RHS Sports recap: Friday, April 4

Baseball: Hortonville 8, Rhinelander 1

A seven-run sixth inning was the difference Friday as the Rhinelander High School baseball team dropped its season opener 8-1 to Hortonville at the Woodside Sports Complex in Mauston. 

The Polar Bears got to freshman reliever Vince White in a frame that included two walks, an error and five hits — three of which went for doubles. The Hodags, meanwhile, managed only three hits in the game and struck out 12 times. 

Conner Rappley started and allowed an unearned run on two hits with six strikeouts over four innings. He also had an RBI double that tied the game at 1 in the fourth. Seth Nofftz and Sawyer Bishop had the other hits for the Hodags. 

White took the loss giving up seven runs, four earned, on five hits over two innings. Mason Schmidt worked a scoreless seventh with a hit and a strikeout. 

Rhinelander (0-1, 0-0 Great Northern) plays Bloomer and Barron Saturday in Mauston to round out opening weekend. 

Girls’ soccer: Eau Claire North 1, Rhinelander 0

The Rhinelander High School girls’ soccer team could not overcome a first-half miscue and lost to Eau Claire North 1-0 in their season opener Friday in Marshfield. 

Mariah Hull scored the lone goal in the 29th minute on a ball that slipped between the hands and legs of Rhinelander keeper Emalee Detienne. The Hodags, despite outshooting the Huskies 12-3 in the second half — and 16-9 overall — could not find the equalizer. 

Detienne made four saves over 40 minutes in the loss for Rhinelander. Sophomore Rylee Mickevicius played the second half and made two saves, including a stop of a penalty kick in the 75th minute. Rhinelander managed only three shots on goal in the match.

The Hodags (0-1-0, 0-0-0-0 Great Northern) play Marshfield on Saturday in Marshfield.

Track: RHS at Point Indoor Distance Carnival

A handful of RHS track team members traveled to Stevens Point Friday for the Point Indoor Distance Carnival at UWSP.

On the boys’ side, senior Shawn Denis was the Hodags’ top finisher in the 800-meter run, taking 39th out of 183 runners. Avrom Barr was 27th in a field of 128 in the 1,600 and Greyson Gremban took 16 out of 39 runners in the 3,200.

Brynn Teter was 28th in a field of 129 in the girls’ 800 meters while Kara Monk was 29th out of 66 in the 1,600. 

A handful of Hodag athletes will compete Saturday in the Wisconsin Indoor State Championships in Whitewater.

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