May 5, 2022 at 7:38 a.m.
Jamison, Hodags shut down Lakeland
Jamison, Hodags shut down Lakeland
Ryan Jamison struck out 12 batters over six innings and drove in a pair of runs at the plate as Rhinelander shut out Lakeland 3-0 at Stafford Field.
Kolby Ridderbusch worked a perfect seventh inning to earn a save for the Hodags (4-2, 3-2 Great Northern) as the Hodag pitching staff combined to fan 14 T-Bird batters.
Jamison (2-1), who took a tough-luck loss last Wednesday in a 1-0 defeat at Antigo, was on form again as he gets more comfortable in the Hodags' No. 1 pitching role. He has allowed only three earned runs and has now struck out 26 in 16 1/3 innings over three starts this spring.
"He kind of stepped into that role as the ace of our staff right now, with Joe (Schneider) obviously being hurt," Hodag coach Joe Waksmonski said. "We needed him to do that and Ryan, without a doubt (has done that). I had a feeling he would do it, but he's kind of exceeded our expectations just a little bit too."
The Hodags outdueled Lakeland's Zack Peterson, who struck out nine over six innings. Rhinelander got two runs off of him in the third inning and one more in the fifth.
Junior AJ Turek got the rally going in the third with a leadoff double and got to third as Seth Nofftz struck out on a pitch in the dirt. Jacksen Smith then singled up the middle to bring in the game's first run. Two batters later, Jamison stung the ball to the left-center gap, past Lakeland's shallow outfield, to give the Hodags a 2-0 lead.
Jamison came through again in the fifth after Smith reached on a leadoff error. Smith got to second on a wild pitch and to third on a grounder by Ridderbusch. Jamison ripped a hot shot to second past Lakeland's drawn-in infield to extend the lead to three.
"When those situations come up with a runner in scoring position, we need him to execute and he definitely did there tonight," Waksmonski said.
The run support was enough for Jamison, who scattered five hits, including three to Lakeland cleanup man Will Fortier. Lakeland got runners to second and third with less than two out in the second, but Jamison fanned Josh Wagendorf and Will Bronoski back to back to get out of the jam. The T-Birds also stranded a pair of runners against Jamison in the fourth and sixth innings.
"They had a couple of chances but he just beared down and showed incredible poise and command in those situations," Waksmonski said. "We saw some things in their swings that we felt we could attack and exploit a little bit. Kudos to Ryan for being able to execute. It's one thing to see something in a swing. It's another thing for a pitcher to execute and Ryan was able to execute throughout the zone - up, down, in and out - all night long."
The Hodags outhit the T-Birds 6-5 in the contest. Sophomore Max Ratty collected a pair of hits for Rhinelander, bringing his early-season batting average to an even .500 (7-for-14).
"He seems like one of those guys that, he'll just go up to the dish and he's able to put the barrel on the ball," Waksmonski said. "He just has that special type of skill. It doesn't always look pretty, but he's just able to put a barrel on a ball and, sometimes that skill is the most important."
Still the Hodag offense, which plated 33 runs in its first three games, did not exactly break out of its recent funk. Rhinelander has scored only four times in its last three games, and the left-handed Peterson kept Lakeland (1-9, 1-6 Great Northern) in Monday's contest.
"I thought Zack pitched well, especially early on," Waksmonski said. "He came right after our hitters and, for whatever reason, we just did seem ready - a lot of swings and misses on fastballs, which is kind of unusual for us. I thought he attacked us and I think a lot of our guys were kind of expecting that big, sweeping curveball. Instead, we got a heavy dose of fastballs. It took one time through the order for us to catch up and adjust and we were able to scratch and claw and get a couple of runs across."
The same two teams were set to meet Thursday in Minocqua. Waksmonski said that contest would likely be a bullpen game for his pitching staff, as the team needs to conserve arms for a GNC doubleheader at home against Medford on Saturday.
"We're going to have to see a variety of our pitchers come out and give us the same performances that we've had the last three or four outings, or really all season," Waksmonski said. "Of the top of my head I think we've given up eight runs all year. We're just going to need our committee to throw well and be able to throw strikes."
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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