Raiders shake off early deficits twice to beat Patriots, Hawks

SHAWANO SOFTBALL QUAD

Opponents scored in the first innings of both games Saturday evening, but the Medford Raiders shut them down after that and scraped together just enough offense to secure a hard-earned 2-0 record in the Shawano Softball Quad, held inside Rhinelander’s Hodag Dome.

The Raiders took out Appleton East 5-2 in their opening game and then got a clutch RBI single from Rynn Ruesch in the bottom of the sixth inning to knock off the host Shawano Hawks 2-1 in the night cap.

The results put Medford at 3-0 heading into spring break week, which had three games on the schedule. The Raiders were the only 2-0 team on the day. Appleton East (4-2) and Shawano (3-2) both beat Winneconne to salvage splits in the quad.

“It was good to be able to pull off such tight games,” said Martha Miller, who pitched all 14 innings for the Raiders. “Both of them were pretty tight. But to be able to pull that off as a team was key.”

Miller and Ruesch both homered early to help the Raiders overcome an early 2-0 deficit in game one against the East Patriots, who were playing their first games of 2022.

The Patriots got an infield single from their speedy leadoff hitter Clare Rettler, who worked her way around the bases on passed balls to score the game’s first run. Gwen Hendrick then sliced a double to the leftfield corner and scored on a twoout error on a ball hit by Josie Neubauer.

Medford quickly cut the deficit in half in the bottom of the first when Miller launched a leadoff solo home run to centerfi eld off Appleton East’s Halli Swick. “I think that just set the mood,” Ruesch said of her teammate’s home run. “After that we were rolling.”

“That makes you pretty pumped up,” Miller said. “It was nice. Not that I was down after those first two runs, but to be able to hit one and get one of those runs back it pumped us up.”

Miller set down the Patriots in order in the top of the second, then Medford grabbed the lead for good in the bottom half. Morgan Huegli singled up the middle and Ruesch hit a liner over the fence in right-center for a two-run homer. Eryka Seidl doubled with one out and was left stranded. But, the damage was done.

“It felt good,” Ruesch said of the home run swing. “I didn’t even feel it.”

The offense went from long ball to small ball in the third to close the scoring. Laurissa Klapatauskas singled and moved to second on a wild pitch. Madisyn Pilgrim singled, moving Klapatauskas to third. Hope Faude’s grounder to short drove in Klapatauskas. After Morgan Huegli reached on an infield hit, runner Emma Brost scored on Ruesch’s fielder’s choice.

“We hit into some productive outs there,” head coach Virgil Berndt said.

From there, Miller and the defense took over. Miller wound up with 14 strikeouts, did not walk a batter and allowed just three hits. She retired 16 of the last 17 East batters, with Hendrick reaching on an error in the sixth.

“In the first inning of the first game I felt a little shaky,” she said. “It was just about getting into my rhythm and being able to dial it in. It was good to be able to know as a team that we can have those shaky first innings and be able to pull together and still get a win.”

“I think we did good at talking and just pulling each other together,” Ruesch said.

Medford had 10 hits. Klapatauskas and Huegli had two hits apiece.

Shawano (1-4) got off to a similar start in game two.

Margo Gull bunted for a hit, stole second and scored on Elizabeth Kary’s single. Hatty Fritz followed with another hit and a passed ball and stolen base put those runners on second and third. Miller struck out Abigail Bystol for the second out of the inning, then the Raiders may have gotten a break when Braylyn Babino’s drive to left hit the roof, making it a foul ball. Miller wound up striking her out to limit the damage.

After a one-two-three first, Medford had at least one runner on base in each of its last five innings, but the Raiders only scratched in two of them. In the third, Seidl singled, took second on a wild pitch, moved to third on Miller’s bunt single and scored on a passed ball.

The Raiders had a big chance in the fourth, loading the bases with one out on a Pilgrim single, a Delaney Hraby walk and an infield hit to deep short by Ruesch. But Katie Brehm’s liner went right to the second baseman for out number two and Seidl grounded out.

It stayed 1-1 until the sixth when Faude singled sharply up the middle, stole second, took third on a wild pitch and scored on Ruesch’s one-out line drive up the middle off Bystol.

“I knew she was pretty consistent,” Ruesch said. “I knew I was ready for it and we needed a hit. It felt good.”

“It was relieving,” Miller said of taking a lead into the seventh. “It’s nice to know that you’re up. OK, now it’s three more outs. You just have to push through and finish it.”

She did that, working around a oneout walk with three strikeouts to finish with 17 on just two walks and three hits allowed, all in the first inning.

Ruesch had two of Medford’s seven hits.