West Allis NATIONALS Baseball

The West Allis Nationals, with the help of several Old Timers, defeated the Port Washington Lakers 11-5 on Saturday at Harden Field.

A beautiful day welcomed the Natties - those fresh, those rusty, and those dusty.   After a vigorous round of throwing, batting practice and rest, a combined local nine took the field.   In the starting lineup were Old Timers Lance Longhenry, Alex Franson, Jake Koutnik, and Kellen Haynes.   Complementing them were 2010 Nats Adam Karas, Jared Stengal, Brandon Hall, Curt Pryal, Jimmy Jungbauer, Tom Zimmerman, and James Herkowski.

Curt Pryal toed the rubber for the first 5 innings to earn the victory.   Pryal held the Lakers to one unearned run on 6 hits.   Jimmy Jungbauer pitched the final 3 innings for his first Nationals save.   Jungbauer allowed two unearned runs on two hits.  

That mound effort made it easy on the offense.   Lance Longhenry singled with one down in the second and scored on a two out RBI single by James Herkowski.    From there on, the Nationals posted at least one tally in every inning.   

Brandon Hall led the offense with a perfect 4 for 4 day and 3RBI's.   Jared Stengal added 2 doubles and an RBI.   Old Timers Lance Longhenry and Jake Koutnik had big contributions as well.   Longhenry finished with 2 hits and 2 RBI's and Koutnik produced a two run double in the seventh.

Next up for the Nationals are the Burlington Barons.    This game will be played Saturday May 8 in Burlington.  First pitch is set for 5pm.

2009 came to an abrupt end on Thursday night as the Nationals fell at Genoa City 3-2 in 10 innings.     The scrappy and resilient squad ended the season at 14-10 overall and saw its title run cut short.

The Nats pulled ahead in the fourth inning on an RBI single by James Herkowski.  Dan Putnam scored on the play.

In the fifth, the Nats had another good scoring opportunity cut short when Mike Wajerski was caught in a rundown between third and home.    There appeared to be obstruction by the Genoa City catcher on the play, but no call was made.

The game stayed 1-0 until the seventh.   CJ Herrforth, starting pitcher for the Nationals, was cruising to that point but began to stiffen.  After retiring the first two hitters of the inning he gave up a double and a walk.   The next batter was jammed, but managed to bounce the ball over CJ and in front of second baseman Austin James.   James' throw to first was late and a run scored on the play to tie the score at 1.

In the tenth, the Nationals took the lead.   Dan Putnam doubled for the second time with one out and scored on a two out single from Curt Pryal.

Putnam then went back to the mound to close the door.    In his fourth inning of relief, Putnam retired the first hitter before allowing a single.   After striking out the next batter for out number two, Putnam battled the three hole hitter before allowing a drive to deep left center that barely eluded the glove of CF Jimmy Jungbauer and falling in for a game tying triple. When the next hitter singled through the hole on the left side, the Nationals were left to head back to the dugout for one last round of Miller High Life bottles.

The Nationals will celebrate their successful 2009 campaign on Sunday September 6 at Doyne Park in Milwaukee.    The team will co-host the 22nd annual Doyne Open Golf Outing that day.    The popular event is open to the public and the local ballplayers will be in attendance.   For more information, call 414.305.2104.

Bolstered by a dominant pitching performance from Jimmy Jungbauer, the West Allis Nationals defeated the Milwaukee Angels 9-4 on Tuesday night.   

Jungbauer went 8.3 innings and allowed only 3 earned runs while striking out 9.  Curt Pryal led the offense with 3 hits, including 2 doubles.

With the victory the Nationals advance to a second round matchup versus the Genoa City Red Dogs.   The game will be played Thursday night in Genoa City.  First pitch is set for 7:30pm.

The West Allis Nationals locked up the #4 seed in the Langsdorf Playoffs by sweeping the Milwaukee Angels on Saturday by the scores of 15-1 and 15-5.   Patience at the plate combined with timely hits with runners in scoring position proved to be an effective formula.  

In game 1, James Herkowski led the way with 2 hits and 2 RBI.   Herkowski's first hit was the 300th of his career, tops in Nationals history.

In game 2, Mike Wajerski and Adam Karas led the way with 3 hits a piece.  Karas also had 4 RBI, including a bases clearing double.

Playoffs start on Tuesday night at Zirkel Field.   The Nationals face the Angels once again.   First pitch is set for 7:30pm.