June 14, 2021 at 1:16 p.m.
Hodag baseball falls to Stratford on walk-off double
Hodag baseball falls to Stratford on walk-off double
Cameron Dahl hit a walk-off double as Stratford rallied for five runs over the final two innings to defeat the Hodags 7-6. Up 5-0 after two innings and 6-2 after five, the Hodags ran out of steam on a sweltering day in Stratford.
"We certainly weren't lacking for opportunities here in this ball game to kind of put them away," Hodag baseball coach Joe Waksmonski said. "To be up 5-0 and wind up losing this game 7-6 is pretty disheartening - especially considering we had all kinds of opportunities early on to put it away. It felt like we kind of got our foot off the gas pedal a little bit and started coasting."
Dahl, who went 2-for-3 with 3 RBIs in the game faced a 3-2 pitch with two outs and the bases loaded in the bottom of the seventh. He turned around Quinn Lamers' fastball deep into the left-center gap to plate the tying and winning runs.
"You have to throw a strike there," Waksmonski said. "You're not going to try to throw a pitch where the hitter's going to be chasing in that situation. When you get in that spot, you've got to throw him a pitch and see what happens. Unfortunately, the kid hit a double."
Rhinelander looked to be in command after plating five runs in the second inning, aided by a pair of Stratford errors. Walker Hartman walked and scored on a throwing error that allowed Kolby Ridderbusch to reach base, Ryan Jamison followed with an RBI singles before Devyn Orth reached on an error that scored Ridderbusch. Jamison came around on an Isaac Bixby grounder and Joe Schneider doubled home Orth to round out the scoring.
The major turning point appeared to take place in the fifth inning after the Hodags loaded the bases with nobody out. Ridderbusch hit a sacrifice fly to plate Sam Schneider and make it 6-2. Stratford then went to the bullpen and brought in lefty Braeden Schneller who got two called strikeouts to end the threat. Schneller did not allow a hit the rest of the way as he picked up the win.
"They made the pitching change and we haven't seen too many lefties this year for whatever reason," Waksmonski said. "You hate to use that as an excuse, but it just seemed like once they put in a left-hander, it seemed like our guys got real flustered at the plate and they were uncomfortable."
Orth cruised through five innings on the mound for Rhinelander, allowing only two runs on four hits to that point - but a leadoff single in the sixth by Kale Weisenberger followed by an RBI triple to right by Riley Bauman cut the lead to 6-3 and ended Orth's time on the hill. Lamers came in and gave up an RBI infield hit to second by Max Vanderhof that made it 6-4. Vanderhof later scored on a Tristan Wirkus grounder to make it a one-run game.
"You've got to give Stratford credit in that situation," Waksmonski said. "They just kept battling and their hitters seemed like they just kept getting stronger and stronger with each and every at-bat."
Lamers struck out Colton Schillinger to lead off the seventh, but then walked Hunter Ford and gave up a double to Weisenberger to put the tying and winning runs in scoring position with one out. The Hodags elected to intentionally walk Bauman to load the bases. The call worked for one batter as Lamers made a diving stop on the mound on a sharply-hit grounder by Vanderhof and made the throw home to throw out the potential tying run.
Stratford outhit Rhinelander 9-6 in the contest. Orth allowed four runs on six hits with five strikeouts over five-plus innings in a no-decision. Lamers took the loss, allowing three runs on three hits over 1 2/3 innings.
Rhinelander (9-10) opens up WIAA tournament play against Antigo this afternoon. The Robins cruised past Tomahawk 16-2 Thursday in a regional quarterfinal contest. The winner of today's game either travels to Shawano or hosts Clintonville tomorrow.
"We have things to talk about and things to correct. Once you get to the postseason, you get one little mistake or one big inning and that's your season," Waksmonski said.
All-Conference
The top four players in Rhinelander's batting order all received All-Great Northern Conference recognition last week.
Bixby, Lamers and Sam Schneider took home first-team honors at pitcher, infielder and utility player, respectively. Sam Schneider was also named a second-team outfielder and Joe Schneider received honorable mention as a catcher.
Bixby led the GNC with 51 strikeouts, was tied four second in wins (5) and was fourth in ERA (2.15). Lamers was tops in the GNC in both batting average (.500) and runs scored (19) while finishing second in RBIs (14). Sam and Joe Schneider each drove in 11 runs in conference play while hitting .342 and .357, respectively.
Medford swept player and coach of the year honors with Caleb Guden and Justin Hraby.
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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