West Allis NATIONALS Baseball

The West Allis Nationals defeated the Kenosha Kings Tuesday night 2-0 at Zirkel Field. Rain threatened, but both teams were determined to play Tuesday - so determined that 400 pounds of kitty litter was utilized as a drying agent to ensure the field was playable. Why such zealous determination? Neither team wanted to waste the opportunity to throw their ace on a pitcher-friendly night. The air was chilly, the wind was blowing in, the grass was high, and the infield was soft, wet and slow. The Nationals sent Johnny Arnold (1.41 ERA) to the mound against Kings ace, Kyle Obenauf (0.92 ERA) Both pitchers lived up to the billing. The Kings had legitimate scoring opportunities in the first, second, fifth, eighth and ninth innings, but Arnold and the Nationals rose to the occasion each time. In the first, Jesse Hart threw a strike to the plate to nab Kings' first baseman, Chris Sadjack, for the final out of the inning. The Kings loaded the bases in the fifth with one out, but Arnold induced an infield popup and ground ball to third to get out of that inning. The biggest threat of the night, though, came in the eighth. The Kings loaded the bases with no one out, trailing only by one run. After an Arnold strikeout, Kings' pinch-hitter, Andy Heller, hit a one hopper to mound which Arnold quickly relayed to catcher Steve Schulte for force out. Schulte's subsequent toss to first completed the 1-2-3 DP and ended the inning. The Nationals had few true scoring chances, but were able to capitalize twice. Jesse Hart lead off the fourth with a double and was sacrificed to third by Alex Franson. An infield ground out by Johnny Arnold scored him and gave the Nats an important 1-0 lead. In the sixth, the Nationals put runners on first and third with no outs, but Jesse Hart's smash to third was quickly converted into a DP and the rally fizzled. In the eighth, Steve Schulte was hit by a pitch with one out. After advancing to second on a passed ball and third on a ground out by Joe Riebe, Mike Wajerski stepped to the plate. Working the count full, Wajerski lined a single to right field, scoring Schulte, and giving the Nats an important insurance run. Next up for the locals are the Kiwanis of Racine. Racine won the North Division regular season championship and earned a first round playoff bye. They hold a 2-1 edge vs. the Nationals in 2005, both losses coming in 10 innings. The Best-of-Three Series begins Saturday night at Zirkel Field. The teams will play two seven inning games, the first starting at 6PM.