RHS softball falls to Antigo

The Rhinelander High School softball team was defeated by Antigo 10-0 at Al Remington Ball Field on May 5. A fellow GNC opponent, Antigo lost to Rhinelander by way of a walk-off home run from Ava Rathbun when the teams first clashed on April 9, but were able to take down the Hodags in five innings this time around.

Kendall Vanney started in the circle for the Hodags, allowing a pair of two-run Antigo home runs in the first inning. Antigo followed up the initial 4-0 punch in the first with runs in each inning, scoring an additional two in the second, three in the third, and one in the fourth. Vanney allowed five runs on five hits, walking one with no strikeouts. 

“The thought going into that game was just that we were going to try something different against Antigo because they had already seen Aleece (Johnson),” head coach Ali Bender said. “Unfortunately, we got down right away by an error and then two home runs, a walk, and I think right there, then it started off our whole game being down again.”

It was another early punch by the opposition that gave the Hodags an initial deficit to great to come back from. 

“Every game that we’ve been playing the last games that we’ve lost, we’re getting down right away in the first inning and then always trying to battle back. And so trying to cut that out has been a challenge,” Bender said. “And I think as a coaching staff, we talked about different ways to cut it out to do different things and we just got to actually be able to do the things that we’re talking about.” 

Johnson came in as relief for Vanney in the second inning. She finished the game and recorded five walks, two strikeouts, and also allowed five runs on five hits. She’s still dealing with some arm tightness in the cooler temperatures, but Bender said she is doing better and with the season schedule getting changed earlier in the year to be back-loaded toward the end of the year, the team will look to her more in back-to-back conference games coming up. 

Maddie Paulson and Chase Verbist both had doubles in the loss, but Rhinelander couldn’t string enough hits together to plate a run, even with Paulson and Verbist back-to-back in the lineup. Paulson’s double came in the first, while Verbist led off the top of the third with hers. They were the only two hits of the game off of Red Robin pitcher Baily Heinzen. 

The Hodags were on the road again Thursday at Northland Pines after the conclusion of press time for this edition. Northland Pines is only fielding a JV squad for the remainder of conference play, but as of press time it has yet to be determined whether the varsity contest will be counted as a forfeit win for the Hodags. 

This weekend, the Hodags travel to Shawano for games at Martzke Park against Waupaca and Shawano.

Blake Richard may be reached via email at [email protected].