July 6, 2021 at 8:01 a.m.
Babe Ruth Roundup
Rhinelander Gray rallies for walk-off win
Babe Ruth Roundup
Mason Schmidt drove in the tying run, and then scored the winning run following a throwing error as the Hodags scored four times in their last at-bat to defeat Crandon 8-7 at Stafford Field in Northwoods Babe Ruth Prep League play.
The fireworks came in the sixth, the last inning played due to the Prep League's two-hour time limit. The bases were loaded with two out for Schmidt before a wild pitch allowed Kade Tessman to score, cutting Crandon's lead to 7-5.
The wild pitch allowed Cyrus Leisure and Zach Webster to move into scoring position and Schmidt brought them both home with a single to tie the game at 7.
Schmidt was stealing second as Hunter Bell hit a single to right. That allowed Schmidt to go from first to third on the play and, when the throw into third sailed wide into foul territory, Schmidt stood up from his slide and trotted in to score the winning run.
It was the only point in the entire contest that Rhinelander Gray led. Crandon jumped on Rhinelander for two runs in the top of the first. The Hodags answered back with two in the bottom of the inning on RBI singles by Dylan VanderBunt and Ben Olson, but Crandon took the lead with a run in the second and added to it with three runs in the fourth inning.
Rhinelander got two back in the bottom of the fourth as VanderBunt walked and scored on Caiden Sieker's double. Sieker later scored on a wild pitch to cut Crandon's lead to 6-4. The Cardinals tacked on one more in the fifth before the Hodags went to their bullpen, bringing in Schmidt, who struck out all four batters he faced in 1 1/3 innings of work to pick up the win.
The top five in Rhinelander's batting order - Schmidt, Bell, VanderBunt, Sieker and Olson - accounted for the Hodags' five hits. VanderBunt started and went three innings on the mound, allowing three unearned runs on a hit with no walks and four strikeouts. Dolan O'Malley pitched 1 2/3 innings in relief, giving up four runs on a hit with seven walks and a strikeout.
Rhinelander Gray (4-4) returns home this evening take on Tomahawk. The Hodags have lost both games against the Hatchets so far this season.
Rhinelander Green blasts Tomahawk
Rhinelander Green jumped on Tomahawk early in the nightcap of Thursday's Babe Ruth doubleheader. The Hodags scored three runs in the bottom of the first and never looked back, cruising to a 15-2 victory in Senior League play.
Already up 7-0 after three innings, the Hodags put the nail in winless Tomahawk's coffin with eight runs in the fourth. Johnny Turek had an RBI single as the first four batters of the inning reached safely and Dresden Klaver drove in a run on a groundout.
After Connor Augustine walked to load the bases, Adrian Patrone drew a walk to force in a run and two runs scored after A.J. Turek wound up on second following a pair of errors on a ground ball to the right side of the infield.
Sam Schneider then drove in two with a double and Tyler Morrison tacked on an RBI single to make it 15-0.
Tomahawk was able to get a couple of unearned runs off reliever Johnny Turek in the fifth, but did not score enough to prevent the game from ending via the 10-run rule.
Alex Rappley pitched four innings of shutout baseball, only allowing an infield hit to Jacob Riemer in the fourth. Rappley struck out six and walked three to earn the win.
Offensively, the Hodags pounded out eight hits in the contest as the trio of Schneider, Owen Kurtz and Morrison went a combined 6-for-7 with 8 RBIs.
Rhinelander led 3-0 after one inning as Schneider singled to score Patrone and Morrison doubled home Schneider before scoring himself on a wild pitch. Cody Everson reached on an error and scored on a wild pitch in the second and the Hodags tacked on three more in the third as Schneider drew a bases-loaded walk before Kurtz hit a two-run single.
Rhinelander Green (3-2-1) was at Senior League-leading Lakeland Gray on Monday and is back home tomorrow night to face Lakeland Black.
Laser Pros drops two
Rhinelander's other Senior League team, Laser Pros International, fell to 2-3-1 on the season with a 11-1 loss at Lakeland Gray on Wednesday and a 20-3 loss at Crandon on Thursday. Laser Pros hosts back-to-back games at Stafford Field this week, facing Eagle River on Wednesday and Lakeland Gray again on Thursday.
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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