June 14, 2021 at 1:15 p.m.
Hodag softball trounces Lakeland 14-1 in playoff opener
Hodag softball trounces Lakeland 14-1 in playoff opener
The Hodags jumped on the winless Thunderbirds early and often this past Wednesday en route to a 14-1 victory in a WIAA D2 regional quarterfinal matchup at Pioneer Park.
Seventh-seeded Rhinelander (6-14) had little trouble with the last-seeded team in the 10-team regional draw. The Hodags - which outscored Lakeland 31-2 in two regular season games this season - jumped out quickly with five runs in the first, six more in the second and finished the game in the fifth via the 10-run rule.
"We talked about before the game today don't take them lightly, go out there and do your job, let's get this game done and move on," coach D.J. DeMeyer said. "We just took advantage of everything that was given to us and maximized what we could do."
Addi DeMeyer tossed a complete-game one-hitter in victory, and had a hand in every single Lakeland putout. She struck out 13 batters and got the assist on Lakeland's two ground ball outs.
The only bit of trouble for DeMeyer came in the second as Brooklyn Bauer singled to lead off the inning and eventually scored on a wild pitch with two outs after DeMeyer loaded the bases thanks to a hit batter and a walk. She got Lexi Morgan to ground out to end the threat.
"Addi was pretty dominant. She threw the ball by them most of the time," coach DeMeyer said.
Meanwhile the Hodag offense cranked out 12 hits and took advantage of three Lakeland errors. Kylee White got things going with a bases-clearing double to drive in three runs with nobody out in the first. She later scored on a wild pitch while Haley Ives walked and came around on an Abigail Bixby single to make it 5-0 after one.
The Hodags responded after Lakeland's lone run in the second. DeMeyer led off with a double and her courtesy runner, Emily Gregesich, scored on a passed ball. Worachek, who went 4-for-4 on the day, singled and scored on a wild pitch. Maddi Roeser, Abigale Johnson and Worachek added RBI singles later in the inning as the Hodags sent 12 batters to the plate in the frame.
Roeser singled in the third and her courtesy runner, Natalie Sundby, scored when Gregesich reached on an error in the third. DeMeyer tripled and scored on a Worachek single in the fourth. Worachek scored the game's final run on a passed ball.
Pioneer farewell
Unless Rhinelander and eighth-seeded Ashland are both able to upset their way to the sectional semifinals, Wednesday's contest was the final home game for the Hodags at Pioneer Park as they get set to move to the Haug Family Softball Complex behind the Hodag Dome beginning in 2022.
"It's kind of bittersweet. We have two brand new fields going in behind the dome, but Pioneer Park's got a lot of history of fastpitch and I really like that park," coach DeMeyer said. "There's a lot of old-timers here that played a lot of ball at that field. I hope it gets to stay and the city doesn't tear it down right away so we can still play Little League (softball) there and maybe even have a varsity game there every now and then."
Antigo rematch
The Hodags were set to take on Antigo Monday in the regional semifinal round in a game that concluded after press time for this edition.
Though the Red Robins are the No. 2 seed in the bracket, the Hodags played them to a pair of one-run losses in the regular season.
The winner of Monday's game advances to Wednesday's regional final round against either third-seeded Merrill or sixth-seeded Mosinee.
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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