June 15, 2022 at 11:36 a.m.
Rhinelander outduels Crandon 1-0
Rebels to host five-team invite this weekend
Rhinelander outduels Crandon 1-0
Ryan Jamison pitched five scoreless inning and drove in what proved to be the game's only run in the third inning as he and the Rhinelander Post 7 Rebels outdueled Curtis Paschen and Crandon Post 94, 1-0.
Pitching and defense was the name of the game for both teams. Rhinelander outhit Crandon 5-4, there were only five walks between the two pitching staffs and neither team committed an error. Junior-to-be Max Ratty worked the final two innings scoreless for a hard-earned save.
"Jamo and Max threw an excellent ballgame, another shutout," Rebels manager Dan Huhnstock said. "I don't think our starting pitching has gave up an earned run yet. We've been very blessed to have absolutely terrific starting pitching this year. Hopefully we can build on that and excellent defense behind them. It's a recipe for winning games."
The game's lone run came on a two-out rally in the third inning as Isaac Bixby singled, stole second, took third on a wild pitch and came around when Jamison drove a ball through the left side of the infield for a base hit.
"Bix got on, we stole him and punched one through," Huhnstock said.
Jamison worked out of a two-on, no-out jam in the bottom half of the inning by fanning Maverik Mayer, getting Match Schallhorn to ground into a fielder's choice and inducing an inning-ending grounder from Caden Palubicki.
The only other time Crandon got a run into scoring position came in the fifth as Mason Mullins doubled to center, but Jamison struck out Mayer and Schallhorn back-to-back to end the threat.
Jamison scattered three hits, walked three and struck out five in five innings of work. He sat at 73 pitches when the Rebels made the switch to Ratty in the sixth. Huhnstock said that was the plan all along.
"He's been throwing an awful lot of pitches since the end of the high school season and the start of legion season. He's been our horse," Huhnstock said. "Our plan was to get him about 75 pitches, that ballpark, and then go with Max. The gameplan worked."
Ratty worked around a two-out single by Cole Shepherd in the sixth and then got some help from his defense in the seventh. After walking Cruz Palubicki to start the inning, Kruz Kuklinski ground into a double play to short and Mullins hit a soft line out to first to end the game.
"In a 1-0 game, to get that double play ball, it takes the life out of the other team. They are huge," Huhnstock said. "Joey Schneider played a fantastic shortstop tonight. We're just making plays."
The Rebels had runners in scoring position four times in the game, but were only able to strike in the third. Bixby got to second after walking in the first, but Ryan Schunk made a diving grab on a Sam Schneider line drive to right to retire the side and save a run. Schneider flew out to right again in the sixth after Jamison singled and stole second. Ratty was thrown out trying to leg a double into a triple to lead off the seven. Owen Kurtz doubled behind that, but a strikeout by Adrian Patrone and a ground out by sophomore-to-be Seth Nofftz in his first Legion at-bat ended the threat.
Paschen took a tough-luck loss for Crandon, allowing a run on five hits with five strikeouts over seven innings.
Rhinelander (4-0, 3-0 GNLC) was scheduled to host Crandon (1-6, 0-3 GNLC) Wednesday night, though that game was in question as of press time due to the threat of severe thunderstorms.
The Rebels are gearing up to play four more games this weekend as they host their annual invitational at Stafford Field. It begins with a game against Fond du Lac Springs tonight. The Rebels will play Everest and Clintonville tomorrow and then close out the tournament against Merrill on Sunday.
"Good quality games with a weekend of real solid ball," Huhnstock said. "I expect that we will learn a lot. We'll learn who's bought in completely. It will determine a lot on playing time rotation the rest of the year, how well we perform this weekend and how well everyone gels together as a team."
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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