Hodag softball splits games at Shawano

The Rhinelander High School softball team split its games Saturday in Shawano, falling to the hosting Hawks 7-1 before winning a wild 12-10 affair over Waupaca as part of the Shawano quad.

The win against the Comets was a needed bounce back for the Hodags (10-11, 4-6 Great Northern) who, apart from a forfeit win over Northland Pines on Thursday, were in the midst of a six-game losing streak. 

“I told the girls it’s a win for us, and we need to get back on the winning train,” coach Ali Bender said. “Just some good things that I’ve seen today, that we obviously need to carry over for Monday, Tuesday and next Thursday.”

It looked like it was going to be an easy win for the Hodags against Waupaca, until it wasn’t. Rhinelander led 3-0 after three innings and then pounced on Waupaca for seven runs in the fourth inning. Waupaca, however, answered with six runs in the bottom of the inning, three more in the fifth and got to within 11-10 in the sixth before running out of steam.

“That was a closer game than what I was hoping it should be” Bender said. “We struggled a little bit to hit the strike zone, again, not any faults of our pitchers. We had a lot of pitches that I felt were strikes, but we just didn’t get the calls and they battled back, and they strung some hits together.”

The Hodags had 12 hits in the contest, waking up an offense that had struggled its last few outings. 

Ava Rathbun got things going in the second with a sacrifice fly in the second to score Kendall Vanney. Kadyn Taylor and Vanney added RBI hits in the third as the Hodags took a 3-0 lead.

Cassidy Lindner started the run parade in the fourth with an RBI double and, after Aleece Johnson scored on a passed ball, Maddie Paulson added another run-scoring double. Taylor came up with an RBI single before a sacrifice fly by Vanney made it 8-0. Johnson was plunked with the bases loaded to force in another run and Saige Mutter scored the final run of the inning on a passed ball.

Taylor hit an RBI double to center for a key insurance run in the fifth, and Mutter gave the Hodags a two-run cushion thanks to an RBI single in the seventh.

“It was nice to string those hits together again and realize like what that does as a team and how we can produce and what we’re capable of,” Bender said. 

Vanney got the win, allowing six runs on five hits over four innings. All six of those runs came in the fourth as the Comets strung together four hits with the aid of two walks and a hit batter. Johnson worked the final three innings to get the save, walking three and striking out three.

“We struggled to hit the strike zone, and they put some hits together, and then finally, it was nice to see that we could close out that game,” Bender said.

    Rhinelander’s Maddie Paulson catches a pop-up during a non-conference softball game at Shawano Saturday, May 9. (Brett LaBore/Lakeland Times)
  

A six-run second inning was the difference in the early game against Shawano. Otherwise the only scoring came in the sixth inning, when both teams traded a run. 

“We had one inning that was, you know, not the best. We had some hits with some errors that obviously gave them six and one inning. You take those away and that game’s a totally different score and we talked about that today,” Bender said.

The Hodags didn’t get on pitcher Lily Bubolz, who struck out nine, until late in the contest. Three of Rhinelander’s six hits came in the final two innings. Paulson led off the sixth with a single and score the Hodags’ lone run on a Saige Mutter fielder’s choice. 

“I wish we would have capitalized more on their pitcher,” Mutter said. “Their pitcher wasn’t throwing any type of speed. It was a big strike zone. We ended up looking at quite a few as a third strike, and it wasn’t, honestly, all the girls’ faults. I normally am not one to say anything about the umps, but really big zone. Some of those, like, I do not expect them to swing yet, because they’re in the opposite box, or they’re high, or they’re low.”

Lindner recorded a pair of hits against Shawano. Johnson took the loss, allowing seven runs on nine hits with six strikeouts.

The Hodags have a difficult stretch to close out the regular season, playing two ranked teams this week in their final three games. That began yesterday with a contest at No. 2 (D2) and GNC-leading Medford that concluded after press time. The Hodags host Merrill this afternoon and will finish out the regular season at home against No. 3 (D2) Mosinee on Thursday.

“We just got to do what we know how to do and stay within ourselves. And I think if we can do those things, we’re gonna be able to compete,” Bender said.

Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].