April 25, 2022 at 7:57 a.m.
Tomahawk twofer
Hodag baseball finally opens season with sweep of Hatchets
Tomahawk twofer
The Hodags made it a successful debut, too. A five-run sixth inning proved to be the difference as Rhinelander knocked off the Tomahawk Hatchets 10-5 in Game 1 of a doubleheader at Kahle Field. Sam Schneider drove in five runs in Game 2, while Jacksen Smith delivered a three-hit shutout as Rhinelander completed the sweep with a 10-0 victory.
Fresh off a trip to the sectional finals last season, Rhinelander entered the season with plenty to prove, as only four starters from last year's squad remain. Mother Nature delayed the start of the season by three weeks but the Hodags finally got to see their new talent in action.
"In Game 1, after our first three hitters, we had six guys with their first varsity at-bat. Not only did you have the first day outside, you had that as well in play. There were a lot of jitters in many, many ways today," Hodag coach Joe Waksmonski said. "It's a starting point and at least with the starting point we got two wins. You don't always get wins when you get outside for the first time, but we were able to find a good starting point for the season."
Opening day starter Ryan Jamison struck out eight over 4 1/3 innings, but got tagged for four runs on eight hits as Rhinelander clung to a narrow 5-4 lead after five innings in the first contest. The Hodags batted around in the sixth for some much needed insurance.
Jamison got things started with a double to left that scored Smith in the decisive rally. Sophomore Max Ratty then singled up the middle with one out to drive in Jamison. Another sophomore, Owen Kurtz, singled to keep the rally going and Ratty eventually scored when Cody Everson reached on a two-out error to second. Tyler Morrison magnified Tomahawk's mistake three pitches later with a two-run single to right that made it 10-4 for the Hodags.
"That's always great to have an answer," Waksmonski said. "They cut it to 5-4 and had us on the ropes. We got of that inning and, again, it was that second or third time through. Once our younger guys got comfortable up at the dish they had some really good at-bats and stung the ball well."
Tomahawk found holes in Rhinelander's defense early to take a 1-0 lead. Jake Kaminski singled on a flare to shallow left and scored on a Mason Evans single to right. Evans was thrown out trying to take second on the play, which loomed large as Marcus Matti singled on a grounder up the middle, Garrett Nelson reached on an infield hit and Tyler Jablonski walked to load the bases with one out. Jamison locked in from there, striking out Jacob Towel and Logan Bishop in order to end the threat.
"The first three batters I think there was one true single there and you had a couple of duck snorts - one the infield and one in the outfield," Waksmonski said. "Fortunately though, we only gave up one run in that whole situation. That was huge in that regard. We kind of figured that would be one of their best punches of the day and, to only give up one run, I thought that was huge."
Rhinelander took the lead in the third as Matti began to struggle with command on the hill for Tomahawk. Smith walked and eventually scored on a passed ball. A single by Jamison was followed by three straight walks, including a bases-loaded free pass to Kurtz that gave Rhinelander the 2-1 lead.
Rhinelander tacked on three more in the third. Freshman Seth Nofftz singled and scored on a wild pitch. Sam Schneider hit an RBI single to right and Ratty added a sacrifice fly to make it 5-1.
Jamison cruised after the rocky start, striking out seven Hatchets in a row at one point, but ran into trouble again in the fifth as Evans singled to left, Matti reached on a swinging bunt in front of home plate and Nelson hit a flare to left that loaded the bases with one out. Jablonski then doubled to right, cutting the score to 5-3 and chasing Jamison from the hill.
Senior Logan Schmoeger came on in relief and shut the door. He allowed an RBI groundout to Logan Bishop, but that was it as he did not allow a hit over the final 2 2/3 innings to get the save.
"Logan, he's a slower (pitcher), but he was able to throw strikes and keep them off balance and we made some plays behind him, but the key for Logan was he was able to throw strikes," Waksmonski said. "He was consistent within the zone. He had a lot of their hitters out on their front foot and it was great to see."
Jablonski scored on an error-aided trip around the base paths in the seventh for Tomahawk, but that was it for the Hatchets after their fifth-inning rally.
The Hodags struggled with runners in scoring position early on in Game 2 - leaving the bases loaded in the second and runners at second and third in the third - as they led 1-0. Finally, Rhinelander busted things open in the fourth.
Schmoeger got things going with a leadoff single in the fourth. Though he was erased on an AJ Turek fielder's choice, Smith walked and Kolby Ridderbusch had an infield hit after that. Jamison drew a bases-loaded walk setting the plate for Schneider, who led the team with 24 RBIs last season. The junior delivered again with a bases-clearing double to deep left center that made it 5-0.
Schneider went 4-for-4 in the second game with a pair of doubles and finished with six RBIs combined in the doubleheader.
"He had a big game and that's the difference," Waksmonski said. "When you've got runners in scoring position and Sam Schneider's up, Sam for the most part will get the job done. That starts with Jacksen Smith getting on base. He drew multiple walks today and he was always a threat on the bases, for both (Jamison) and Sam. We need those guys in the top of the order to get on base for Sam."
Schneider got to third on a Ratty fly out to right and, after Kurtz walked, sophomore James Heck and Schmoeger delivered back-to-back RBI base hits to make it 7-0.
"Eventually we were able to get the runners in scoring position in and able to hit the ball really well," Waksmonski said. "We had really good approaches. Once we kind of got an idea of what Kaminski was going to try to do on the mound, we were able to adjust and take whatever we got and hit the ball really hard."
That was plenty of run support for Smith, who scattered three hits over five innings and struck out five. Tomahawk got a runner in scoring position with less than two out in the second, third and fourth innings, but came up empty.
An infield hit and a dropped fly ball in center gave Tomahawk runners second and third with one out in the top of the fifth, but Evans rolled one back to Smith, who threw home to get Addison Peissig trying to score from third. Smith then got Matti to ground out to end the threat.
"He pitched beautifully, I thought," Waksmonski said. "Just that one inning where he got into trouble and he was able to induce that knob job right back to him and make the play at plate. Sam had a great block and then we were able to get out of the inning. Overall, I thought Jacksen pitched really well. I was impressed."
Rhinelander scored three in the bottom of the fifth to end the game via the 10-run rule. Schneider doubled in Ridderbusch and Ratty hit a single to bring Jamison home. Schneider's courtesy runner, Cody Everson, hesitated between third and home, but scored the game-clinching run when Tomahawk's throw home from right field sailed to the backstop.
Rhinelander's lineups for the two games featured eight first-time varsity players and seven of them collected at least one hit in the doubleheader. Schmoeger went 3-for-3 in the second game, Ratty collected three hits and three RBIs between the two contests, Heck added a pair of hits on the day.
"I think you could see the growth from their first at-bat to the end of Game 2," Waksmonski said. "You could see them getting comfortable and a little more confident at the plate. We've just got to build off that. It's just a progression now at this point and I thought it was a great starting point for them."
That the games were played at all was a bit of a surprise to Waksmonski. It had snowed the night before, putting Rhinelander in jeopardy of losing two more games that would have to be made up at some point next month. Yet the snow melted early Thursday morning and the teams were able to play ball in the afternoon.
"I was surprised we were able to get in today's games," Waksmonski said. "At 10 o'clock, I never would have guessed we would have been able to play but, once they said the field was good to go, we were ready to play. I know their outfield was pretty soggy to say the least and made for some interesting plays out there, but we're very thankful that we got the doubleheader in today."
Rhinelander was scheduled to make up a non-conference game at Wausau East Monday after deadline for today's edition. The Hodags hop back into GNC play with a home-and-home series against Antigo this week. Rhinelander's slated to travel to Kretz Bros. Park this afternoon, with the Red Robins making the trip to Rhinelander Friday for the Hodags' home opener at Stafford Field.
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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