July 15, 2021 at 9:01 a.m.
Snowhawks rally to beat Dazzle's Demons in 10 innings, 19-18
Snowhawks rally to beat Dazzle's Demons in 10 innings, 19-18
By By Brett LaBore-
It took to the 10th inning, but the Snowhawks defeated Rhinelander-based Dazzle's Demons 19-18 on Monday night.
"That was probably top three of all the comebacks, of all exciting games," coach Jeff Smith said. "From the ball players and fans, everybody got their money's worth . It was a barnburner and really something to play in a game like that."
The Snowhawks had all the momentum after scoring five runs in the bottom of the ninth to tie it. They shut down the Demons for a one-two-three inning in the tenth. Coming to bat, Todd Niemuth and Paul Miller singled to eventually put runners on second and third. With the infield in, Derek Young hit a deep fly to right field that scored the game-winning run.
"That was awesome," Smith said. "(Derek) hit a real nice ball, a nice line drive. We couldn't be happier for him."
Dazzle's Demons came out swinging - literally. They came out with four straight hits starting with a Tommy Ziemba double to deep left. Then, Zach Furtak hit a slow RBI single up the middle, one of his four hits on the day. Later on, Benny Ives hit a deep ball to right field that was dropped, causing two runs to score.
By the end of the inning, Dazzle's Demons had the maximum five runs scored.
The Snowhawks went down in order in the bottom of the first as Dazzle's Demons looked to tack on a few more in the second.
Moving to the bottom of the second, the Snowhawks found a little spark with two outs. Jacob Hodgens hit an infield RBI single to shortstop that scored a run. Next, Ryan Schowalter smoked a liner to third base that scored another run. Dazzle's still led 5-3 after two.
"Overall (the hitting) was really good. Everyone came through at one time or another that helped," Smith said. "It was truly a team effort on this one."
Dazzle's Demons increased their lead in the top of the fourth. Jordan Schmidt singled to right to drive in a run as did Eric Hasselberger. Two batters later, Randy Robinson singled to shallow right with the bases loaded to score a run. They were up 9-4 now but did leave the bases loaded.
"That's a great team. They've always given us a battle. They have three-four guys that used to be on our team," Smith said. "I can't say nothing more about that team. They're a good team and we really enjoy playing them every year."
In the bottom of the fourth, the Snowhawks had two runners on with singles. That's when Young delivered the big blow with a three-run inside-the-park home run to deep center that kept on rolling. It was a 9-7 game now as Dazzle's Demons continued to lead.
The seventh inning got crazy with a total of seven runs scoring from both teams.
First, Jesse Robinson singled to score a run for the Demons. Ives added to that with a bloop single just over Smith that scored two. Nate Schmidt doubled to deep right that plated another. All of this happened with two outs in the inning.
The Snowhawks retaliated when Schowalter reached base and drove in a run on a dropped catch. Billy Kuckahn added in an RBI. Dazzle's Demons still led 14-11.
Lots of runs scored with two outs. The trend continued in the bottom of the eighth. Brent Cella hit a liner and he ended up on third base with an RBI by the end of it. Then, Niemuth smacked a single up the middle to make it a 14-13 game. The Snowhawks had cut the lead to one.
Once again there was drama, this time in the top of the ninth inning with two outs. Drew Wallschlaeger ended up reaching first on a bobble by third baseman Smith that extended the inning. After a couple of hits, Nate Schmidt had the hit of the game. He hit a grand slam down the right field line over the fence. Dazzle's Demons had some breathing room and led 18-13.
"When they hit that grand slam, that almost let the air out of the balloon right there," Smith said. "There was a lot of talking and regrouping (after that)."
Back came the Snowhawks. They rallied and racked up hit after hit after hit which included help from Dazzle's Demons with a few bobbles and drops in play.
A rare walk drawn by Smith loaded the bases down 18-16. That's when Don Moore hit a peculiar sacrifice fly. One run scored and then all of a sudden a second run scampered home to tie the game.
"We didn't let (the grand slam) get us down, cause we were putting guys on base too," Smith said. "We took advantage of errors they were committing. Once we got a couple men on, it kind of changed. Things worked out, hit after hit."
It was the first time the Snowhawks weren't trailing since it was 0-0 in the first. That's not all. Cole Punches seemed to have the winning hit down the right field line when right fielder Ives made a diving catch to preserve the tie and send the game to extras.
"That was one heck of a game," Dazzle's Demons posted in its Facebook page afterward. "Even though we lost a heartbreaker tonight against the Lake Tomahawk Snowhawks, we had an absolute blast!
"Thank you Lake Tomahawk Snowshoe Baseball and Jeff Smith for the opportunity to play this game every summer! Thank you Bucketheads Sports Bar and Grill for sponsoring us! Thank you Vital Industries Screen Printing & Embroidery for the awesome jerseys! And thank you to our awesome fans - without you these games would be nowhere near as fun."
The Demons had held a fundraiser last week ahead of the game, celebrating the 60th anniversary of Snowshoe Baseball in Lake Tomahawk. According to the team's Facebook page the event, held at Bucketheads, raised more than $6,000 with proceeds going to the Northwoods Alliance for Temporary Housing, Tri-County Council on Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault and the Rhinelander Area Food Pantry.
The Snowhawks welcome the Minocqua Wood Ducks this coming Monday. First pitch is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
Brett LaBore may be reached at [email protected] or [email protected].
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