May 1, 2023 at 8:12 a.m.
Hodag softball gets outside, claims first win on new field
Hodag softball gets outside, claims first win on new field
The Hodags did so in style, scoring nine times in the first two innings before cruising to a 9-6 victory over Crandon in non-conference play at Andrea Musson Field.
The victory came on the heels of a tough 4-3 loss at Antigo the night before, which came in walk-off fashion. Yet the Hodags (6-10, 2-5 Great Northern) have won two of their last three games and appear to be heading in the right direction entering the final few weeks of the regular season.
"I think we're hitting our stride, I hope we are, and building toward the playoffs," coach D.J. DeMeyer said.
Rhinelander 9, Crandon 6
Getting outside was the big storyline for Rhinelander on Friday. The Hodags' last outdoor home game came on June 9, 2021 in a playoff contest against Lakeland at Pioneer Park.
The Hodags did not get outdoors last spring due to wet field conditions after the thaw, followed by bad breaks with the weather as threatening forecasts forced the team indoors for its final few home games. Rhinelander had played its first 13 home games this year inside the Hodag Dome but, with the dome out of commission Friday due to two pre-planned community events, the weather finally cut the Hodags a break and allowed them to play ball on the fields situated behind both the dome and Mike Webster Stadium.
"We got out there today and (it was an) awesome field," coach DeMeyer said. "The infield is in beautiful shape. The grass needs some work out there, but that's part of growing in the outfield. Beautiful field. The scoreboard looks awesome, we've just go to get power hooked up to it and hopefully that will happen early this next week.
"I want to thank all of our donors, Timmy Musson and the Haug Family and everybody else. I can't name them all, but it's a really nice facility."
It didn't take long for the Hodags to settle into their new digs, scoring five times in the first inning and four more times in the second. Coach DeMeyer admitted winning the first high school game at Musson Field was a major motivator.
"I told the girls, 'We're not losing our first game on this field. Whatever we got to do, we're going to win,'" he said.
Addi DeMeyer collected three hits in the game, drove in two runs and finished a home run short of the cycle. She got the Hodags going with an RBI double in the first inning that scored Abigale Johnson and later came around on a wild pitch. Nora Rutkowski walked and scored when Laney Haenel reached on an error and Libbey Buchan added a two-run single later in the inning to stake the Hodags to a 5-0 lead.
Crandon got four of those runs back in the second as an error helped the Cardinals score their first run and then kept the inning alive for a Karsen May two-run single, and an RBI double by Alexis Schallock, both with two outs.
The Hodags responded in the bottom half of the inning. Maddi Roeser led off with a single and came around on an Addi DeMeyer triple. Treder doubled home DeMeyer, stole third and scored on a Haenel sacrifice fly. Kadyn Taylor singled later in the inning and scored on a Lucy Lindner base hit.
"We just hit the ball hard that first inning. It was really nice to see. We batted around the order and then we almost batted around the order again in the second inning," coach DeMeyer said.
Lauren Littleton hit a two-run, two-out double in the fourth to cut the lead to 9-6. Haenel pitched four innings for Rhinelander to earn the win. Addi DeMeyer worked around some shaky defense over the final three innings to earn the save.
The Hodags committed six errors in the game, including four in the final three innings. DeMeyer fanned Abby Adamski and Tabi Martin to get out of trouble in the fifth. Crandon had the tying run aboard with nobody out in the sixth following a walk and an error, but Kelsey Bissonette grounded into a fielder's choice before Littleton lined into an inning-ending double play.
Crandon again had the tying run on with nobody out following a pair of errors to lead off the seventh, but Addi DeMeyer struck out three straight to slam the door and preserve the win.
DeMeyer, Roeser and Buchmann all collected multiple hits in the game as the Hodags outhit the Cardinals, 13-6.
Antigo 4, Rhinelander 3
The Hodags had Antigo, the second-place team in the GNC, on the ropes Thursday, leading most of the way. Ultimately, however, the Robins got a three-run double by Molly Neufeld in the fifth inning and Laura Burkhart scored on a passed ball in the seventh as Antigo walked off 4-3 winners.
Despite the heartbreaking ending, coach DeMeyer said called it the best game his team has played so far this year.
"Antigo's a very good team, very well-coached. We put the pressure on them," he said. "I think we played our best game of the season and was really proud of the girls, and I told them that. We played a great game against a great team, took it right to the brink and it could have went either way."
Rhinelander jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first. Roeser and DeMeyer reached on back-to-back singles and both scored on a two-out single to right by Treder.
That lead held until the fifth when Makayla Beck singled up the middle to get a rally going for Antigo. That was followed by three consecutive bunt singles. Though Beck was thrown out trying to take third on a Kailee Krueger bunt, Antigo had the bases loaded with one out. Tristin Arlen tried a fourth straight bunt, but rolled it back to DeMeyer, who got the force out at home, before Neufeld doubled to right on a 2-2 pitch.
"It was just inside the foul line, just a good hit. I thought we could have gotten out of the inning on a couple of pitches that were called balls, but that's all part of the game," coach DeMeyer said. "They bunted four straight times and they pushed some bunts past us. That's how they got the bases loaded."
Rhinelander tied the game in the top of the seventh as Haenel got aboard with a single and scored on a one-out double to right by Taylor. Kelsi Beran then walked to bring up the top of the order, but the Hodags were unable to take the lead as Johnson struck out and Roeser popped out.
"I gave her first varsity start as the designated player and she had a huge double to tie it up," coach DeMeyer said of Taylor's clutch hit. "I was really proud of our team for battling back. We had our opportunities and we just didn't get the hit. We were happy with where we were at. We were putting the pressure on them."
Burkhart doubled to lead off the bottom of the seventh and was bunted over to third by Lily Weix. After Arlen popped out, the Hodags intentionally walked Neufeld to get to Mya Burt and the first pitch popped away from Roeser's glove and to the screen, allowing Burkhart to score.
"We just had an outside pitch that got away from Maddi Roeser and got back to the screen, and they scored," coach DeMeyer said. "Maddi was really upset. She played a great game. Nothing on her. Nothing on Addi. Nothing on any of them. We played really good defense."
Up next
Following this weekend's early spring snowstorm, the Hodags will be back indoors for one or two more home games. Rhinelander was scheduled to have the rematch with Antigo on Monday in a game that concluded after press time and will host Northland Pines this evening.
Rhinelander will conclude the week Friday with a GNC contest at Tomahawk.
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
WEATHER SPONSORED BY
E-Editions
Latest News
E-Editions
Events
August
To Submit an Event Sign in first
Today's Events
No calendar events have been scheduled for today.
Comments:
You must login to comment.