River Monsters get offense going vs. Merrill

The Rhinelander River Monsters were searching for offense after only three hits and 15 strikeouts in their previous game against Wisconsin Rapids. They seemed to find their stroke at home on Sunday.

The River Monsters scored five times in the first two innings, pounded out 14 hits in all and cruised to an 8-2 win over the Merrill Rangers in Dairyland League play at Stafford Field. 

Quinn Lamers and Joe Schneider each had three-hit days and a pair of doubles, while the River Monsters got effective three-inning outings from Ryan Jamison, Kent Mathews and Isaac Bixby to get back to .500 on the year (5-5, 5-4 Dairyland).

“Fourteen hits and much better at-bats today,” River Monsters manager Todd Johnson said. “It was good to see that. It’s always a little more comfortable when you can jump out to a lead and play from ahead instead of playing from behind.”

Despite spotting the Rangers a run in the first on an RBI double by Brady Kanitz, Rhinelander took control early in the game and maintained a comfortable lead. The River Monsters had four straight singles to start their half of the first inning, capped off by a two-run single from Joe Schneider to take the lead. The Monsters scored three more times in the second thanks in part to RBI doubles by Lamers and Schneider. Lamers also stole third and scored on an overthrow in the inning. 

Johnson said it was key to have those two bats going at the top of the lineup. 

“For Joe, the big thing is he’s just got to stay back on the ball, keep his weight back and he did that today. When he does that, he drives the ball,” he said. “Quinn’s just been hitting well all year for us. It’s important to get Quinn on base because then he just makes things happen on the base paths.”

    Rhinelander’s Ryan Jamison pitches during the second inning of a Dairyland League baseball game against Merrill at Stafford Field Sunday, July 7. (Bob Mainhardt for the River News)
  

Jamison worked out of early trouble as he allowed a run on two hits with six strikeouts over three innings. He faced runners at second and third with nobody out in the first after Kanitz’s double, but then struck out three straight to end the inning. He faced a bases loaded situation in the second following a walk, single and hit batter with one out in the inning, but got Cole Osness to ground into a double play to escape the inning unscathed. 

Mathews (2-2) pitched three innings of one-hit ball with a pair of strikeouts to earn the win. Bixby, in his second pitching appearance of the summer, worked the final three innings to earn the save. He walked one and struck out three while giving up a run in the eighth. Caleb DeJong bunted his way aboard that inning, advanced on a Brad Kanitz sacrifice and scored on a single to left by Jayden Sus. 

“That makes life a lot easier when you know you’ve got those three guys going,” Johnson said. “The thing with Kent, the longer he goes, the better he gets. To have that combination, if we could have that every game, that would certainly be the ticket.”

Rain threatened to shorten the game as a pop-up cell developed over the top of Stafford Field in the fifth inning. The skies opened as Mathews struck out DeJong to end the top of the fifth, making the game official. Play was halted in the middle of the fifth but resumed after only a five-minute delay as the cell passed and no field work was required. The game finished without any additional delay.

“We weren’t sure we were going to get past five, so making sure we had the lead going into he fifth was big,” Johnson said. “I was really glad we were able to play the whole game and get everybody in, and playing time.”

The Monsters made it 6-1 once play resumed with three straight singles to lead off the fifth, capped off by an RBI single from Sam Schneider. Rhinelander tacked on two more insurance runs in the eighth as Lamers doubled and scored after Easton Senoraske reached on an error. Joe Schneider reached on a fielder’s choice and scored on a Ben Quade double deep to right center. 

    Rhinelander’s Andy VanDyke hits a single during the seventh inning of a Dairyland League baseball game against Merrill at Stafford Field Sunday, July 7. VanDyke, who normally serves as the River Monsters’ third base coach, recorded a hit in his first at bat of the summer. (Bob Mainhardt for the River News)
  

The Monsters used a season-high 15 players in Sunday’s game. That included third-base coach Andy VanDyke, who appeared in his first game of the year. He singled to left in his first at-bat in the seventh inning before getting erased on a fielder’s choice. He then lined out to center to end the eighth.

“He got that hit the first time and hit the ball hard the second time, it just had a little too much carry on it and the centerfielder caught it,” Johnson said. “The great thing about that is he’s not going to let the team forget about that either.”

The Monsters are idle this weekend in their only off week of the summer. They’ll be back in action Saturday, July 20 at Marshfield before closing out the Dairyland League portion of their schedule with a two-game weekend at home against Whittlesey July 27 and at Minocqua July 28.

“We’ll take a week off. A lot of guys have other plans this weekend. We’ll get a little break and then down to Marshfield for a game and then a two-game weekend after that. Then, pretty quick, we’re in the playoffs,” Johnson said.

Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].