West Allis NATIONALS Baseball

The Nationals got an early taste of playoff-caliber baseball on Tuesday when they squared off with the Kenosha Kings at Nash Park.

Falling behind 3-0 in the first, the squad scratched their way back in the contest before bowing late.   James Herkowski's sac fly in the second put the squad on the board and Mike Kenseth's big two out, two run double gave the team an early 5-3 lead.

Kenosha tallied one in the seventh against starter Jim Jungbauer to make it 5-4.  Jungbauer finished the inning and ended the night with a solid seven innings, striking out 8, walking 1, and allowing only 2 earned runs.

The eighth inning proved pivotal.   After two walks and a sacrifice to open the inning,  Kenosha sent up a pinch hitter and struck gold.   His two run double gave Kenosha its first lead since the fourth inning, 6-5.   They added another on a double steal before sending the game to the ninth.

The Nats didn't go quietly.   Matt Soderlund doubled home Austin James, who had reached on a single and stole second.   Unfortunately, Jared Stengel was not able to bring him home, flying to center to end the game.

Next up for the Nats is a regular season ending DH vs. the Milwaukee Angels on Saturday afternoon at Zirkel Field.   First pitch is set for 12noon.   At stake is home field advantage in the first round of the playoffs, set to start on Tuesday night July 28, also at Zirkel Field.  Game time is 7:30.

The Nationals faced the Kenosha Merchants, a Land O Lakes squad from the Eastern Division, in a non-league game on Saturday afternoon at Harden Field.

Despite getting off to a rough start, the squad battled back and pulled away for a 9-4 victory.   The Nats received strong individual performances from Austin James, who had 3 hits, including a double, and 3 RBI's, Matt Soderlund, who also had three RBI's, and James Herkowski, Brandon Hall, and Mike Wajerski - each of whom contributed 2 hits to the cause.

Nationals pitchers allowed no earned runs in the contest.   CJ Herrforth pitched the first three, including a long first in which the Merchants scored all 4 of their runs with the help of 2 Nationals errors.   Adam Karas, seeing his first mound work of the year, through 4 scoreless innings in middle relief to earn the win.   Karas allowed just one hit, walking 2 and striking out 2.   Danny Putnam closed the game with 2 more scoreless innings.

Next up are the Langsdorf League's Kenosha Kings.   The teams square off at 7:30pm on Tuesday night at Nash Field in Kenosha in a game with significant playoff implications.

The West Allis Nationals played a crisp game against the front running Kiwanis on Tuesday night in Racine, downing them by a score of 6-3.   Curt Pryal pitched 6 strong innings to get the win.   CJ Herrforth allowed only one run over the final 3 innings to earn his first save.

Much of the offense came from the bottom of the order.  Austin James had three hits and two runs and Mike Kenseth also had three hits, including his third triple of the year.

Jared Stengel continued his hot hitting with his eighth double of the year, a single and 2 RBI's.

The victory gives the Nationals sole possession of the fifth and final playoff spot with 3 league games to play.

Next up is a non-league game against the Kenosha Merchants on Saturday afternoon at Harden Field.   First pitch is set for 1PM.

After a strong performance in a 10-0 opening game victory, the Nats dropped the nightcap 4-3 to the crosstown rival White Sox.

Curt Pryal had 3 doubles, an HR and 5 RBI in the DH.   Jared Stengel went 4-6 with a double, HR and 2 RBI.    Jim Jungbauer struck out 6 in 5 innings of work while shutting out the Sox in the opener.

Next up are the first place Kiwanis.   Game will be played at Horlick Field in Racine on Tuesday night.  First pitch is set for 7:30pm.