May 25, 2023 at 8:03 a.m.
Hodag softball falls in extras to No. 1 Medford
Hodag softball falls in extras to No. 1 Medford
Finley Arndt beat a throw to the plate on a Zayleah Leonhardt ground ball in the bottom of the ninth inning as top-ranked and top-seeded Medford edged Rhinelander 3-2 in a Division 2 regional semifinal game in Medford.
The Hodags, who were swept during the regular season by the GNC-champion Raiders, took Medford to the brink on Tuesday, but came up just short.
"They battled, they battled, they battle, they battled," coach D.J. DeMeyer said afterward. "We had a good pitching performance. It was a good team effort and we just came on the short end there. Give credit to Medford. They're No. 1 for a reason, but we had them on the ropes and they knew it."
The Hodags went toe-to-toe with the Raiders the whole way. Medford took one-run leads in the first and the third innings only to see the Hodags tie the game in the second and again in the sixth.
After Medford intentionally walked Addi DeMeyer with two out in the sixth, Lily Treder came through with a single to right on an 0-2 pitch that scored Abigale Johnson. DeMeyer was held at third on the play as the throw rolled back into the infield from right.
The Hodags did no further damage in the inning as Laney Haenel struck out to end the inning, one of 18 strikeouts recorded by Medford ace Martha Miller.
Normally aggressive in regard to sending runners while coaching at third, coach DeMeyer replayed the scenario in his mind afterward and questioned if he should have rolled the dice with his daughter in an effort to score the go-ahead run.
"There was an opportunity, maybe, to send her. The throw came in from right. It would have been a bang-bang play. I think I did the right thing. In hindsight, maybe I should have tried," he said. "It was one of those things, you have to make that split decision and that will probably haunt me for a little while."
With one on and one out in the bottom of the seventh, the Hodags intentionally walked Allie Paulson and Leonhardt to get to the lower part of the Raiders' order. The gamble paid off as DeMeyer struck out Eryka Seidl and then got Morgan Huegli to line out to second to force extra innings.
The Hodags were unable to get a runner aboard in extras. DeMeyer worked around a one-out single by Chelsea Gebauer in the eighth but couldn't escape in the ninth after singles by Arndt and Paulson, followed by a passed ball, gave Medford runners at second and third with nobody out.
"We had loaded the bases up, brought the outfield in so they could throw them out at home, and we were able to wiggle out of it. We just weren't able to wiggle out of the bottom of the ninth," coach DeMeyer said. "They were just able to beat it in and that ended the game. We had everybody in and, yeah, they just beat the throw."
Medford took the lead in the first as Miller singled, took second on a wild pitch and third on a passed ball before coming around on a Paulson base hit. Rhinelander tied it in the top of the second as DeMeyer singled, took second on a wild pitch and eventually scored on a Haenel ground out.
A miscue gave Medford the lead in the third as Seidl singled to right center with two outs. The Raiders initially held Paulson at third on the play, but she took off and scored when Rhinelander's throw back into the infield went wide.
"We had a couple of plays we didn't make. All three of Addi's runs they scored were unearned," coach DeMeyer said.
Medford outhit Rhinelander 9-6 in the contest. Addi DeMeyer struck out 12 in defeat in her final varsity game. Two of the four walks she allowed were intentional.
Rhinelander ends the season with a 10-14 record. It also was the final game for Johnson and catcher Maddi Roeser.
Coach DeMeyer said, because of the emotion of it all, he struggled to say much in the postgame huddle.
"The message was thanks for three wonderful years and that was about it, I walked away after that," he said with his voice cracking as he relived the moment.
Medford (21-2) was set to face Merrill in the regional finals on Thursday.
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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