Monsters fall short in slugfest with Rapids to open season

Big innings were key on Sunday as the Rhinelander River Monsters opened their second season of Dairyland League play. Ultimately, Rhinelander gave up a few too many of them in a 12-10 loss to defending league champion Wisconsin Rapids at Stafford Field.

The Redhawks (1-0) rallied for four runs in the top of the seventh to take a 10-9 lead and then tacked on two key insurance runs in the top of the ninth. That loomed large as Tyler Blomdahl narrowly missed hitting a game-tying home run in Rhinelander’s last at-bat and the Monsters (0-1) ultimately left the tying run stranded at second. 

Walks were key in the contest as well, as the Rhinelander pitching staff walked 10 batters, including four to lead off innings. All four of those walks came around to score.

“You could tell it was the first game of the year,” Rhinelander manager Todd Johnson said. “There were some mistakes, too many walks … Just a combination of a lot of little things we need to clean up before next week.”

Things seesawed in the middle innings as both teams chased the opposing starter and then did damage against the bullpen. 

Rhinelander broke a 4-all tie in the fifth as cleanup hitter Easton Senoraske hit an RBI double to right that scored Ryan Jamison. Senoraske, who finished 3-for-3 with three doubles, later came around on a Josh Randolph single.

“Easton, he was looking that way last year pretty consistent. I think you can pretty much count on a good at bat from Easton,” Johnson said. “I think the offense is certainly going to come around. I think we’ll be pretty solid, offensively, this year.”

Rapids answered off reliever Kent Mathews in the sixth as he walked the first two batters he faced before getting Connor Peters to ground into a fielder’s choice. Marcos Simonson later scored on a passed ball and Rapids tied the game as Peters scored from third following an errant throw on a stolen base attempt by Brennan Huber. 

Rhinelander replied with three in the bottom of the inning as it took advantage of relief pitcher Eli Hahn’s erratic tosses. Hahn walked Blomdahl and plunked Cody Everson. Those two later came around to score on a passed ball and a wild pitch. Hahn walked Ben Quade later in the inning, and he scored following a pair of wild pitches and a passed ball. 

Rapids turned to former Wausau West and UW-Stevens Point standout Payton Nelson after Hahn’s third walk of the inning. Nelson slammed the door on the River Monsters, striking out eight over the final 3 1/3 innings to earn the win. 

“We’ve faced him a lot. He’s obviously a really good ball player, but that’s what we talked about, in BP this week, just go in and work on fastballs,” Johnson said. “That all he threw. It’s just a timing thing to get on top of that.”

    Rhinelander’s Martin Hoger pitches during the eighth inning of a Dairyland League baseball game against Wisconsin Rapids at Stafford Field Sunday, May 12. (Bob Mainhardt for the River News)
  

Rapids retook the lead in the seventh thanks in part to a walk, four straight singles and a hit batter that tied the game before Mathews could get an out in the inning. He was relieved by Martin Hoger, who saw Simonsen score the go-ahead run on a one-out passed ball. The Redhawks appeared to add to the lead when Nelson flied out to the fence in center, allowing Nick Weiland to tag and score from third, but Weiland was called out on appeal for leaving third too early to end the inning and keep it a one-run game.

Hoger walked a pair of batters with one out in the ninth and both scored on a two-out single to left by Ryan Sering that made it 12-9.

Senoraske doubled to lead off the bottom of the inning and Hoger drew a two-out walk to keep the frame alive for Blomdahl, who hit two of the team’s five home runs last season. It looked as though he might have hit his first of this year as he turned a 3-2 offering by Nelson deep to left, but the ball appeared to get held up by a gusty wind blowing from left to right, landed on the warning track and bounced under the fence for an RBI ground rule double. Everson struck out after that to end the Rhinelander’s threat. 

“When Tyler hit that, I thought it was gone. I thought for sure it was gone,” Johnson said. “The wind is coming that direction. It got up there and just stopped. That would have been a fun way to tie it and see what happened from there.”

Rapids took the lead in the top of the first as Huber walked and scored from third after the Monsters threw back to second in an attempt to catch Nelson on an overslide following a double. Nelson later scored on a wild pitch. Rhinelander tied it in the second on sacrifice flies by Randolph and Blomdahl. Huber walked and scored again for Rapids on a Nelson double in the third and Nelson came around when the Monsters couldn’t handle a hard-hit ground ball to first by Ryan Sering.

Senoraske doubled in Quade to cut the lead to 4-3 in the bottom of the third and Randolph tied the game in the fourth as he singled, stole second and scored thanks to a pair of passed balls. 

Jamison went five innings in a no-decision for Rhinelander. While he allowed only the two doubles to Nelson and struck out seven, five walks loomed large in a 99-pitch effort. Jordan Tibbets gave up five runs on six hits over five innings with five walks and six strikeouts in a no-decision for Rapids.

“It’s the first game of the year, close game and a game we probably should have won,” Johnson said. “We had a couple of opportunities to sort of blow it open and we just couldn’t get that key hit at the right moment. I think if we would have been, instead of up three, if we could have got up five or six, it could have been a different outcome.”

Rhinelander will be back in action at Merrill this coming Sunday. The Monsters won a pair of tight games against the Rangers last year, 8-7 and 3-1. Johnson said the team is hopeful to be a little closer to full strength this week with infielder/relief pitcher Quinn Lamers due back from college and possibly starting pitcher Joe Schneider as well, after UW-Stevens Point failed to earn an at-large bid to the NCAA Division-III baseball tournament. 

“No easy games in this league. We’ll see if we get Joe back. I think Quinn will be back next week, but Merrill will be tough, just like every game we play this year will be tough,” Johnson said.

Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].