June 12, 2023 at 9:34 a.m.
Rebels split with Antigo to open season
Rebels split with Antigo to open season
The Rebels allowed five runs in the sixth inning as they fell 5-1 to Antigo in the first game of Saturday's twinbill at Kretz Bros. Park. Rhinelander put up four runs in the sixth to break a 6-all tie in Game 2 and held on for a 10-9 win.
The Rebels had plenty of chances to score in both games, stranding a combined 20 base runners. Ultimately, the difference in Game 2 was the team's ability to finally cash in with multiple runners on base with less than two out.
"Game 2 we did. Game 1 we missed a lot of opportunities," Rebels manager Dan Huhnstock said. "I thought we've really got to get better on our two-strike approach at bat. It seemed like we were a little bit better the second game, but that was a sticking point the first game."
Rhinelander's only run in Game 1 came in the fifth inning when Ryan Jamison drew a bases-loaded walk, but the team had plenty of other chances. Dylan Vanderbunt was thrown out at the plate in the third inning for an inning-ending double play. He was trying to score from third on a flyout to right by Jamison.
The Rebels had the bases loaded with one out in the fifth, but Cody Everson's grounder to the right side hit Adrian Patrone on his way to second. Jamison's walk proved to be the only run of the inning as Sam Schneider flew out to left after that to end the threat.
Rhinelander again had two on with one out in the sixth but got nothing following a flyout by Kolby Ridderbusch and a groundout by Vanderbunt.
Jamison, Rhinelander's leading pitcher in terms of innings pitched and ERA last summer, worked five scoreless innings Saturday before the Typhoon jumped on him in the sixth. Alec Knapkavage singled home Mason Gray to tie the game and Jamison then loaded the bases with a walk to Caden Kautza as he reached the Legion mandated 105-pitch limit.
Vanderbunt was unable to put out the fire in relief. Hunter Aiuppy gave Antigo the lead on a two-run single to left. Vanderbunt then walked Trevin Walbeck to reload the bases before giving up an RBI single to Trevor Tarras and a ground ball to Reed Kuenzli that made it 5-1.
The Rebels tried to mount a late rally in the seventh as Jamison tripled with two outs, and Schneider was hit by a pitch and stole second, but Kurtz popped out to end the game.
Game 2 was a back-and-forth affair that took nearly 2 hours, 50 minutes to complete and featured 19 runs, 17 hits, 16 walks and eight different pitchers. The Rebels squandered a 6-1 lead as Antigo scored five times in the fifth to tie it before the Rhinelander answered back with what proved to be a decisive sixth inning.
Max Ratty, the No. 1 pitcher for the Rhinelander High School baseball team this spring, pitched the final 1 1/3 innings to get the save, but used all of the three-run cushion he had when he entered the game.
"That was all over the place," Huhnstock said of the second game. "They'd get a lead, they'd come back. Finally, we just kept enough runs on the board to have Max finish them off."
Kurtz put Rhinelander back ahead in the sixth with a double to left that scored Schneider, who reached on a leadoff walk. Oscar Hanson recorded an infield hit and Kolby Ridderbusch walked to load the bases. From there, AJ Turek and Patrone drew back-to-back RBI walks and Jamison added a two-out RBI single to make it 10-6.
"The offense kicked it in great. That's the kind of offense I'm expecting we'll have in a lot of game," Huhnstock said.
After getting a run back in the sixth, Antigo threatened in the seventh as Gray smashed a double down the left field line. The Typhoon tried to send Aiuppy all the way home from first, but a well-executed relay from Kurtz to Jamison to Schneider cut down Aiuppy easily at the plate.
"That was a huge play. Jamo goes out, gets a cut and throws a strike right to home plate. That was a big, game-changing moment there," Huhnstock said.
That moment loomed large as Reed Kuenzli followed with a triple to right that scored Gray and then came around on a Luke Bastle groundout to make it 10-9. Ben Robrecht then singled to put the tying run aboard but Ratty struck out Sam McCann looking to end it.
Antigo got on the board first in Game 2 as Gray singled and scored in the bottom of the first when Bastle reached on a two-out error. Rhinelander tied it in the third as Schneider hit an RBI double to left, scoring Seth Nofftz. The Rebels took the lead with a four-run fourth capped off by a two-run single by Kurtz. Turek had an RBI groundout and Patrone had a sacrifice fly earlier in the frame. Patrone, who had a three-RBI game, added an RBI grounder in the fifth to score Kaden Vanney, who had reached on a leadoff error.
James Heck kept Antigo in check for four innings, but things went south in the fifth. With the bases loaded and one out, Robrecht grounded back to Heck, who spiked the throw to the plate, allowing Aiuppy to score. Heck followed with a wild pitch that brought in Kuenzli to make it 6-3 and then hit Conner Cornelius with a pitch to load the bases.
"James did a very good job keeping us in the game. I know he would have liked that little nubber back to the pitcher back, because that sort of opened the floodgates after that," Huhnstock said.
The Rebels went to Hanson out of the bullpen but he struggled, walking three straight batters with the bases loaded to allow Antigo to tie the game. Despite blowing a save opportunity, Hanson was the pitcher of record for the Hodags, as he worked around a single, an error and two walks in the sixth before Ratty came on to get the save.
"We've got good relievers. They're just going to have to step up and be good relievers for us," Huhnstock said. "Dylan had a little bit of a problem in Game 1 and Oscar had a little trouble with the strike zone in Game 2. But the season's young. They'll get their legion experience. Hopefully we get them throwing consistently. With a lot of games, we'll have a lot of chances to get them a lot of experience."
Saturday's event was originally scheduled to be a triangular between Rhinelander, Antigo and Menomonie, but Menomonie backed out due to an iffy weather forecast. Rain remained south of Antigo, however, and never affected play.
Rhinelander (1-1) was scheduled to play at Wittenberg Monday in a game that concluded after press time for today's edition. The Rebels open up a stretch that will see them play 11 of their next 12 games at home tomorrow night when they host Minocqua at Stafford Field.
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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