June 21, 2021 at 8:56 a.m.
Waksmonski: 'Not a lot to lose' for Hodags in sectionals
Waksmonski: 'Not a lot to lose' for Hodags in sectionals
As the Hodags get set to take on Seymour this morning in a sectional semifinal contest in Wrightstown, skipper Joe Waksmonski said he hopes his team plays like it has nothing to lose.
"There's not a lot to lose," he said. "We weren't expected to get this far and you're kind of playing with house money at this point. I just hope that we're able to play relaxed baseball, but still be focused and understand the situation. You're only in this situation so many times in your life. We just want to be there, give it our best performance, our best shot and, hopefully, that's going to be good enough."
On paper, Rhinelander could be viewed as the underdog, as its 11-10 overall record is the worst among the four teams in Wrightstown today vying for a spot in next week's WIAA D2 state tournament in Little Chute.
Yet the Hodags could be buoyed by the fact that they just defeated a Shawano team that had defeated Seymour (17-7) twice during the regular season.
The win over Shawano afforded the team a few more days of practice, which the team put to good use. On Friday, Hodag baseball alum Bryce Schickert was at practice to provide the team's batters with an important look at left-handed pitching. The team saw three lefties at Shawano and could face another southpaw today against the Thunder.
Aside from that, Waksmonski said practice leading into sectionals has been about fine-tuning what the Hodags do defensively.
"Really we're just focusing on some real fundamental stuff - really breaking down ground balls and fly balls and talking about communication, the fly ball priorities, all those good things," he said. "Then we got into reviewing the first-and-third and the bunt coverages and all that stuff and be ready to go for Tuesday."
In the meantime, Waksmonski was doing all he could to get some reconnaissance on Seymour ahead of today's contest. The Thunder come in hot, having won 15 of their last 17 games following a 2-5 start.
"I've been trying some of my channels, my connections to see if I can get any information," Waksmonski said. "I hope to hear back from some in the next day or two. Otherwise, it hasn't been too much outside of looking to see who they've played, who they've beaten, who they've lost too. Shawano beat them twice, at the same time though, they're the only team that's beaten Denmark."
The win against Denmark, ranked No. 1 in the latest Wisconsin Baseball Coaches Association D2 poll, is the signature victory on Seymour's resume. Otherwise, Seymour and Rhinelander shared only three common opponents. Shawano swept the regular season series from Seymour 5-3 and 3-1. The Thunder also played a non-conference triangular in Antigo May 22, defeating Antigo 9-4 and D.C. Everest 7-6. The Hodags went a combined 3-2 against those teams this season.
As for who the Hodags may face on the mound, according to stats compiled by the River News, Seymour has two pitching options they have leaned on heavily late in the season in righty Jacob Woldt (7-1, 1.49 ERA, 51 2/3 IP) and lefty Brett Tetzlaff (4-2, 2.98 ERA, 40 IP). Javon Leisgang and Tyse Leisgang have also seen more than 20 innings on the hill this year.
Rhinelander will face a hot Seymour offense that has batted .385 over its last 10 games and is hitting .321 overall on the season. The Thunder have five players hitting .350 or better, including Tetzlaff (.411, 12 RBIs), Mason Dorn (.386, 15 RBIs), Will DeBruin (.366, 3 HR, 22 RBIs), Aiden Linsmeyer (.359), 18 RBIs) and Javon Leisgang (.351, HR, 13 RBIs).
The winner of the Rhinelander-Seymour game will stick around to take on the winner of the Denmark-Winneconne sectional semifinal later Tuesday afternoon for the right to go to state. Waksmonski said he's already tried to do a little scouting on Denmark (27-1), the favorite in the second sectional semifinal game.
"With them, we know they're a solid lineup," he said. "They're the type of lineup where 1 through 9 there's not a weak spot in that lineup and then they have a couple of decent arms too as well. They are as advertised coming into the year. They had some preseason all-state candidates going into the year and they've performed as such. That's kind of more or less the team you're preparing for. I guess if Winneconne (14-8) upset them, it wouldn't hurt our feelings none, but we'll deal with that when we get there."
As for how Rhinelander manages its pitching, expect ace Isaac Bixby to get the call in the Seymour game. While there is a school of thought to perhaps save a No. 1 pitcher for a sectional final, Waksmonski said you have to make sure you get there first.
"I don't know what Seymour's going to do. I just know that we play a whole lot better when Isaac Bixby's on the mound," he said. "I think, right now, that's the gut instinct of where we're going to go. It could change between now and Tuesday, but that's kind of the gut and we'll see how it goes, but I know you want to ride the guy that brought you there."
Rhinelander is seeking its third trip to the WIAA state baseball tournament and first since 2003. The Hodags also made it to state in 1996.
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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