Rebels look to build on momentum of high school baseball season

As one season ends, another one begins for Rhinelander baseball. Given how the spring high school baseball season came to a close for the Hodags, there’s plenty of optimism surrounding the Rhinelander Post 7 Rebel American Legion squad as its season kicks off Wednesday night at home against Antigo.

The Hodags won seven of their last nine games to close out the spring with a 13-11 record. That included an upset of second-seeded St. Croix Falls in the regional semifinal round of the WIAA state tournament.

Longtime Post 7 manager Dan Huhnstock, who was in the dugout during the Hodags’ tournament run, said he’s eager for the summer as the Rebels look to bounce back from a 9-14 campaign and a fourth-place finish in last summer’s Legion regionals.

“This is a great group of kids, and I can only look forward to building off of what they’ve accomplished this spring,” Huhnstock said.

While a couple of age-eligible Class of 2024 players may return, Huhnstock noted that this summer’s roster will be mainly the same as it was for the Hodags during the spring. That will be a mix of leadership from this year’s class of seniors and a group of sophomore who will be getting their first taste of Legion action. 

“The more they get to play together, the more they get to be together, you know, the tighter they get and the better they’ve been maturing into good varsity ball players and good Legion ball players,” Huhnstock said.

Tomorrow night’s contest against the Typhoon kicks off what is slated to be a 22-game regular season schedule for the Rebels this summer. That slate jumps into high gear already this weekend with the annual Rebel Invite — which is in its traditional Father’s Day weekend time slot but feels earlier on the calendar this year due to the late end of the WIAA baseball season. 

The Hodags will host Oconomowoc, Ironwood (Mich.), Fond du Lac Springs and Everest during the five-team invite this Friday, Saturday and Sunday. 

“That’s always nice, play a bunch of home games and, you know, let everybody get settled back in from the routine school ball,” Huhnstock said.

Though there is no official conference affiliation for the Rebels this summer, they will play a number of GNC programs multiple times — including Antigo, Minocqua (Lakeland), Medford and Northwoods (Northland Pines). The team will also likely see newcomer to the GNC in 2026, Merrill, when it travels to Athletic Park to play in the Art Perkins Memorial Tournament June 27-29.

There are also a few less familiar teams on the schedule, including a home-and-home with Wittenberg June 20 (away) and July 1 (home) and a home contest June 23 against Kingsford, Mich.

“Yeah, see a little bit of different blood, which is always good to see teams that you don’t know nothing about. That’s what prepares you for playoff baseball,” Huhnstock said.

Regionals will take place the week of July 22-26. The regional groupings and hosts will be determined by the state Legion association in early July. Medford, Minocqua, Antigo, Merrill and Northwoods are among those who have typically been in the same regional grouping as the Rebels in the past. If that holds true this year, Huhnstock said it would make for a very competitive regionals — based on how those respective teams played during the high school season.

“There’s always some real good ball in our region. Everybody can beat anybody on any given night,” he said.

The winner of the regional tournament will travel to New London for the Class AA state tournament which will be held Aug. 1-5. 

Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected]. 

2025 REBELS SCHEDULE

Date    Opponent    Time

6/11    ANTIGO    7 p.m.

6/13    OCONOMOWOC*    8 p.m.

6/14    IRONWOOD, MICH.*    11:30 a.m.

6/14    FOND DU LAC SPRINGS*    4:30 p.m.

6/15    EVEREST*    2 p.m.

6/18    at Antigo    7 p.m.

6/20    at Wittenberg    7 p.m.

6/23    KINGSFORD, MICH.    7 p.m.

6/25    MINOCQUA    7 p.m.

6/27    Merrill Invite    TBA

6/28    Merrill Invite    TBA

6/29    Merrill Invite    TBA

7/1    WITTENBERG    7 p.m.

7/2    MEDFORD    7 p.m.

7/7    at Northwoods    6 p.m.

7/9    at Crandon    6 p.m.

7/11    NORTHWOODS    7 p.m.

7/14    at Minocqua    6 p.m.

7/16    CRANDON    7 p.m.

7/18    at Medford (DH)    6:30 p.m.

7/22-26    Regionals    TBA

8/1-5    AA State Tournament, at New London    TBA

* Rebel Invite | HOME GAMES IN CAPS