RHS Sports recap: Friday, April 19

Softball: Wausau East 23, Rhinelander 7

Big innings bit the Rhinelander High School softball team again on Friday. They allowed 15 runs in the first inning and fell to Wausau East 23-7 on the road in a non-conference contest. 

It was one of the better offensive nights for the Hodags on the year. Kelsey Winter hit a three-run double in the first, Dawsyn Barkus was 2-for-2 with a double and an RBI and the Hodags had six hits overall.

Winter pitched the opening two-thirds of an inning in the loss, allowing 15 runs with nine walks. Laney Haenel went the rest of the way, allowing eight runs on seven hits.

Rhinelander (1-7, 1-3 Great Northern) travels to Tomahawk on Tuesday.

Boys’ tennis: Rhinelander 1-2, De Pere Invite

The Rhinelander High School boys’ tennis team went 1-2 on Friday in the first day of the De Pere Invite. The Hodags fell to Mukwonago 7-0 and De Pere 6-1 before beating Pulaski 4-3.

Aiden Ostermann and Michael Schick picked up the lone win for the Hodags against De Pere, winning a match tiebreaker at No. 3 doubles. Joey Belanger and Dalton Fritz dropped a marathon match tiebreaker 19-17 at No. 1 doubles.

Against Pulaski, the Hodags swept doubles with Belanger/Fritz, Gavin Denis/Dawson Pontell and Karter Massey/Van Tulowitzky. John Currie scored a win at No. 1 singles to deliver the clinching point in the dual.

Rhinelander (6-3, 2-0 Great Northern) was set to play two more matches in De Pere on Saturday. 

Baseball: Antigo at Rhinelander, ppd. 

Friday’s Great Northern Conference baseball game between Rhinelander and Antigo at Stafford Field was postponed Friday due to sleet, cold and wind. The teams will make up the game this coming Monday.

That will be the next contest for the Hodags (1-6, 1-2 Great Northern), who also had the plug pulled on Saturday’s non-conference game against Abbotsford/Colby due to cold conditions.

Full reports will be published in Tuesday’s River News.