Babe Ruth Roundup

The third time proved to be the charm for Rhinelander against Lakeland’s loaded No. 1 team Wednesday night in Northwoods Babe Ruth Prep League play.

Finn Brown hit a go-ahead double in the top of the fifth inning and Jaxson Kremer plated a key insurance run as the Hodags defeated the T-Birds 17-16 in Minocqua. 

Rhinelander jumped out to an 8-0 lead in the first inning, but Lakeland rallied to take an 11-10 lead after three frames. The Hodags vaulted back in front with three runs in the fourth, only to see Lakeland retake the lead with a four-spot in the bottom half of their inning. The T-Birds ended up leaving the tying run at the plate in the fifth inning, which proved to be the last due to the Prep League’s two-hour time limit. 

Kremer, Jaxon West and Mason Stein each drove in three runs for Rhinelander while Mason Hauser led the way three of Rhinelander’s 16 hits in the game. Micah Sieker, Ben Rexford and Kremer each had two hits for the Hodags. 

    Rhinelander’s Ben Rexford pitches during a Northwoods Babe Ruth Prep League baseball game against Lakeland-1 in Minocqua Wednesday, July 2. (Trevor Greene/Lakeland Times)
  

Carter Bell got the win for the Hodags, despite allowing 10 runs on nine hits over three innings of relief. He walked two and struck out three. Rexford pitched the first two innings for Rhinelander, allowing six runs on 10 hits with three strikeouts. 

Bell and Rexford drew bases-loaded walks to start the Rhinelander rally in the top of the first inning. Stein added a two-run single and Hauser added an RBI hit to make it 5-0. Kremer added a two-run single later in the inning and scored on a passed ball to make it 8-0.

Lakeland responded with six in the second before Rhinelander added a pair of runs in the third. Stein hit a sacrifice fly to score Bell while Rexford doubled and scored on a two-out base hit by Hauser. 

Lakeland scored five in the bottom of the third to take the lead, but Rhinelander got it right back in the fourth as West hit a three-run homer to score Kremer and Brayden Herrmann. Lakeland’s responded with a home run of its own in a three-run bottom half of the inning to make it 15-13.

    Rhinelander’s Micah Sieker heads to first base during a Northwoods Babe Ruth Prep League baseball game against Lakeland-1 in Minocqua Wednesday, July 2. (Trevor Greene/Lakeland Times)
  

Sieker got the Hodags’ go-ahead rally started in the fifth with a leadoff single and scored on an RBI double by Rexford. A pair of passed balls allowed Rexford to score and tie the game at 15. Stein drew a walk and Hauser singled to set the stage for Brown’s go-ahead double. Hauser got to third on the play and scored when Kremer reached on a fielder’s choice to short.

Parker Ecklund drew a leadoff walk for Lakeland in the bottom of the fifth, advanced to second on a balk and to third on a flyout by Bryce Short. He scored on a groundout by Levi Eslinger, but Bell struck out Logan Degolier looking to end the contest. 

The Hodags had lost the two previous meetings with Lakeland-1 this season, falling 9-5 June 4 in Minocqua and 16-11 June 24 in Rhinelander. It capped off a successful week for the Hodags in Minocqua, after they defeated Lakeland-2 19-6 on Monday, June 30.

The Hodags had one more meeting against Lakeland-2 scheduled for Monday at Stafford Field, which concluded after press time for today’s edition and will wrap up their league schedule at home against Eagle River on Wednesday.

Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].