May 17, 2021 at 10:46 a.m.
Hodags' comeback bid falls short in 4-1 loss to Mosinee
Hodags' comeback bid falls short in 4-1 loss to Mosinee
Unfortunately for the Hodags, though Jamison hit another hard line drive, the result was much different the second time around.
Jamison lined into an inning-ending double play, killing Rhinelander's best scoring threat and the Hodags lost to Mosinee 4-1 in a GNC contest at Stafford Field.
It was Jamison's bases-loaded two-run single in the sixth last Tuesday that sparked a late comeback win in Mosinee. On Friday, he hit a rocket that shortstop Drake Grod caught and then fired to third to double off Joe Schneider.
"That's just the name of the game. Sometimes you make the plays. Sometimes the plays go against you," Hodag baseball coach Joe Waksmonski said. "That ball was crushed. Joe had a very good secondary. He was getting ready for any type of wild pitch. The way Ryan hit that ball, in that situation, there was no way he was getting back. That's part of the game, really. Heads up play by their shortstop too because he had some plays in front of him, but he chose to make the right call and went right to third base right away. It wasn't a bang-bang play, but had he hesitated, Joe would have made it back."
For the second straight contest, Mosinee jumped on Rhinelander for three first-inning runs. This time, however, Rhinelander never got to the Indians' bullpen as Matthew Dudei struck out four for Mosinee in a complete-game two-hitter.
"You've got to give him credit for that, but I thought we took some real poor swings in hitter's counts once again - just a lot of defensive swings on 1-0 and 2-1 counts," Waksmonski said. "That's something we've been talking about for a long time and we just have to find a way to make that adjustment."
It took a little while for Joe Schneider (1-2) to settle in for the Hodags on the mound. Trevor Garski led off the game with a double to deep center and then Schneider plunked Grod and Dudei back-to-back to load the bases with nobody out. Brayden Hoen drove in a run on a single to right and Grod scored on a double play ball by Tanner Miller. Trenton Dorn, courtesy running for Dudei, scored on a wild pitch as Mosinee took a 3-0 lead.
Hoen was hit by a pitch in the third and eventually came around on a passed ball to give Mosinee at 4-0 edge.
"That's what we talked about afterward, how we're starting games out. It's not just with Mosinee this week, it's kind of been a thorn in our side the whole year how we've been starting games," Waksmonski said. "As a coaching staff. We're just trying to change the way we're warming up, change the way we're doing things and see if we can find something that will work and get us ready to go."
Rhinelander didn't get any offense going until the fourth inning as Joe and Sam Schneider both reached on errors. Ian Miller, who delivered the go-ahead RBIs in last Tuesday's win at Mosinee, broke up Dudei's shutout and no-hitter with an RBI single to right.
It remained 4-1 until the sixth when Joe Schneider doubled off the top of the fence in left center, followed by walks to Quinn Lamers and Miller, which loaded the bases for Jamison.
Schneider settled in after the third inning and needed only 88 pitches in a complete-game loss for Rhinelander. He gave up six hits and struck out five in the outing.
"He just changed his mindset is what he told me," Waksmonski said. "He was really trying to hit spots in the beginning of the game and ended up missing spots. Once he rears back and throws, he can throw the ball past anyone. Once he opened it up, he did really well."
The Hodags got a bit of a boost Friday as senior Walker Hartman returned to the lineup. Originally feared lost for the season as he recovers from a knee injury suffered playing football last November, Hartman was cleared to return to practice on Wednesday and got an at-bat as a pinch hitter in the seventh, grounding out to third base.
"It was great to see. He got a great ovation from the crowd," said Waksmonski, who noted Hartman's role will likely be limited to either first base or designated hitter as he slowly works his way back into the lineup.
The loss dropped Rhinelander into a tie for third in the GNC with Mosinee, four games back of undefeated Medford. The Hodags started a home-and-home series with Northland Pines last night in a game that concluded after deadline. Rhinelander hosts D.C. Everest in non-conference play this afternoon at Stafford Field before wrapping up the series with Northland Pines Thursday in Eagle River.
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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