April 22, 2021 at 9:03 a.m.
Team preview: RHS baseball
Hodags hope to have the arms to stay in Great Northern race
Team preview: RHS baseball
That's exactly what the 16th-year Hodag skipper figures his outfit will have this year as it gets set to kick off a 19-game schedule at Lakeland on Tuesday.
"It's easy to see our strength will be on the pitching end," Waksmonski said.
The main question that remains to be answered is if the Hodags have enough talent and moxie to make up for a relative lack of experience.
"I think we have what it takes to compete for the conference championship this year," Waksmonski told the River News this week. "It's just a matter of us just going out and performing the way we need to. We've talked about it since last summer when we were practicing. We feel like we have the pitchers that can do it. It was just a matter of them getting experience, which they obviously did not get, but I think they have the stuff and the mentality to be able to lead us to a great season."
The team is extremely thin on experience this year, but then again most teams are after the 2020 season was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Only five players on this year's squad played American Legion ball for the Rhinelander Post 7 Rebels two summers ago, and only three players return from the 2019 varsity outfit.
The player with the most experience, at least from a varsity pitching standpoint, is senior Isaac Bixby. He went a combined 4-3 at the varsity and Legion levels in 2019 with a 4.28 ERA, logging 18 strikeouts and 15 walks over 36 innings. Even then, Waksmonski said Bixby is a different pitcher than he was two years ago.
"He's one of those guys that traditionally has had to hit his spots and really be able to keep hitters off balance with different speeds and change of speed, but he's worked super hard in the last year, year and half here," Waksmonski said. "He throws a lot harder than what he used to. He's actually probably got to get used to it the most, as far as being able to have that velocity. He doesn't have to be so fine with his pitches."
Fellow senior Quinn Lamers, who missed much of the 2019 spring season with a hand injury, figures to be in the starting rotation along with juniors Joe Schneider and Ryan Jamison. But Waksmonski said the team has plenty of depth in the bullpen, which may come in handy on weeks where the team is playing three, four or even five games - as is the case in a stretch from May 3 to May 8.
"We can easily go seven, eight, nine deep and still have a player out there that's able to throw strikes - and quality strikes on top of that," Waksmonski said. "A lot of these guys, when they threw last summer, all of them threw on the Wednesday night scrimmages, so they were able to compete at least for an inning every single week and still be able to work sequences and work on the things they wanted to work on."
Last year, the Hodags thought the other end of the battery was solidified with senior Walker Hartman returning for his third tour of duty behind the plate. But that all changed Nov. 7 when Hartman injured his knee in a football game against Medford, an injury that will cost Hartman the entire spring season.
Not only was Hartman Rhinelander's everyday catcher, he was coming into his own as a hitter and a pitcher toward the end of his sophomore season. He hit .364 with 13 RBIs for the Rebels in the summer of 2019 and was 2-2 with a 3.86 ERA over 29 innings pitched.
"It is a big hole," Waksmonski said. "When I think about Walker, he's a two-year starter, basically, who finished his sophomore season and now he won't be able to compete his junior and senior year. You really feel for a kid in that situation."
Look for sophomore Sam Schneider to vie for innings behind the plate, though Waksmonski said Joe Schneider and Bixby are also options, depending on the day's pitching assignment.
"Both Schneiders are able to work back there, Joe and Sam, along with Bix(by) as well," he said. "The problem is you hate to have one of your top pitchers also be one of your top catchers as well. It can create a lot of wear and tear, not only on their arm, but just on their body in general."
Expect Joe Schneider to add some pop to the lineup. He hit .357 with six RBIs for the Rebels in 2019, while Lamers hit .308 in limited at bats. In addition to pitching, Bixby, Joe Schneider, Lamers and Jamison provided the team options in the middle infield. The two other returning players with varsity experience are outfielder Tim Fox and Devyn Orth, who Waksmonski said is currently penciled into the lineup at first base.
Senior Ian Miller may also see some innings in the middle infield, while Ben Sinclair, Jacksen Smith, Jordan Kuczmarski and Kolby Ridderbusch are among those vying for time in the outfield. Waksmonski said those spots are still up for grabs based on who can produce at the plate.
"A lot of this is just going to depend on who the hot bat is," he said. "That's always been my philosophy, you've got to have your best nine hitters in your lineup and you'll figure out your positions after that. Once we figure out where we're sitting as far as hitters and pitchers and the matchups this week, we can have a better understanding of where we can put out players in the infield and the outfield."
The cold weather early this week didn't help matters as the Hodags try to work out a lineup. The team is hoping to dodge some rain in the forecast tomorrow so it can scrimmage Stratford at Stafford Field. It's the only live tune-up the team will have before opening GNC play with a home and home series against Lakeland next week.
As for the conference, that's a bit of an unknown, simply for the reason that everyone is two years removed from their last formal varsity action.
"We've never been in a situation like this. I hardly know anything about the teams outside a couple of (then) sophomores that played two years ago for their respective teams," Waksmonski said. "After that, I don't know anything about the junior classes or the sophomore classes that are coming in this year. I know a couple of the seniors, but not all of the seniors, because so much of this senior class was basically playing JV baseball two years ago."
That being said, Waksmonski expects some of the usual suspects to be toward the top of the GNC. Antigo is still the reigning WIAA Division 2 state champion, and has a couple of starters back from its 2019 title team. But the Red Robins didn't even win the GNC that season. That distinction went to Medford, which Waksmonski said had a strong young pipeline developing before last year's cancellation. Then there's Mosinee which, despite winning the GNC only once, has the second best historical conference winning percentage.
Rhinelander should get tested early, with its home and home series with Medford scheduled for May 3 and 6, followed by a home and home with Mosinee May 11 and 14.
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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