Mosinee uses two big innings to down Hodag softball

MOSINEE — Beating preseason Great Northern Conference favorite Mosinee was going to be hard enough if the Rhinelander High School softball team played a flawless game. Too many self-inflicted mistakes made that task insurmountable on Thursday.

Mosinee scored 10 times in the first and tacked on five more in the second as it ended proceedings early with a 15-0 victory over the Hodags at the Mosinee softball complex.

Officially, the Hodags had only four walks and committed just two errors, but there were plenty of other hidden bases along the way — between hit batters, wild pitches and balls that fielders weren’t able to get to — that hindered the Hodags’ chances.

While Rhinelander (1-4, 1-1 Great Northern) might have been overmatched against the undefeated Indians (10-0, 4-0 Great Northern), the coaching staff felt the Hodags could have done a better job of controlling the variables they could control.

“We did not have a good week of practice,” co-coach Sadie Adamski said. “Monday we had a stellar practice. Tuesday, Wednesday, we had not great practices. I think, overall, these girls are getting prepared now. Practices are going to get tougher. We need to be way more serious at practice. We need to be correcting the errors we’re making on the field at practice.”

It was a rough night for the Hodags, defensively. Though only two errors were officially charged, Mosinee was credited with a pair of doubles to the gaps that occurred after Hodag outfielders collided. The first knocked starting centerfielder Kelsi Beran out of the game after she and Nevaeh Anderson had a coming together on a Adeline Strejc drive to right center in the first. 

That play gave Mosinee a 5-0 lead and they would add to it later in the inning as a throw to first on a ground ball with two outs allowed three runs to score. That was followed by an RBI single, another error and walk loaded the bases before the Hodags finally got out of the inning with a ground out. 

    Rhinelander’s Willow Mutter jumps to make a catch in centerfield during the second of a GNC softball game at Mosinee Thursday, April 11. (Jeremy Mayo/River News)
  

Mosinee tacked on five more in the second as the pounded out five hits, including three doubles.

The Hodags loaded the bases in the top of the third, needing to score at least once to extend the game, but Kadyn Taylor went down swinging to end it. Laney Haenel walked to start the inning before Nora Rutkowski singled up the middle. Chase Verbist had a two-out base hit to right to keep the rally alive. 

“It was nice to get going, but we got going way too late. We had some good hits and we got going, but much too late in the game,” Adamski said. 

Mosinee’s Ava Busse struck out eight in the win. Hodag co-coach Ali Bender said the sophomore is the toughest pitcher the Hodags have faced so far this year. 

“She had movement, definitely had a riseball. We talked to the girls about getting on that first pitch. As a pitcher, you want to get a strike, get ahead of the batter right away because then you can start throwing your other pitches,” she said. “It was nice to see in that second and third inning, we started swinging at that first pitch. We weren’t watching it anymore. We need to become aggressive at those first pitches, especially when we have a pitcher like that. We meed to move up in the box so we can get it before the movement gets them.”

Haenel took the loss in the circle for Rhinelander, giving up 11 runs on 11 hits over two stints that totaled 1 1/3 innings. Sophomore Libbey Buchmann made her pitching debut for the spring in the first inning. She gave up three hits and walked two in relief, allowing four unearned runs. 

The pitching challenge won’t get any easier this afternoon as the Hodags welcome University of Arkansas recruit Saylor Timmerman and the Lakeland T-Birds to town. It’s the first of two home games this week as the Hodags will host Medford on Thursday.

“We’ve got two home games next week,” Adamski said after Thursday’s loss. “Lakeland is a great team. We’ve got a lot to fix and I know we can do it. We just got to make sure the girls are in it to do it as well. I think they are. I definitely believe in them. We’re still here, still cheering them on but we’ve also got to start showing improvement to continue to be successful this year.”

Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].