Junior shortstop Seth Nofftz hit the first pitch of the game back up the middle for a single. Bob Mainhardt photo

Bob Mainhardt photos

TENNIS

Hodag tennis team lost to Stevens Point High School 4-3 April 30. SPASH swept the singles matches and the Hodags took the doubles.

Thursday, the Hodags hosted Stevens Point Pacelli in the dome on senior night. Pacelli only had five players and fielded a No. 1 singles player and 1 and 2 doubles. In order to get all eight Rhinelander seniors a match some of the Pacelli players played exhibition matches with the three Hodags that did not have matches. No. 1 singles player John Currie won his match. In the doubles matches Joey Belanger and Dalton Fritz won at No. 1 doubles and Gavin Denis and Dawson Pontell won at No. 2 doubles. Due to the lack of players Pacelli lost 7-0 as they had to forfeit four matches.

BASEBALL

Tuesday, April 30, the baseball team hosted DC Everest in a nonconference game. Dylan Vanderbunt started on the mound for the Hodags and pitched into the seventh inning before reaching the 100 pitch count limit and took the loss giving up seven of the eight runs scored in the 8-0 loss. Vanderbunt was the Hodags’ leading hitter with three of the team’s five hits.

The Lakeland baseball team came to Spafford field at Hodag Park Friday, May 4, for a doubleheader due to a rainout Thursday.

Max Ratty was the starting pitcher and gave up five runs with five walks and seven strikeouts in five innings, where he reached the pitch limit. Owen Kurtz, Rowan Wiczek and Seth Nofftz each recorded two hits. The Hodags committed seven errors in game one contributing to the 13-2 loss.

In game two, the Hodags and Lakeland would each score three in the third. Lakeland scored a run in innings four and five while the Hodags scored three in the top of the sixth to take a 6-5 lead. But in the bottom of the sixth the Hodags gave up two runs thanks to walks, errors and wild pitches. The Hodags were shutout in the top of the seventh to lose game two 7-6.

James Heck started game two and pitched into the fifth inning. Oscar Hanson was the losing pitcher giving up the two runs in the sixth.  Owen Kurtz and Barak Rappley each had two hits to lead the Hodags.

SOCCER

The Rhinelander girls soccer team hosted rival Lakeland on Tuesday for a chance to go ahead of the T-Birds in the conference standings. Last season the teams played three times, with the scores all being 1-0; the Hodags won the third game in the regional final to avenge the two conference losses.

Last week Lakeland scored on a penalty kick in the eighth minute as the Hodags were whistled for a hand ball in the box following a corner kick by Lakeland. The penalty kick would be the only score of the game as Lakeland won 1-0. The loss put Rhinelander five points behind Lakeland at the midway point of the conference season.