Monsters upset Hudson, take 2nd in regional

The Rhinelander River Monsters saw their season come to an end this past Saturday, but not before the team ended the year on a high note.

The Monsters scored seven times in the final two innings Saturday night and upset top-seeded Hudson 8-6 in a WBA regional in River Falls. Rhinelander ended up second in its three-team pod as a result. The Monsters lost to Tilden, 15-5, earlier Saturday and the Tigers punched their ticket to the WBA state tournament on Sunday with an 8-5 win over Hudson.

The Monsters wrapped up their third season of competition with a 7-9 record, and completed their third straight postseason appearance with the second playoff win in team history. The other also came against a No. 1 seed when they defeated Holmen in extra innings in 2023. 

“That was that was an awesome way to end it, just coming back in and beating those guys, them being the No. 1 seed,” Rhinelander manager Todd Johnson said. “And they’re good, like I told those guys after the game they were 14-2, and they weren’t 14-2 by accident. They were a good team.”

“Finishing the way we did I think this was a great feeling for those guys … The feeling that everybody had after the game, and the mood of the team and all, that’s ultimately why you play,” Johnson added. 

The Hudson game turned into a bullpen battle down the stretch, with both teams struggling to find the strike zone. Tied 1-1 going to the eighth, the teams combined for 12 runs in the final two frames with 17 walks issued between the two staffs. 

Rhinelander took the lead in the top of the eighth with three runs. Sam Schneider hit an RBI double with one out to put the Monsters in front before Tyler Blomdahl reached on a slow chopper to short that the River Rats couldn’t handle, allowing Ben Quade to score. Colin Black and Jackson Waydick drew back-to-back walks to force in Schneider and give Rhinelander a 4-1 lead.

That lead vanished, however, in the bottom of the eighth as Waydick struggled to find the zone, walking six batters in the inning. Those free passes forced in three runs and Ben Land scored on a passed ball to give Hudson a 5-4 lead. 

Hudson returned the favor in the top of the ninth as two relievers combined to walk five straight batters to put Rhinelander ahead 6-5. After a fielder’s choice by Waydick allowed Hudson to cut down Schneider at home, Vince White atoned for a four-strikeout night with a two-out, two-run single that ultimately accounted for the margin of victory.

“He was 0-for-4 with four strikeouts, and I think he was down in the count 0-2 or 1-2. It wasn’t looking good and then he lines that hits to the gap,” Johnson said of the critical hit from the sophomore-to-be. “I’m super happy for him. It’s, obviously, easy to get down if you’re having a game where you strike out multiple times like, but the moment wasn’t too big and he got the hit.”

Waydick started the ninth with two more walks before settling in. After getting Owen Anderson to fly out, he induced a ground ball to short for a fielder’s choice. Payton Lawrence scored on the play to make it 8-6 after the Monsters’ relay throw to first to complete a double play sailed wide. Waydick then got Land, representing the tying run, to fly out to right to end the game

With a small roster and limited arms, Johnson said the plan was to ride Waydick, a junior-to-be, in relief for as long as possible, despite the walk issues. 

“For Jackson to pull it together to fight through it, I give him a lot of credit,” he said. “I think being in that situation will serve him well down the road because it was a tough situation for him. We put him in a tight spot and he was out there on an island but he got through it.”

The contest was a pitchers’ duel through seven innings. Brody VonBerge struck out 12 and allowed there hits over seven innings for Hudson. His only blemish came in the second when Cruz Palubicki doubled and scored on a wild pitch.

Martin Hoger went 5 2/3 innings for Rhinelander, allowing a run on five hits. Owen Weadge’s two-out double in the third scored Owen Anderson for the lone run off the Monsters’ ace. Hoger came out after issuing his second walk to put two on with two out in the sixth. Waydick got Weadge to fly out to right to end the inning. 

“That’s Martin game. He just goes out in battles,” Johnson said. “You gotta take him out because he’s never one that’s gonna come to you and say, ‘That’s enough. I can’t go anymore.’”

It was a solid bounce back for the Monsters after getting 10-runned by Tilden in the opener. White, in his first pitching appearance for the Monsters, was shelled for 10 runs on seven hits with six walks over just an inning and a third as Tilden raced out to a 10-1 lead. 

“I walked away from that Vince threw pretty well. He just he doesn’t have total command of his pitches yet,” Johnson said. “When he’d get behind the counter and then he’d have to throw out throw something more down the middle to try to get a strike, those guys were good enough hitters that, when they hit him, they hit him hard.”

Schneider went 4 2/3 innings in relief, allowing five runs on five hits. The Tigers tacked on one more run in the fifth and four in the sixth to take a 15-2 lead. Waydick hit a three-run homer in the top of the seventh to get Rhinelander back within 15-5, but the Monsters were unable to push the game-extending run across. 

Caden Palubicki and Quade each had three hits for Rhinelander against Tilden. Quade drove in runs in the first and the sixth, but Rhinelander stranded 11 runners on base in the contest. Rhinelander lost despite finishing even in the hit column with Tilden at 12 apiece. 

“It’s tough to score runs if you’ve got to do it totally on base hits. All of a sudden, you give up some free bases by a hit by pitch, an error, and walk, then you start sprinkling in a couple hits and, next thing you know, they put a five against you,” Johnson said.

Rhinelander was one of seven Dairyland Large teams to qualify for the WBA playoffs, but only three qualified for the state tournament. Wisconsin Rapids and D.C. Everest, the top seeds in their pools, advanced in Division A while Abbotsford qualified in Division B. 

The 7-9 mark for the Monsters was a half-game behind last year’s 7-8 record. Regardless, given the adversity the team went through during the season with injuries and a constantly shuffling roster, Johnson said he has a positive outlook going into next year.

“I think we lost a couple games that we maybe could’ve pulled out maybe won a couple of that we were lucky to win or fortunate to win but, overall, a good season,” he said. “The other thing that I was happy about it yeah we didn’t always have the same team. We maybe didn’t have our strongest team, but yeah we always had a team there and the guys were pretty darn good about that this year. I know what other managers are going through and what other teams go through trying to get players. 

“If we keep the core together and keep him some of these younger guys infused into the team, I think it bodes well.”

Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].