May 29, 2019 at 12:37 p.m.
Alexander, Medford silence Hodags in regional semifinal loss
Alexander, Medford silence Hodags in regional semifinal loss
Cade Alexander was nearly flawless for the Raiders, pitching a complete game two-hitter, and Medford used a three-run fourth to get past Rhinelander 3-0 in the WIAA Division 2 regional semifinals Tuesday at Raider Field.
Alexander singled to break up Josh Randolph's perfect game bid in the fourth. Medford then strung together three more hits in succession - the only hits they collected off Rhinelander pitching in the contest - to help plate what proved to be the game's only runs.
"Playoff baseball is about pitching and defense and, for as well as we played tonight pitching and defense, Medford played it just a notch above us. That's why we're going home now," Hodag coach Joe Waksmonski said. "They had the one sequence with the four hits and we compounded it with an error, too. We talked about it, if you give up one big inning in the postseason that can end it. Unfortunately, that's what happened to us tonight."
Randolph (3-3) sat down the first 10 Raiders he faced, and was ahead in the count 1-2 against Alexander when the Medford senior deposited a hanging curveball into shallow center field for the Raiders' first hit.
A wild pitch moved Alexander's courtesy runner, Blaine Seidl, to second, and Seidl scored on a single to right by John McMurry. Spike Alexander and Nick Retterath tacked on sharply-hit singles through the hole between first and second - the Retterath single scoring McMurry. The Raiders tacked on one more run in the inning as Randolph tried to pick off Retterath, only to throw wildly into the outfield and allow Spike Alexander to score from third.
"They found the holes, especially to the right side and up the middle," Waksmonski said. "It all started with a great approach. Cade Alexander started it off with a hit. Josh had a curveball that was low in the zone and Cade just got underneath it and served it into the outfield. Unfortunately that's what got it started. We had Cade down 1-2 and we were kind of hoping for a dirt ball there. It hung up just a little bit and Cade was able to get on. That's what got the rally going for them."
Rhinelander never got a runner past first base in the contest. Bryce Schickert had a two-out single for the Hodags in the second inning and Walker Hartman led off the sixth with a base hit, but that was all Rhinelander could muster. Medford's defense saved Alexander a couple of times. Isaac Bixby smashed a line drive to third in the third but McMurry made a leaping stab to catch it. Randolph served a ball to shallow left center in the fourth that was robbed on a diving grab by Ray Zirngible.
For Rhinelander, cold offense was the story of these playoffs. The team had only three hits in their final 13 innings of the season. Waksmonski said Cade Alexander had a lot to do with that Thursday.
"I think it was just command. He worked both sides of the plate up and down with all of his pitches," Waksmonski said. "He had a nice little, the guys were calling it a slurve (slider/curve hybrid). He kept everyone off balance. I felt like we had some pitches to hit early in the count. Unfortunately, for whatever reason, we weren't putting good swings on them. The couple of hits that we had, they were hard hit. We had a couple of balls out there that Medford made nice plays on defensively but, unfortunately, we didn't hit them hard enough to make them fall."
Tuesday's game went by in a blur, done in a brisk 72 minutes as both starting pitchers worked quickly and efficiently on the mound.
"We didn't want to have a light delay here today," Waksmonski quipped, referencing a game Rhinelander lost at Medford April 30 that was called after five innings due to darkness on a Raider Field devoid of lights.
Alexander recorded five strikeouts in the win for Medford. Randolph struck out six and walked one over 5 1/3 innings for the Hodags. Schickert retired both batters he faced for the Hodags in the sixth.
Medford, the GNC champions, advanced to take on Antigo Wednesday in the regional finals. Rhinelander's season ended with a record of 10-9. After the game, Waksmonski credited his five seniors - Randolph, Schickert, Martin Hoger, Liam Stevens and Eric Grulke - for their improvement despite what was another difficult spring weather-wise.
"I thought our seniors made leaps and bounds improving from last year," Waksmonski said. "They led us to this point where we beat a great Mosinee team 3-1 in the first regional (game) and then you battle the conference champion Medford to a 3-0 loss, unfortunately, but it was a great high school game."
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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