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MarshfieldAreaSports.com
WISCONSIN RAPIDS – The Stratford baseball team opened its 2024 season with a doubleheader sweep of Rhinelander, winning 13-1 and 9-2 in a pair of nonconference games Saturday at Lincoln High School.
The Tigers took advantage of mistakes from Rhinelander in both contests, using 10 hits and eight walks to plate 13 runs in the opener, and despite only finishing with three hits in Game 2, they scored nine times and Rhinelander committed seven errors and walked 10.
Brady Schmidt picked up the win for the Tigers in the first game, striking out five in four innings.
Riley Spindler had two hits and scored three times, Brady Berg had two hits and two RBI, and Jack Tubbs and Henry Zaleski each also drove in a pair of runs for Stratford.
In Game 2, Zaleski struck out nine in five innings and Berg struck out three in two shutout innings of relief to give the Tigers the sweep.
Berg and Tubbs both had a pair of RBI in the victory.
Stratford will play a nonconference game at Spencer on Monday.
Game 1
Tigers 13, Hodags 1
Stratford 066 10 – 13 10 1
Rhinelander 000 10 – 1 2 2
WP: Brady Schmidt. LP: Ratty.
SO: Schmidt (4 inn.) 5, Drew Gage (1 inn.) 1; Ratty (2 2/3 inn.) 2, Hanson (2/3 inn.) 1, Kurtz (1 2/3 inn.) 3. BB: Schmidt 1, Gage 2; Ratty 2, Hanson 5, Kurtz 1.
Top hitters: S, Riley Spindler 2×3, 3 runs; Brady Berg 2×2, 2 RBI; Jack Tubbs 1×2, 2 RBI; Henry Zaleski 1×3, 2 runs, 2 RBI; Landon Zawislan 2B, RBI; Braden Bloom 2 runs; Alec Chapel 2 runs, 2 RBI.
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Game 2
Tigers 9, Hodags 2
Rhinelander 020 000 0 – 2 4 7
Stratford 001 512 x – 9 3 2
WP: Zaleski. LP: Heck.
SO: Vanderbunt (3 inn.) 3, Heck (2 inn.) 3, Vanney (1 inn.) 1; Zaleski (5 inn.) 9, Berg (2 inn.) 3. BB: Vanderbunt 6, Heck 2, Vanney 2; Zaleski 1, Berg 0.
Top hitters: R, Vanderbunt 2×3, 2 RBI. S, Berg 3B, 2 RBI; Tubbs 1×3, 2 RBI; Chapel 1×3, 3 RBI.
Records: Rhinelander 0-2; Stratford 2-0.