Late rally ends Hodag Little League’s championship hopes

SUPERIOR — The Hodag 10U Little League team was two outs away Sunday from forcing a winner-take-all state championship game. Then Kenosha National seemed to find every little hole. 

Kenosha rallied from down 5-0 in the fourth to walk off as 6-5 winners over the Hodags in Superior, sweeping the Wisconsin Little League 10U championship series. Brady Seckman hit a pair of two-run triples, including the game-tying shot in the sixth inning before Sam Kundert walked it off with a sharply hit single that barely stayed fair inside the third-base line. 

It was a dejected Hodag dugout after the game. Sunday’s loss came on the heels of a 4-1 loss to Kenosha on Saturday in which the Hodags allowed only two hits, but were done in by four walks and four errors. Rhinelander settled for being state runners-up, despite playing Kenosha tough in both contests. 

“Hopefully what we can take away from this is when we get those opportunities to score the runs or make those plays in the future (to know) we can make those plays or get the big hit we need,” Hodag manager Dan Bauer said. 

Rhinelander had a chance to extend its lead in the top of the fourth inning Sunday, loading the bases with one out after Blake Sundby drew a walk. Easton Sieker nearly cleared the bases on the next pitch with a ball that was pulled just foul down the left field line. He eventually popped out to second and Mason Paulson grounded into a fielder’s choice, ending the inning. 

Eli Bauer struck out seven over the first three innings of the game, but ran into trouble in the bottom of the fourth. He walked leadoff man Beckett Meinzer before Trask Gehrke reached on an error. Seckman’s first triple of the game made it 5-2 and he later scored on a ground out by Kundert.

“When you’ve got a team down like that — and I think we had bases loaded with one out — and not to come away with a run there, that’s a big momentum killer for us and a big momentum swing for them,” Dan Bauer said. “I think that was the turning point in the game.”

The Hodags nearly got a run back in the fifth but, with runners at the corners and two out, Nick Schneider was tagged out in a rundown just before Eli Bauer could cross the plate in a double-steal attempt. 

Facing the top of Kenosha’s order in the sixth, reliever Jeter Vander Gailen got Luke Kensie to fly out to left to start the inning. From there Meinzer singled past second and Gehrke had a bloop single that just evaded Rylan Pasanen’s leaping attempt at third and barely stayed fair down the left field line. Seckman tripled deep to left before Kundert’s walk off. 

    Rhinelander’s Easton Ostrom hits an RBI triple during the third inning of Game 2 of the Wisconsin Little League 10U championship series against Kenosha National in Superior Sunday, Aug. 6. (Jeremy Mayo/River News)
  

Things looked good for the Hodags early on Sunday. Rhinelander took the lead in the second as Clark walked and scored on a triple to right by Easton Ostrom. Ostrom scored a short time later on a groundout by Pasanen. 

Rhinelander added to the lead thanks to a two-out rally in the third. Eli Bauer beat a throw to first on an infield hit to score Paulson, who reached on an error earlier in the inning. From there back-to-back walks by Schneider and Clark forced in Jaxon Eades and Bauer scored on a passed ball to make it 5-0.

Despite falling short in the championship series, Bauer said state runner-up is a strong accomplishment and that the Hodags represented the northern half of the state well against a heavily-favored Kenosha squad. 

“It tells you how hard they worked and how much talent there really is on the team,” he said. “Like I was telling them at the end of this game is they got us this time. Now our goal is, when they get to be 12-year-olds, we go and return the favor. If we work hard the next two years and, hopefully, we come out on the (winning) end next time. 

“They should be proud. They had a good season. They played hard. They practiced hard and they stuck together as a team. We win and lose as a team. They should be proud of one another.”

Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].