May 18, 2023 at 3:42 p.m.
A 'monsterous' debut
Rhinelander edges Merrill 8-7 to kick off inaugural adult baseball season
A 'monsterous' debut
Most importantly, the newly-minted River Monsters collected their first win in Rhinelander's return to the adult baseball scene.
Nate Schmidt, Nick Spencer and Quinn Lamers collected three hits each and the River Monsters edged the Merrill Rangers 8-7 at Athletic Park in WBA Dairyland League play.
There were plenty of milestones along the way. Ryan Jamison recorded the River Monsters' first hit and struck out 10 as the opening day starter. Jesse Robinson had three RBIs and drove in the team's first run. Schmidt stole the team's first base and scored its first run. Spencer had the team's first extra base hit and Martin Hoger struck out five over five innings in relief to become the team's first winning pitcher.
Above all of those other firsts, it was a opportunity for a list of names, many of whom played Rhinelander High School and Rhinelander Post 7 American Legion baseball over the last decade and a half, to return to the diamond in a Rhinelander uniform.
"It was a very awesome to get out again and play with some guys, have fun and compete doing it," said catcher Tyler Blomdahl, a 2017 RHS grad. "We had a great game today and I'm just glad we can get back to doing what we love, and that's playing baseball."
The nine-inning game went back and forth over a brisk 2 hours, 25 minutes. Rhinelander led much of the way. Merrill took a brief lead thanks to a four-run fifth. Rhinelander took the lead back with two in the sixth and then held on down the stretch.
"Coming into the park I didn't know what to expect," River Monsters manager Todd Johnson said. "The only thing I knew is we've got a good lineup. With Jamo on the mound and the lineup that we had, I knew we were going to be competitive.
"It was some double plays turned, a couple of mistakes on the rundown but overall, I thought it was good baseball."
Robinson, one of the elder statesmen of the group having graduated in 2009, hit the go-ahead two-run double for the River Monsters in the sixth. He played some amateur ball out west while in the Navy, but said he had pretty much hung up the cleats in 2016. He even sold his wood bats last winter, before hearing that his hometown was getting back into the adult baseball game after more than a two-decade hiatus.
"Once I heard about Rhinelander having a men's league team, I couldn't resist seeing if I still has some left in me to give the game, and I know a lot of guys feel similar," he said. "It funny because a lot of the guys, myself included, haven't played in like six or seven years. I think we were all uncertain of how we were going to play and I think we all impressed ourselves."
Turns out, for many of them, it was just like riding a bike. The River Monsters cranked out 15 hits, were solid in the field with only a couple of errors and made some plays that showed they're still can be as good as they once were.
Robinson beat out a potential double play ball on a grounder to short in the third inning to keep the inning alive and allow Schmidt to score the team's first run. Merrill tied it in the bottom of the third, but Rhinelander began to tee off in the fourth.
Back-to-back doubles by Spencer and Easton Senoraske put the River Monsters back in front and Quinn Lamers had a RBI single before getting erased on a double play ball. Kurt Zuiker got the rally going again on a single up the middle, moved to second on a wild pitch and scored on a Schmidt two-out single to right.
After Merrill scored four in the fifth, Robinson's go-ahead double capped off a two-out rally that chased Rangers' starter Spencer Schneider from the mound. Schmidt started it with an infield hit, Hoger singled to left and Robinson then drove one off the fence in the left-center gap.
Kurt Zuiker added a two-run single in the seventh to give Rhinelander an 8-5 lead.
"Up and down the lineup, just some pretty good swings. That was good to see," Johnson said. "Those guys, they've been hitting in the cage and Tuesday night we had practice down at the park. Granted, that's not live pitching, but they were hitting some ropes. I don't think the bats will be a problem this year."
Jamison, just one year removed from graduating from RHS, mowed down Ranger batters left and right over the first four innings. The only blemishes came in the third as Piersen Pyan led off with a single and came around on a two-out base knock by Casey Hoffman. The Rangers drove up Jamison's pitch count, however. Though the Dairyland does not have pitch count regulations like younger levels, Jamison was pulled after needing 96 pitches to get through the first four innings.
"Jamo's pitch count got up there. I think he was over 70 pitches in the third. We knew he wasn't going too long," Johnson said. "He was sort of inning by inning. We knew we had Martin and, after that, we weren't sure. It was good to see Martin make it to the finish line."
Hoger overcame a rocky start to his outing as a walk, sandwiched between two hits loaded the bases with nobody out for Merrill in the fifth. Schneider hit an RBI grounder, Justin Pyan singled home Caleb DeJong and then, after Jayden Sus struck out, Pyan allowed himself to be picked off first base in an effort to get in a rundown and let Schneider score the tying run from third. By the time Rhinelander realized the trick, Hoger's throw home sailed high, Schneider scored, Pyan got to second and scored the go-ahead run moments later on a double by Brody Gehrke.
The Rangers got within one in the seventh as Hoffman doubled, beat a throw to third on a ground ball back up the middle and scored on a wild pitch. Schneider, who reached on the fielder's choice that let Hoffman get to third, later scored on a Sus single to tie the River Monsters' lead to one.
The Rangers got the tying run aboard in both the eighth and the ninth. A ground ball by Cole Osness to Schmidt at short turned into a double play that erased a leadoff single by Piersen Pyan in the eight. Hoger worked around a two-out single by Sus in the night, getting Brody Gehrke to ground out to end the game.
"We went in with not very high expectations, but we wanted to win and we wanted to have fun," Blomdahl said afterward. "I think we accomplished both of them today and set the precedent for the future of Rhinelander baseball, and especially adult baseball. We can show those younger kids, it doesn't have to be done with you're done with high school. It doesn't have to be done when you're done with Legion. We've got some time to play here still."
Sunday's game kicked off a 13-game regular season for the River Monsters, playing other amateur teams around central and Northern Wisconsin. The team's first home game is Sunday afternoon at Hodag Park against the Marshfield Chaparrals.
"It's one of the main reasons I signed up for this. I love playing on that field. I can't wait to get back out there," Robinson said.
Added Johnson, "It will be good to be home next week and get those guys down at Stafford. Hopefully we get some people down there."
First pitch is slated for 1:30 p.m. Sunday.
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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