Hodags fall to Mosinee, Wausau East as skid hits 10 games

Offense was hard to come by on Saturday for the Rhinelander High School baseball team. The Hodags managed only four hits in 12 innings as they were blanked by Mosinee in a GNC doubleheader at Stafford Field 6-0 and 10-0.

The sweep at the hands of the No. 2 team in the latest WBCA Division 2 poll was preceded by a 10-1 defeat at Wausau East on Thursday. The three late-week losses increased the Hodags’ skid to 10 games.

Mosinee, which wrapped up a share of the GNC title with Saturday’s wins, showcased its pitching depth on Saturday. Zach Nechuta struck out six in a complete-game effort in the opener while Gavin Obremski fanned eight over five innings in Game 2.

“They’re a very deep pitching staff. We didn’t see Keagen Jirschele. Garrett Shupe, I believe, is injured right now. We didn’t see their top two guys and they definitely have quality arms behind them that throw strikes,” Hodag coach Joe Waksmonski said. “The name of the game is throwing strikes, being around the zone and being consistent and keeping hitters off balance. That’s what the guys from Mosinee did today.”

Max Ratty struck out five, walked three and scattered four hits over 5 1/3 innings as he took the tough-luck loss in the opener. Mosinee chipped away at him for single runs in the first, third, fourth and fifth. Only two of those runs were earned.

“I thought Max pitched probably his best ball game of the year,” Waksmonski said. “Obviously, it doesn’t reflect on the score, but he pitched well and got a lot of their good hitters out on their front foot and made some quality pitches today.” 

Ratty reached the daily limit after a one-out error in the sixth, the Hodags’ second of the inning. Kaden Vanney gave up a sacrifice fly to Ben Schlei, but got Rhinelander out of the inning with no further damage. Mosinee tacked on two more runs against him in the seventh as Vanney walked four and hit a batter in the inning. 

Mosinee jumped on Game 2 starter Dylan Vanderbunt early. The Indians plated four in the first and three in the second to chase the junior off the mound. He went only two innings, giving up seven runs on five hits with five walks and two strikeouts. 

“He just wasn’t around the zone for us today for us to have competitive at-bats there at that point,” Waksmonski said. “We didn’t have many miscues, defensively. They would just hit the ball where we weren’t.”

Oscar Hanson went the rest of the way for Rhinelander and struck out five over 2 2/3 innings. Mosinee scored two runs off of him in the third and plated the clinching run on an RBI groundout by Taylor Lemanski in the fifth. 

Nechuta carried a no-hitter through five innings in the first game before Connor Augustine ended it with a leadoff single in the sixth. Ratty added a single for the Hodags in the seventh inning. Ratty also recorded the Hodags’ second hit in Game 2, a leadoff single in the fifth. Prior to that, the Hodags’ lone runner came courtesy of a Vanney single in the first. 

Despite the loss, Waksmonski said he was encouraged by the way his team played, especially on the defensive end. 

“I thought Game 1 we made a couple of plays defensively that we haven’t been making the last couple weeks,” he said. “Adrian (Patrone) had a real nice pop-up catch at first base, right along the fence. Kaden Vanney made a real nice snag at third. Rowan Wiczek went back on a fly ball that was driven by Obremski and he tracked it down. Then we turned a 1-6-3 double play. We’re starting to do some of those little things right now, it’s just (a matter of) doing them consistently.” 

Wausau East 10, Rhinelander 1

The Hodags did not do those things consistently on Thursday. Free bases were once again the name of the game as the Hodags couldn’t keep up with Wausau East in a 10-1 loss on the road. 

The Lumberjacks scored eight times in the first three innings and took advantage of a leaky Hodag defense. Rhinelander committed four errors in the game, had three wild pitches and combined to walk or hit 10 batters. 

“It ended up being 24 free bases we gave up tonight to zero. Wausau East played flawless baseball and we gave up the 24,” Waksmonski said. “We are seeing the same things over and over. We changed some things positionally tonight just to try to get some different looks, different guys out there. There were some pleasant surprised out there but, again, at the varsity level, that’s not good enough.”

East jumped on starter James Heck for two runs in the first inning and four in the second as it opened up a 6-0 lead. Heck went 5 2/3 innings on Thursday night, allowing nine runs — but only two earned — on four hits with four walks and a pair of strikeouts. 

Rhinelander’s lone run came in the top of the third on an RBI single by Augustine. The Hodags nearly chopped further into the Lumberjacks’ lead, but Patrone was robbed of a potential bases-clearing two-out double on a leaping grab in left field by Iain Stahel.

“If that ball drops, it clears the bases and it’s 6-4 and a brand-new ball game at that point,” Waksmonski said. “Overall, I thought, offensively, we’re starting to put the ball in play hard with some authority. We’re just hoping for hits and find some holes.”

Heck recorded two of Rhinelander’s five hits on the night, including a double to deep left in the third.

Tomahawk ahead

Rhinelander sits last in the GNC entering the final week of conference play. The Hodags host Tomahawk tonight and head to Tomahawk on Friday. 

Normally, a series against the Hatchets would be an opportunity for a team in a slump to get right, but Tomahawk has played better baseball this year and has upset wins over Northland Pines and Antigo in GNC play. 

“We can’t take anything for granted at this point. We have to play better than them on those particular days,” Waksmonski said.

Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].