Hodag Highlights: Walk-off homer caps stunning comeback as Hodags stun Antigo 9-7

Sometimes the best stories write themselves. Thursday afternoon inside the Hodag Dome, the Rhinelander High School softball team pulled off a dramatic comeback, scoring five runs in the bottom of the seventh inning to stun Antigo 9-7.
With the Hodags trailing 7-4 heading into their final at-bat, the situation looked bleak. But Rhinelander refused to go quietly.
The rally began to take shape when freshman Ruby Plamann laced a double and then advanced to third on the throw home, helping drive in two runs in the process to close the gap to 7-7 and tie the game. That brought junior Ava Rathbun to the plate with the game on the line.
Rathbun made the most of the moment. With a level swing, she got all of a pitch and sent it sailing over the left field fence, plating two runs and sending the Hodags spilling out of the dugout in celebration. Just like that, a three-run deficit had become a 9-7 walk-off victory.
Plamann, who finished 2-for-4 on the day, was a catalyst throughout. Her hustle on the basepaths in the seventh proved to be the spark that ignited the comeback.