Review: Rebels showed flashes but fell short of state tourney

At times this summer, Rhinelander Post 7 looked very capable of making a return trip to the Wisconsin American Legion Class AA state tournament. Other times the Rebels appeared to be their own toughest opposition.

“Eventually the law of averages is going to catch up to you if you don’t play your 100% A-game every time,” manager Dan Huhnstock said after the Rebels were knocked out last week in third place of the five-team Region 2 tournament. 

Still, a 16-7 record was another strong campaign for the Rebels, who notched their seventh straight winning season. Here are five storylines from the recently completed season.

Hot and not

Right out of the chute, the Rebels showed the inconsistency that would be a hallmark of their season. Rhinelander split a season-opening doubleheader at Antigo, dropping the first game 5-1 before taking the second 10-9. 

That proved to be a story for Rhinelander all year. Five of the team’s seven losses came against teams (Antigo, Wittenberg-Birnamwood, Merrill, Minocqua, Medford) that they beat at some point during the season. The other two losses came against teams Rhinelander faced only once this season (D.C. Everest and Clintonville).

There were plenty of bright spots along the way. Senior-to-be Max Ratty tossed a one-hitter in a 4-0 win at Wittenberg-Birnamwood June 12 and then fanned 14 in a 1-0 shutout win over Crandon June 26. 

The offense flexed its muscle at times this season, scoring 10 or more runs seven times, all in victories. The pitching and defense, meanwhile, held teams to three runs or fewer on nine separate occasions. 

But, when things when wrong, they tended to in a go wrong in a big way. The most glaring example came in the Rebel Invite when Rhinelander committed nine errors and lost to rival Minocqua, 6-5.

“We just did not play defense. We had some mental errors besides that. I’m surprised we did not get blown out. You cannot win games with nine errors,” Huhnstock said afterward.

Just four days later Rhinelander beat Minocqua on the road, 12-3.

Depth tested

The Rebels had 16 players on their roster this season and had to use all 16 at times during the summer. 

While the team had almost all of its players available come tournament time, there were plenty of bumps and bruises along the way. James Heck, who entered the summer as the team’s No. 3 pitcher, hurt his knee in late June and appeared in only one more game after that. 

Ryan Jamison and Ratty were the team’s two top options, but even they were limited at times due to injury. Rhinelander also dodged a bit of a bullet after second baseman Cody Everson needed to be helped off the field following a collision in a July 13 game at Marathon. He ended up missing only two games with a bruised knee. 

The end result was 14 of Rhinelander 16 players appeared in more than half of the team’s 23 games this summer.

“It’s always our plan to try to get them innings, but they got extra innings this year because we had some nagging injuries going on and different work schedules for some of the more veteran guys,” Huhnstock said. “Everybody got some opportunities, both on the mound and in the field, and a lot of them made good on them opportunities where they will definitely earn a lot of playing time next year for the Hodags and the Rebels.” 

Tourney troubles

Rhinelander’s bid to repeat as Region 2 champions was not done in by the luck of the draw, but it certainly did the team no favors.

Minocqua and Eagle River were back after both scuffling with low numbers last year, and both programs ended up being large enough to land in Class AA, based on school enrollments. That, plus Antigo being moved to Region 3, gave Region 2 an odd number of teams and set up an unbalanced five-team bracket. 

Rhinelander and Eagle River got the short end of the random draw and were forced to play an extra game in the double-elimination tournament. 

The Rebels seemed poised to overcome the handicap as they knocked off Eagle River and Medford on the first day of the tournament, but a 2-1 loss to Merrill on Day 2 meant that the Rebels would have needed to play and win three more games to become regional champs. 

That proved to be a hill too tall for the Rebels, who bowed out to Medford in an elimination game. 

“That was huge. If we’re able win the game against Merrill and sit there having to get beat twice, I like our chances,” Huhnstock said afterward. “It is what it is, you know. It’s tough. We had a lot of luck against Merrill earlier in all hard-fought games. Eventually the law of averages is going to catch up to you if you don’t play your 100% A-game every time.”

Statbook

Overall, the Rebels posted solid team numbers this summer, scoring 6.5 runs per game while allowing 4.2. The team hit at a .318 clip and had a staff ERA of 2.62.

Senior Sam Schneider continued to be a stalwart behind the plate, he flashed elsewhere as well. 

After batting .288 this spring, it seemed like the only thing Schneider didn’t hit this summer was the Powerball lottery. He had a whopping .565 average and led the Rebels in virtually every offensive category — home runs (1), RBIs (25), OPS (1.415) and even stolen bases (9). He also showcased his pitching arm, seldom seen at the high school level, as he gave up only two earned runs and struck out 21 batters in 16 innings. He picked up a win and a couple of saves in just a handful of appearances. 

“I think we’ve got a closer now,” Huhnstock quipped after Schneider earned a save at Eagle River July 11. “He’s been able to come out and throw very well for us when we’ve needed him to. He’s just such a complete ball player. You can’t ask for anything more.”

The Rebels had plenty of other offensive contributors. Ratty (.441, 11 RBIs), Jamison (.432, 13 RBIs), Kolby Ridderbusch (.387, 7 RBIs), Barak Rappley (.324, 5 RBIs) and Everson (.323, 9 RBIs), all hit over .300 this summer.

The team also showed depth on the mound with nine different players pitching at some point during the summer, including six who logged at least 14 innings. Ratty (4-2, 1 sv, 1.36 ERA, 38 K) led the way with 36 innings, followed by Jamison (4-1, 2.08, 41 K) at 30 1/3. Dylan Vanderbunt (3-2, 1 sv, 3.46 ERA, 10 K) pitched 23 1/3 innings.

What’s next

The Rebels will lose three key pieces from this year’s squad in Jamison, Smith and Ridderbusch but return a fairly young and competitive nucleus. 

Ratty, Heck, Vanderbunt, Kaden Vanney and Oscar Hanson are all slated to return with pitching experience. Schneider and Everson will not be able to help out the Rhinelander High School baseball team, after graduating this past spring, but are age-eligible to return as post-graduates for the Rebels next summer.

“I do believe we have a couple of guys that are planning on coming back. Between Sam and Cody, I believe they’re both age-eligible to come back,” Huhnstock said. “They come back and we have a strong nucleus with Max and Seth and James Heck and the whole rest of the crew, we should be able to compete again next year.” 

Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].