May 20, 2021 at 9:18 a.m.
Change of fortune
Hodag softball snaps out of 7-game skid with Three Lakes rout, Mosinee upset
Change of fortune
The Hodags snapped out of a seven-game losing streak in a big way on Monday with a 19-0 rout of Three Lakes in non-conference play and then came home Tuesday to deliver the signature win of the season.
Addi DeMeyer struck out 10 over seven innings and the Hodags gave her some early run support as they upset Mosinee 6-1 at Pioneer Park.
"I said yesterday I thought we were playing better," coach D.J. DeMeyer said. "I didn't know what I was going to get today. Warmups didn't look that good, but we kept the same lineup and, I don't think we had an error today defensively. We had a couple running errors, but maybe this team is starting to gel."
The win was Rhinelander's first over Mosinee since sweeping a doubleheader from the Indians on May 20, 2014 and shot the Hodags into fourth place in the GNC standings.
"Seven years, I think," coach DeMeyer said referencing his tenure with RHS softball which, until Tuesday, did not include a win over the perennial GNC powers. "It feels good. It feels really good."
Rhinelander took advantage of some uncharacteristic Mosinee mistakes to jump out to a 6-0 lead through three innings and held on from there as Mosinee stranded 11 base runners in the contest.
Annika Johnson reached on an error to lead off the second inning, moved to second on a passed ball and to third on a wild pitch before scoring on a Kylee White single. Maddi Roeser singled later in the inning and Haley Ives was hit by a pitch before Chloe Felde doubled to the right-center gap with two outs to put the Hodags ahead 3-0.
The Hodags had runners at second and third with one out in the third, thanks to an Addi DeMeyer single, Hannah Worachek getting hit by a pitch and an Annika Johnson sacrifice. White then had a swinging bunt up along the first base line that scored DeMeyer. Worachek also scored on the play as pitcher Adeline Strejc misfired to first, attempting to make a throw from her knees.
White got to second on a wild pitch and then scored on an Abigail Bixby double to the left center gap.
"Chloe had the big double to get us going," coach DeMeyer said. "I tell you, when it was 3-0, I'm like 'Addi, if you just throw strikes, I think we're all right.' She was blowing it by them quite a bit early in the game. They were pulling her a little bit (later) so I had to start changing the speeds a little bit."
Mosinee's only run came in the sixth as Hailey Shnowske singled and came around three batters later on a base knock by pinch hitter Brenna Bembenek. Addi DeMeyer walked seven in the game - including a couple of free passes that helped to load the bases for Mosinee with one out in the sixth - but she got Lexi Freiboth to foul out and Zoe Gburek to pop out to end the threat before sitting down Mosinee in order in the seventh to close out the game.
Rhinelander had to wiggle out of a few jams in the game as Mosinee went a combined 1-for-9 with runners in scoring position. DeMeyer loaded the bases with one out in the first thanks to a hit batter and a pair of walks in the first, but the Hodags cut down the lead runner at the plate on a Tristan Wicklund grounder back to the circle and DeMeyer then struck out Shnowske to end the threat. Back-to-back strikeouts of Alanna Bembenek and Wicklund got the Hodags out of a second-and-third jam in the third. Ives then made a heads-up play in the fifth with two on and two out, grabbing Wicklund's roller up the first base line just before it rolled foul. Ives then stepped on the bag to get Rhinelander out of the inning.
"Addi tightened up the belt. She buckled down and our defense, there was a couple of pop-ups and grounders that we made to get out of innings. It was a total team effort," coach DeMeyer said. "We just made the plays that were in front of us, what I've talked about all season long. Annika Johnson had a nice running catch. It's what I've been begging for all season and it finally showed up this game."
White, Bixby and Roeser each collected two hits as Rhinelander outhit Mosinee 9-4 in the contest.
Rhinelander 19, Three Lakes 0
The Hodags emphatically broke back into the win column Monday as they pounded out 17 hits in a 19-0 rout of Three Lakes.
"The girls played well," coach DeMeyer said. "I understand that Three Lakes is a young team too. Talking to their coach, he said they're a young team, a little inexperienced. We were able to hit the ball and take advantage of some of their throwing errors and errors in the field and get a good win that we needed."
Rhinelander jumped on the Bluejays for five runs in the top of the first and never looked back. The Hodags tacked on three more in the second, 10 runs in the third and one more in the fourth.
Addi DeMeyer and Bixby combined to strike out 10 batters in a one-hit shutout. Emily LeBuis singled off DeMeyer with one out in the second inning. The Bluejays had only two other base runners the entire contest.
The Hodags had five different players - Worachek, Annika Johnson, Bixby, Roeser and Ives - collect three RBIs on the day while DeMeyer led the hit parade going 4-for-4 at the plate. Abigale Johnson, Annika Johnson, Bixby, Ives and Felde all had two hits each.
Annika Johnson had a two-run single, Bixby hit a sacrifice fly and Ive had a two-run single as part of the opening inning. Roeser added a two-run single in the third and Worachek cleared the bases with a hit that drove in the final three runs of the inning.
In the Three Lakes game, the Hodags changed their defensive alignment. It was a move that carried over to Tuesday's game against Mosinee.
"We changed up the lineup defensively, put Annika Johnson out in center, put Haley Ives at first and started Kayla Tessman in right with (Abigale) Johnson hitting for her," coach DeMeyer said. "We didn't have a lot of hard-hit balls to the outfield, but the girls seemed to respond to it."
Up next
The Hodags were scheduled to play at Northland Pines yesterday in Great Northern Conference play and will be home tomorrow to take on Tomahawk in a GNC doubleheader.
"They're going to hit the ball," coach DeMeyer said. "They're going to field the ball and they're going to have a solid pitcher. It will be tough on Saturday."
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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