West Allis NATIONALS Baseball

It was baseball at its purest.

9 vs 9

Momentum favored the Nats, however, and the boys in blue and maroon took charge early. Coming to Sheboygan with three consecutive season-opening victories and little rest, the Nats showed a strong will to win against an opponent that lacked intensity. Taking advantage of three opening inning errors by the A's, the Nats jumped to a 3-0 lead. Little did either side know that this was just the start of an error avalanche. Sheboygan, like the shorthanded Nats, played several pitchers in the field. Unfortuately for Sheboygan, these pitchers left their leather at home. All told, the A's committed 9 fielding errors, and lost a 10th error, when an outfielder failed to glove a routine fly ball. Though given many breaks, the Nationals 9 did show up to play. James Herkowski, Jimmy Dettman, and Jimmy Jungbauer all made their first appearances on the trip after making the morning drive up from Milwaukee. Their spark and energy certainly helped the 6 warriors who had been through the 42 hour field and bottle marathon prior to Sunday's first pitch. Fatigue had set in, but a salty National is a true National. Herkowski led the offense with three hits and was robbed of a fourth by A's third baseman, Randy Wilke. Dettman contributed two knocks and two innings of relief on the hill. Jimmy Jungbauer, after spending his first three seasons on the DL, started on the mound and went 5 innings to get the win. He allowed only one run and showed the overpowering stuff that had been advertised. Next up for the Nationals are trips to the infirmary. In fact, after this weekend, the team is considering the employment of a team physician. Several players are nursing injuries incurred on the field of play (as opposed to past years when injuries occured after the games) With a little luck, most of the squad will be healed for the league opener against the crosstown rival White Sox on June 4.