June 14, 2023 at 1:32 p.m.
Rebels down Wittenberg behind Ratty's one-hitter
Rebels down Wittenberg behind Ratty's one-hitter
Ratty struck out nine, allowed just one hit and went the distance as the Rebels blanked Wittenberg-Birnamwood 4-0 in Wittenberg.
Ratty also added three hits and an RBI at the plate as the Rebels moved to 2-1 on the young season.
Ratty nearly threw the Rebels' first no-hitter in nearly two years, but Mason Meverden singled up the middle just past second baseman Cody Everson in the fourth to break it up. Regardless, Ratty was on point in a 108-pitch effort.
"Max threw a real gem tonight. He had control, just controlled his strike zone very well tonight and kept them very much off balance," Rebels manager Dan Huhnstock said. "I thought the strike zone was the strike zone tonight. It was a very fair zone, small but very fair, very consistent. Max stayed within that zone and kept the hitters off balance very well."
The Rebels led the entire way in the contest, putting up two runs in the first inning, which stood as the margin until Ryan Jamison added a two-run double in the sixth.
Ratty started the offense for Rhinelander as well, slicing a double down the right field line to score Jamison in the first. He would have also plated Sam Schneider from first had the ball not snuck under the fence in foul territory for a ground-rule double. Schneider later scored on a Seth Nofftz sacrifice fly.
That was it for the Rebel offense until the sixth when Jamison found the left-center gap, scoring Barak Rappley and Dylan Vanderbunt. Jamison was thrown out trying to stretch the play into a triple.
"We had bats going good enough," Huhnstock said. "If we could have got a couple of two-out hits or something, put a couple balls in play, we could have got the run total up a little better, but we still had a very good offensive night, I thought. We had some very hard-hit balls tonight."
That was still enough run support for Ratty, who worked around three walks, a hit batter and an error in the contest. Nofftz erased Ratty's first walk in the second, turning a double play on a grounder by Chase Krull.
Ratty got Keegan Benbo to fly out in the third, getting out of a walk-induced two-on jam. The Chargers got two aboard again in the fourth on Meverden's single and a hit batter. Krull then drilled Ratty's next pitch deep to right. Jacksen Smith was able to flag down that ball at the warning track, his momentum carrying his glove arm over the short outfield fence.
"Jacksen made a very great play over there," Huhnstock said. "We had a couple of other nice plays. Ground ball right down the line Barak made a nice play on. Had a tailor-made double play and we made the play. Them things are game changers."
Ratty struck out David Gaudeman looking on a 2-2 pitch for the second out of the seventh. More importantly, it was Ratty's 104th pitch of the night, affording him a chance to finish the game. Legion rules state a pitcher can complete the current at-bat once he reaches the 105-pitch limit. Ratty got Nate Waupenow to fly out to center to make it to the finish line.
The Rebels outhit the Chargers 7-1 in the contest. In addition to Ratty's three hits, Rhinelander got one hit each from the top three in its order - Cody Everson, Jamison and Schneider. Vanderbunt also recorded a hit.
"They're the leaders of our team, undoubtedly. We look for that kind of action very consistently from them," Huhnstock said.
Rebel Invite ahead
Rhinelander took on Minocqua Wednesday night in a game that concluded after press time for today's edition. The 89ers will be back in town this weekend, along with Fond du Lac Springs, Everest and Merrill for the annual Rebel Invitational.
The five-team, round robin tournament kicks off this evening at Stafford Field and continues through Sunday.
"I'm looking forward to it," Huhnstock said. "We're going to have good competition in Rhinelander for the Rebel tournament. We're looking forward to a good weekend of good baseball down there."
The Rebels went 3-1 and won their home invite last year, getting some help after Everest dropped its final two games of the tournament. Rhinelander will start off this evening against Fond du Lac Springs. The Rebels will book-end Saturday's play, taking on Everest at 10 a.m. and Minocqua at 6 p.m., and will have the final game of the tournament at 2 p.m. Sunday against Merrill.
Throwing in Wednesday's contest, the Rebels will play five games in five days, which Huhnstock said will be good preparation for the postseason.
"That's what we've got to figure out, our depth and pitching order and stuff like that, so we know how to react when we're in regional or state tournaments," he said.
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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