Snowhawks stay undefeated, top WPS Local 420

Coach Jeff Smith had to call on some extra reinforcements Monday night as the Snowhawks remained undefeated on the season.

The Snowhawks defeated WPS Local 420 19-13 to preserve their unblemished season.

“I thought it was an awesome night really on both sides,” Smith said. “They hit a lot of nice shots, and our bats were rolling pretty good too. It was who’s going to score the most runs, who had the bigger innings. It was a good game. I have to hand it to them — those guys really smacked the ball around.”

A five-run first inning got the Snowhawks in business right out of the gates. They led 5-0 after an inning.

“We had jumped out to a 5-0 lead, and I thought, ‘Oh boy, here we go again,’” Smith said.

WPS never gave up all night long. That showed in their second inning. They put across four runs by Luke Menima, Rob Morien, Kyle Morien and Ryan Kovak. They would then tie the game at 5-5 in the top of the third inning.

“They answered right back. When they came back, that’s when I though things got interesting, and the fans knew they were in for a good night of some competitive softball,” Smith said. “It seemed like the crowd was really into it last night.”

With the bases loaded, Ryan Morien collected an infield RBI single to break the tie in the bottom of the third inning. The Snowhawks led 6-5. 

The Snowhawks extended their lead with a big fourth inning. Tod Niemuth and Cole Punches both had RBIs. Billy Kuckahn kept the inning going with an infield RBI single. Nick Merckz hit a two-run single to center. WPS never recorded an out.

The Snowhawks scored the maximum five runs and led 11-5.

“When you’re down like that, everything’s got to go right,” Smith said. “Our bats came alive. We started hitting pretty good too. I was really happy with that. I was hoping we saved a few of those hits for next week.”

Three more runs came home to score for the home team in the fifth inning. Marc Seils, who is new to snowshoe baseball, ripped a two-run triple down the left field line. Martin Jaramillo, playing for the Snowhawks, reached on an error. Niemuth drove in one on an RBI fielder’s choice.

“We had a guy that unfortunately had to play Thursday night ball on a Monday because they are doing doubleheaders this week,” Smith said. “So that pulled two players from our team. We got them covered. (Marc) had never been on snowshoes, Martin has been already. I just needed two guys to fill in, and it was nice.”

WPS came alive in the top of the seventh inning. They ended up scoring the maximum five runs.

Collin Schindel and Joe Utecht both had singles. Tyler Beran hit an RBI double to right. Bryce Schickert loaded the bases with an infield single. Then, Menima hit a sacrifice fly to score one. Another run came home on an error. 

“They’re a big team,” Smith said. “They were hitting the ball hard. We had to play them deep. We couldn’t play them up shallow. That really cut that lead down. That made for a better game also which was kind of nice.”

Next, Jake Nohr hit an RBI single to left. Rob Morien tacked on one more with his single to center field. The Snowhawks’ lead was trimmed to 14-11.

A pair of two-out hits helped the Snowhawks to some breathing room in the bottom of the seventh. Punches and Jesse Robinson both had RBI singles to left.

“When you have to get out of an inning, and they had a chance to get us out on a few double play instances, they missed it,” Smith said. “Those are huge. They missed a couple key plays that might’ve turned it around and kept them closer.”

Dave Nance provided a spark to the Snowhawks in the bottom of the eighth. He raced around second base and ended up with a two-run triple. Jaramillo also drove in a run. The Snowhawks’ lead was back to eight runs at 19-11.

“It was probably the highlight of (Dave’s) career on our team,” Smith said. “He hit a flat pitch. He was more or less trying to get the ball down the line. That was one of the best hits I’ve ever seen him hit. It was a 2-1 count he hit that.”

It came down to the ninth inning. WPS had a few more runs in them. Nohr hit a double to score a run. Todd Seubert hit an RBI single to center. 

The Snowhawks (9-0) are looking for a rare undefeated season. They’ll have to take down Dazzle’s Demons in a matchup on Monday, Aug. 26 at Snowshoe Park in Lake Tomahawk. It’s a rescheduled game from July 22. First pitch is at 7:30 p.m.

“It’s kind of a rivalry — Rhinelander/Lake Tomahawk rivalry if you can say,” Smith said. “A lot of them have played on the Snowhawks one way or another so they’re very well-versed on (snowshoes). Ever since Jesse (Robinson) took over, he’s got a really good ball team now, and a lot of those guys play during the week too. I think the last time we were undefeated was 2012 so it’s been a long time.”

Brett LaBore may be reached at [email protected] or [email protected].