June 30, 2022 at 8:46 a.m.
Babe Ruth Roundup
Rhinelander downs Tomahawk, keeps pace in Prep League
Babe Ruth Roundup
The win moved Rhinelander to 8-1 in the league, keeping the Hodags one-half game ahead of Crandon in the league ahead of the teams' scheduled meeting Thursday in Crandon.
Rhinelander slowly chipped away at Tomahawk in the contest. Conner Rappley singled and scored on a two-out base hit by Abe Gretzinger in the first to put the Hodags on the board. Sawyer Bishop led off the second with a base hit, stole second, got to third on a wild pitch and scored on a Josh Willoughby single. Willoughby later scored thanks to a combination of two wild pitches and an error.
Landon Webster and Ryley Hull both walked and scored in the third with the help of some Tomahawk miscues. Webster scored on a wild pitch, and Hull came around when Tomahawk made a throwing error on a pick-off attempt.
Three more runs in the fifth gave Rhinelander plenty of breathing room. Aiden Lueder doubled, stole third and scored on a passed ball. Bishop and Willoughby both walked and scored on wild pitches to make it 8-0.
Meanwhile, three Rhinelander pitchers combined to allow one hit and strikeout 13 Tomahawk batters. Bishop got the win, pitching the first three innings, allowing the only hit with five strikeouts. Gretzinger fanned five in two innings of relief and worked around a leadoff walk in the fifth to keep the Hatchets scoreless. Lueder put the first two batters he faced aboard via a hit batter and a walk in the sixth, but then struck out three in a row.
The game ended after six innings due to the Prep League's two-hour time limit.
Rhinelander plays at St. Germain next Wednesday and then host Lakeland next Thursday in the final week of regular season play.
Rhinelander Green fades late in rematch with Lakeland Black
One bad inning came back to bite Rhinelander Green is its second-place battle with Lakeland Black in Senior League play.
The T-Birds scored seven runs in the sixth inning and defeated the Hodags 8-5 in Monday's nightcap at Stafford Field.
Alex Rappley breezed through five innings, allowing only an unearned run in the first, but walked the leadoff batter in the sixth and was relieved on the hill by Oscar Hanson, who struggled with command. Hanson hit back-to-back batters before Tony Stella hit a two-run single to tie the game. From there, another wild pitch, two more walks and a hit batter made it 5-3 Lakeland with one out and ended Hanson's time on the bump. Kaden Vanney came in after that, but a walk, a passed ball and a throwing error allowed three more runs to score before Vanney finally ended the inning with a pair of strikeouts.
Sam Schoppe lined into a double play, ending a Rhinelander rally in the sixth and the Hodags had life in the seventh as the first three batters to the inning walked. Kaden Vanney hit into an RBI fielder's choice and Connor Augustine grounded out to drive in a run to make it 8-5, but Alex Rappley struck out swinging to end the game.
Rhinelander took the lead back in the third inning. Kaden Vanney and Augustine both singled to get Rhinelander's rally going. Vanney beat a throw home on a Rappley grounder to tie the game and Owen Ives drove in Augustine on a ground out to first. Rappley came around to make it 3-1 when Johnny Turek reached on a two-out error.
Rappley struck out all, and allowed two runs on three hits over five-plus innings of work. Hanson took the loss while Kaden Vanney struck out three in 1 1/3 innings of relief.
Augustine went 3-for-4 at the plate with a triple as Rhinelander Green outhit Lakeland Black, 5-4.
Rhinelander Green was at Lakeland Gray Thursday in a game that concluded after deadline and returns home this coming Tuesday to face Three Lakes.
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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