Hodag Highlights: Baseball team sweeps week with wins over Mosinee, Marathon and Lakeland

The Rhinelander High School baseball team had a dominant week on the diamond, knocking off defending conference champion Mosinee before rolling past Marathon and Lakeland to take all three contests.
Hodags 5, Mosinee 1 — April 20
Rhinelander handed last year’s conference champion Mosinee its first loss of the season Sunday, defeating the Indians 5-1 behind a strong outing from starter Jackson Waydick. Waydick worked through the early innings without allowing a run, aided by a sharp defense. He surrendered Mosinee’s lone run in the fifth inning before turning the ball over to Vince White, who threw two scoreless relief innings to close out the victory.
The Hodags defense was a story in itself, turning two double plays on base runners who failed to tag up on fly balls. The game-ending play came when Abe Gretzinger sprinted into shallow left-center to haul in a running catch between short and third, then fired across the diamond to retire Treve Stoffel at first base — the second time Stoffel was thrown out at first in the contest.
Hodags 9, Marathon 0 — April 22

Charlie Johnson delivered a masterful complete-game shutout Tuesday as Rhinelander blanked Marathon 9-0 on the road. Johnson was in command throughout, retiring the Red Raiders without allowing a run in a dominant nine-inning performance.
Hodags 25, Lakeland 4 — April 24
Rhinelander traveled to Lakeland on Thursday and posted a 25-4 mercy-rule victory in five innings, piling up 21 hits to the Thunderbirds’ one.
Connor Rappley started on the mound for the Hodags and was relieved by White and Gretzinger as the game was called short due to the run differential. Rhinelander’s offense provided plenty of cushion, with Rappley and Josh Willoughby both launching home runs in the win.