May 8, 2023 at 8:28 a.m.
Late surge powers Hodag softball past Tomahawk
Late surge powers Hodag softball past Tomahawk
Lily Treder hit a go-ahead double in the fifth inning and the Hodag scored seven times in their last three at-bats to defeat Tomahawk 9-2 in the Hodag Dome.
The Hodags finally got to freshman pitcher Sophie Olsen in the fifth inning, scoring twice to take the lead. Rhinelander tacked on a pair of insurance runs in the sixth and three more in the seventh.
The Hodags were the visiting team for Friday's game, which was scheduled to be played in Tomahawk until rain prompted the game to be moved indoors in Rhinelander.
"She kept us off balance the first couple innings," Hodag coach D.J. DeMeyer said. "She has a nice little changeup. She spots the ball really well. She's not overly fast, but she's got good control. I think we were swinging at some not good pitches. We had a little talk about that and then we started to score some runs."
Treder's go-ahead hit came with two out in the fifth and Abigale Johnson standing at second following a walk and a sacrifice. Treder hit a blooper to shallow center that dropped in front of a hard-charging Scout Stromberg and then bounced toward the fence, allowing Johnson to come around and score. Moments later Treder stole third and scored when the throw down from the plate sailed into the outfield.
The Hodags came through again with two out in the sixth inning. Freshman Kadyn Taylor delivered in a pinch-hit role, lacing a double down the left field line to score Lucy Lindner and make it 5-2. Taylor scored moments later on a single by Johnson, beating a throw to the plate.
"She's been hitting the ball really well and I was just kind of looking for the spot," coach DeMeyer said of Taylor's pinch-hit opportunity. "She came through with huge double, just ripped hard. I'm really proud of her. That did spark us a little more."
Nora Rutkowski's infield hit scored Addi DeMeyer in the seventh. Treder singled and scored on a wild pitch. Rutkowski came around later in the inning on a passed ball.
Rhinelander scored first but Tomahawk held the lead in the early going. Addi DeMeyer walked, stole second, got to third on a passed ball and scored on a throwing error to get the Hodags on the board in the top of the inning. Tomahawk answered in the bottom of the inning as Stromberg doubled home Bella Marino. The Hatchets took a 2-1 lead in the second as Olsen hit a one-out double and scored on a single to right by Emerson Lange.
Maddi Roeser singled to center in the third, and got to third base when the ball got loose in the outfield. Addi DeMeyer scored her to tie the game on a sharply-hit ground ball past third.
Pitching-wise, Addi DeMeyer settled in after the first two innings. She gave up a lead off double to Stromberg in the bottom of the third, but Stromberg was cut down at the plate later in the inning trying to score off a Bryn Baalke bunt. DeMeyer did not allow a hit the rest of the way as she earned the win. She allowed two runs on four hits with five walks and 11 strikeouts over seven innings.
"I thought the strike zone was varying, I guess would be the nice word. I thought it was a little tight but you've got to make those adjustments and Addi did the last four innings," coach DeMeyer said.
Lindner added a pair of hits for Rhinelander, which had seven different players collect a hit as it outhit Tomahawk 9-4.
"That's what I like to see. Hits up and down the lineup is a good thing," coach DeMeyer said.
Rhinelander (8-11, 4-6 Great Northern) enters the final week of regular season play at home this afternoon against Mosinee. The Hodags will then travel to Lakeland on Thursday before playing a non-conference home game Friday against Wausau East.
"I think when we talked preseason we were talking about .500. We've had our opportunities to get there and I think we can still get there," coach DeMeyer said.
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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