April 26, 2021 at 9:12 a.m.
RHS pitchers sharp in scrimmage vs. Stratford
RHS pitchers sharp in scrimmage vs. Stratford
The Hodags got six pitchers one inning of work each as they scrimmaged Stratford at Stafford Field.
Weather conditions were not ideal, as a cold rain set in late in the two-hour session. Hodag coach Joe Waksmonski said, in a perfect scenario, he would have liked to have had two more innings to give a couple more pitchers some work, but he was grateful for what the teams were able to accomplish.
"It think it's extremely valuable to get live at-bats for our hitters, and for our pitchers to experience that competition basically, the one-on-one matchup, pitcher vs. hitter," he said. "That's kind of the big deal right there."
The scrimmage played out much like a normal game with two notable exceptions. Teams batted for two consecutive innings before switching sides and teams could bat everyone on their roster, instead of flipping back to the top of the order after the ninth batter. No official score was kept, but Rhinelander outscored Stratford 9-3, according to stats compiled by the River News.
Overall, the Hodag pitching staff looked sharp, combining to allow three runs on four hits over six innings with four walks and eight strikeouts.
Senior Isaac Bixby, who enters the season as Rhinelander's most experienced pitcher, struck out the side in the first inning. Junior Joe Schneider walked two and struck out two in the second and eventually worked his way out of a bases-loaded jam unscathed.
Senior Quinn Lamers allowed a run in the third after hitting the leadoff batter and allowing him to score on a wild pitch. Ryan Jamison and Devyn Orth worked scoreless innings in the fifth and the sixth. Jordan Kuczmarski gave up a two-run double in the sixth, after walking the first two batters of the inning.
"When our pitchers are throwing strikes and getting strikeouts we look pretty good," Waksmonski said. "At the same time, too, there were a couple of plays that we made defensively that, if worse comes to worse and we have to make a defensive play, we can. There were a couple of miscues here and there, but that's kind of to be expected - especially in this weather and early season."
Offensively, the Hodags managed only five hits, but had some timely plate appearances - eight of the nine runs they scored came with two outs. The team also took advantage of nine Stratford walks.
That trend started in the first as Sam Schneider hit an RBI single up the middle, scoring Lamers. Rhinelander didn't score again until the fourth as Bixby led off with a walk and Joe Schneider singled to right. Both eventually came around on wild pitches.
Ben Sinclair and Tim Fox both walked with two outs in the fifth. Kolby Ridderbusch then doubled to right center, allowing Sinclair to score. Fox also scored on the play after the ball was mishandled in the outfield.
Lamers drew a bases loaded walk in the sixth to force in a run before Jamison delivered a two-run single to right. Lamers eventually came around on an wild pitch to round out the scoring.
"That's going to be one of our approaches the next week or so as we get into our regular games, just talking about our approach at the plate, having a plan and what we want to see and trying to find a way to get on base," Waksmonski said.
Rhinelander is scheduled to open the regular season this afternoon at Lakeland.
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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