickert. Eric Grulke doubled and scored on a Payton Johnson hit in the fourth.
Rhinelander had a chance to add to the lead in the fifth but Martin Hoger was thrown out at the plate trying to score on a Schickert single.
"It was just a perfect throw. It was going to take a perfect throw to get our guy out at the plate and it was a perfect throw," Waksmonski said, referring to a strong toss from left fielder Bryce Novitzke that beat Hoger to the plate by a step and a half. "It's one of those if we score, it's great. We get all the momentum. You get thrown out and they get all the momentum. It just worked out in their favor."
Hoger took the loss in Game 2, allowed two earned runs on four hits over 5 2/3 innings.
Game 1
Rhinelander jumped on Mosinee early in the first game, scoring five times in the first three innings, and held on for a 6-3 win.
Danny Zuiker was hit by a pitch to lead off the bottom of the first and scored on a two-out double by Josh Randolph. Johnson singled home Tim Fox in the second and the Hodags added three runs in the third.
Randolph singled home Hoger and Grulke scored on the play as well following an errant throw from short. Walker Hartman added an RBI groundout later in the inning.
"We got a couple of clutch hits early on in the game. It's nice to have that five-run lead right away with Bryce Schickert on the mound," Waksmonski said.
Schickert allowed three runs on five hits over 6 1/3 innings. Three of those hits came in order to lead off the fourth by Fitzgerald, Olson and Vandehey. Max Beste hit a sacrifice fly to score Fitzgerald and Drake Grod followed with a two-run single.
Rhinelander tacked on an insurance run in the fifth as Hartman doubled and scored Liam Stevens.
Mosinee threatened again in the seventh, loading the bases with one out before Randolph relieved Schickert on the mound. Randolph struck out Walsh and got Fitzgerald to ground out to end the contest.
GNC jumble
The split between Rhinelander and Mosinee, plus a wild result in Medford, has turned the Great Northern Conference into a four-team race entering the final week of the regular season.
Medford upset Antigo 5-2 and 16-8 Tuesday, snapping the Robins 34-game conference winning streak. Medford also moved into first place in the GNC (7-2), a half game ahead of the Robins (6-2). Both Mosinee (7-3) and Rhinelander (5-3) sit only one game behind Medford and Antigo in the loss column.
"We're all right there," Waksmonski said. "Antigo's got to play us twice and Mosinee twice. Our chances to kind of upend Antigo and end that streak, it's out there for one of our conference teams. It's just one of the teams in the conference has to take charge."
Rhinelander will get the next crack at Antigo, looking to snap a 12-game losing streak against the Red Robins when the two teams play a doubleheader this afternoon at Kretz Bros. Park.
The Hodags will have Randolph, Isaac Bixby and Stevens all available to throw today.
"We've got three pretty good pitchers in our back pocket and we fell pretty good about our chances with Antigo," Waksmonski said. "Antigo is not the Antigo of old. They graduated a lot of seniors from last year, but they are still very talented."
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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