May 24, 2019 at 3:23 p.m.
Rhinelander shuts down Mosinee 3-1 in postseason pitchers' duel
Rhinelander shuts down Mosinee 3-1 in postseason pitchers' duel
Rhinelander had only one real opportunity Thursday, but made the most of it, and is moving on in the WIAA tournament as a result.
The Hodags took advantage of some shoddy Mosinee defense in the first inning, scoring three runs, and held on behind command pitching performances from Bryce Schickert and Josh Randolph to defeat the Indians 3-1 at City Park in Mosinee in a WIAA regional quarterfinal contest.
Despite failing to get any of its final 17 batters on base, Rhinelander moves on to face top-seeded Medford Tuesday in a regional semifinal.
"We talked earlier this week that it was going to be about pitching and defense, and that's what came true today," said Hodag coach Joe Waksmonski, whose team avenged a playoff loss to the Indians in Mosinee a season ago. "Both Bryce and Josh put on an absolute clinic on the mound. That's a great-hitting team over there in Mosinee. I believe they finished as the conference leaders in hitting - if it wasn't No. 1, they were No. 2. To be able to do that, to that lineup, it was amazing. It was awesome."
Schickert scattered four hits and struck out seven over 5 2/3 innings. Randolph came on in the sixth and retired the top four in Mosinee's order to earn the save.
The Hodags staked Schickert to a three-run lead in the first thanks to some timely hitting, coupled with some Mosinee mistakes.
Danny Zuiker, back in the lineup after getting hit by a pitch during Monday's non-conference loss to Stratford, drew a walk to lead off the game and Abe Laggis bunted himself aboard. Zuiker to move to third because of an overthrow.
Martin Hoger drove in Zuiker on an infield hit to short. Hoger and Laggis both advanced following an errant throw. Liam Stevens added a sacrifice fly to score Laggis and Mosinee gifted the Hodags a run as centerfield Ryan Walsh dropped Eric Grulke's two-out fly ball, allowing Hoger to cross.
"In the moment, in the clutch situation there in the first inning, we got the job done and we got enough runs to win today," Waksmonski said. "You don't necessarily know when the clutch moment is going to be. It doesn't always happen in the sixth or seventh inning. For us, offensively, it was the first inning. We were able to manufacture some runs. It started with Abe laying that nice bunt down. From there, we had a couple singles and the big misplay in the outfield that allowed us to plate a run. That was what we needed, and that's all we needed, fortunately."
Rhinelander's offense struggled from there as Cole Vandehey and Walsh sat down 18 of the final 19 batters they faced. Zuiker's one-out hit in the second represented the last base runner for the Hodags.
Schickert walked a tightrope early in the game. After walking the first two batters he faced, a third walk loaded the bases with two out, but he got Max Beste to ground out to end the inning.
Mosinee got two on with one out in the second thanks to an error and a base hit, but Schickert got Luke Spink to ground into a fielder's chose and fanned Walsh to again wiggle out of the jam.
"Bryce said it took a little getting used to the mound," Waksmonski said. "It's a little steeper than most mounds. He just said it took a little time to work into it, but once he worked into it, he was fine in that first inning. Periodically during the game he was losing the touch on his curveball, not throwing it for strike and getting ahead early in the count, but to finish his outing he threw 12 straight phenomenal curveballs. Again, it was an absolute clinic."
Mosinee's lone run came on a two-out rally in the fifth as Trey Fitzgerald singled, Vandehey reached on an error and Matt Olson hit an RBI single. Schickert again worked out of trouble by getting Beste to fly out to left.
Drake Grod got aboard for Mosinee with a one-out single in the sixth, and moved along on a Bryce Novitzke sacrifice.
With the top of the order up and Schickert one pitch away from his 100-pitch limit for the day, Waksmonski made the moved to Randolph, who got Spink to fly out to end the inning. In the seventh, Randolph got Walsh to pop out, Fitzgerald to fly out and Vandehey to ground out to secure the win.
"We knew going into the year that a lot of our season was going to depend on those two arms," Waksmonski said, referring to Schickert and Randolph. "They definitely came through tonight."
Vandehey took the loss for Mosinee, with two of the three runs he allowed in the first earned. Walsh pitched a perfect seventh for the Indians.
The Hodags now advance to face Medford, which routed Abbotsford/
Colby 18-0 in five innings Thursday. Rhinelander split a doubleheader against the Raiders April 30 in Medford.
"We've seen them. I imagine they'll have (starting pitcher) Cade Alexander ready for us, and we'll see what we have coming at them," Waksmonski said.
A closer look at regional semifinal game will appear in Tuesday's River News.
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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