May 26, 2021 at 1:22 p.m.
Hodag offense erupts in rout of Tomahawk
Hodag offense erupts in rout of Tomahawk
Rhinelander scored five more runs in the second inning and any question of whether the game would end early via the 10-run rule was answered in the third when the Hodags plate 10 runs.
Rhinelander collected 15 hits on the day and had plenty of run support for Joe Schneider (2-3) who struck out five over five innings, and faced one over the minimum until the fifth, when back-to-back one-out doubles led to Tomahawk's lone run.
"We did what we had to do today. It was a great all-around performance offensively, defensively and pitching too with Joe," Hodag coach Joe Waksmonski said.
Ian Miller and Ryan Jamison came through with back-to-back two-run singles with two out in the first inning to get the Hodags going.
"I really thought the turning point today was right away in that first inning, Ian Miller comes up with the bases loaded, two outs, we have yet to score and he clutches up with a base knock and gets us rolling," Waksmonski said. "We preach all the time about two-out RBIs in baseball. Right off the bat, all four runs in that first inning were via two-out RBI base hits."
The Hodags got RBI base hits by Quinn Lamers, Joe Schneider and Kolby Ridderbusch in the second. Walker Hartman drew a bases-loaded walk to force in another run and Sam Schneider walked and scored on a throwing error off a Miller fielder's choice.
Rhinelander loaded the bases in the third before Hartman drew another run-scoring free pass. Miller drove in another run on a single, Jamison had an RBI walk and Ridderbusch was hit by a pitch to force in another run before Tim Fox deliver a two-run single that made it 15-0. Isaac Bixby then singled home Ridderbusch, Lamers added a two-run triple and Joe Schneider hit an RBI grounder to stretch the lead to 19.
Lamers added a two-run single in the fourth that was immediately preceded by the first varsity at-bat for senior Brandon Turner, who drove in a run on a bases-loaded grounder.
"To hear the dugout behind him, it was probably the loudest they've been all year for any of their teammates. I'm sure Brandon has a great feeling after that too," Waksmonski said.
Joe Schneider cruised most of the way. His only blemish through four innings was a leadoff single to Payton Bunce in the second. Marcus Matti and Logan Bishop tagged him for back-to-back doubles with one out in the fifth as the Hatchets broke up the shutout.
"He was very efficient and the plan tonight was just to go right after their hitters," Waksmonski said. "He throws the ball hard. Even in that last inning here, he was going after their hitters and it was more or less he was hitting their bats in the right spot and they hit a couple of drives to right off of him. Then he countered with a couple of nice curveballs today and had a lot of hitters on their heels. Overall, it was an outstanding performance, I thought, for him, and a real confidence booster."
Lamers led the offensive charge for the Hodags, going 5-for-5 with a triple, five RBIs and four runs scored.
"Quinn's starting to come around. In practice, you can hear the ball's a little more consistent coming off the barrel and it's starting to show through now in games," Waksmonski said.
Bixby, Miller and Jamison each collected two hits. Miller and Jamison also had three RBIs while Joe Schneider, Hartman, Ridderbusch and Fox each drove in two runs.
Merrill game canceled
The Hodags repeated their clutch two-out hitting on Tuesday at home against Merrill, but it all went for naught as thunderstorms rolled in during the third inning, eventually forcing the non-conference game to be canceled. Waksmonski said there are no plans to reschedule the contest.
Rhinelander was up 3-0 at the time of the stoppage thanks to first-inning rally that was very similar to Monday's first-inning outburst at Tomahawk.
Hartman drew a two-out walk to keep the inning alive for Miller, who singled to center to plate the first run. Jamison then followed with a double to the right-center gap to give Rhinelander a 3-0 lead.
"We got the runners on and, again, two-out RBI hits by Ian and Ryan - big hits too. Ian's was a little blooper to center field, but he found (a hole) and Ryan's was a line shot to the gap," Waksmonski said.
Jamison had retired six of the first seven batters he faced in the game. Payton Becker reached on a two-out walk in the first before getting thrown out trying to steal second. Jamison had just allowed a single to Zach Kriegel with one out in the top of the third when the storms rolled in. He had three strikeouts to that point of the contest.
"They were taking some good swings, it was just that Jamison was keeping them off balance," Waksmonski said.
The teams tried to wait out the lightning for the better part of an hour before deciding to pull the plug on the contest.
"We were playing well and playing confidently too. It seemed like our at-bats at the plate, we felt good. Even the outs that we made, we were hitting the ball well. We didn't look overmatched in our at-bats. I wish, obviously, we could have continued the game," Waksmonski said.
Rhinelander (6-7, 6-3 Great Northern) was scheduled to wrap up a two-game series with Tomahawk yesterday afternoon at Stafford Field before embarking on the final week of the regular season.
The Hodags host Antigo this coming Tuesday, then will play two at home against Wisconsin Rapids on Thursday before finishing up at Antigo next Friday.
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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