West Allis NATIONALS Baseball

If you were a fan of either side it was a tough game to watch. Every pitch and every play had the potential to win or lose the game. Neither side blinked, but the Nationals did come up one play short, losing to the Milwaukee Angels 3-2 in the Milwaukee County Championship game. Tom Donovan put the Nationals on the board first with a towering home run in the fourth inning. The Angels countered with two runs of their own, however, to take a 2-1 lead. After several rallies stalled prematurely, the Nationals finally knotted the game in the seventh inning. Mike Wajerski drew a two out walk, stole second, and scored on a line single to left center by Jake Paige. Paige advanced to second on the throw home, but was stranded to end the inning. The Angels responded by scoring the deciding run in their half of the inning on D.T. Nokovic's second RBI of the contest. The Nationals again pressured Angels starting pitcher, Nate Schwartz, in the eighth. With two down, James Herkowski and Brian Gibson drew walks, but Jim Dettman's ground ball in hole at short was fielded cleanly and Gibson was forced at second. A disputed third strike call on red-hot Mike Wajerski took the wind out of the team in the ninth. Wajerski, who to that point had two singles, a walk, and three steals, was rung up on a low and away curveball. The Nationals opted for a pitcher by committee strategy in the contest. Starter Tim Spata went the first four innings, allowing two runs. Tim Ustruck followed with two and one third innings, allowing one run, and Pat Bovee threw the last inning and two thirds, holding the Angels scoreless. The Nationals completed another fine season with a 21-11 overall record (15-5 league) and stable of young, battle-tested talent. West Allis Nationals 15-5 (21-11) Milwaukee Athletics 13-6 (14-8) Rookie's Cubs 11-8 McGuire's Cats 3-17 Milwaukee Angels 16-4 (20-6) Kingpins 13-6 (14-8) West Allis White Sox 7-11 Jetsetter Pilots 0-20 Players will be honored at the team's annual Golf Outing and Picnic on SUNDAY AUGUST 31 at MADISON PARK GOLF COURSE. TEAM MVP: Joe Kissler HARVEY KUENN BATTING CHAMP: Tom Donovan DAVE KUHNKE PITCHING CHAMP: Joe Kissler JEFF NEIBAUER SPIRIT AWARD: Tim Spata, Mike Wajerski, Laura Zimmer VETERAN OF THE YEAR: Alex Franson ROOKIE OF THE YEAR: Tom Donovan