West Allis NATIONALS Baseball

The local 9 completed a successful week Friday night with a DH sweep of the cross-town Sox, winning by scores of 7-3 and 5-2.

Leading the offense were Jordan Stine with 4 hits, 3RBI, and 4 steals and Curt Pryal, also with 4 hits and 2RBI.   Hot-hitting Tom Zimmerman with a pair of RBI knocks, as well.

Starting pitchers, Jim Jungbauer and Joe Munn, also had strong performances.  Each went 5 innings for victories.  Jungbauer limited the Sox to 2 fifth inning runs, striking out 4 and walking 3, while Munn held the Sox scoreless, striking out 9 and walking only 2.   Kellen Haynes and George James closed out games 1 and 2, respectively.

Patience and timely hitting proved to be the winning combination on the night.  In game 1, first inning walks to Stine and Munn were followed by Curt Pryal's RBI single.  In the third, it was Kellen Haynes and Mike Kenseth drawing walks before and after a Stine single that set the table with no outs.   Joe Munn followed with a grounder to the third basemen who threw home to force Haynes but the catcher's effort to double him up resulted in an errant throw into right field, allowing Stine to score.   Another Sox throwing error in the inning resulted in two more runs and the Nats went to the fourth with a 4-0 lead.   RBI singles by Stine in the fourth and sixth put the game out of reach.

In game two the story was similar.   Patiently working counts, the team drove Sox starting pitcher Ben Versnik's pitch total to 99 by the end of the fourth.  Joe Munn got things started with a two out walk in the first.   Curt Pryal followed with an infield single, setting the table for Tom Zimmerman's second two-out RBI effort in as many dates.   After failing the capitalize with the bases loaded in the second, Pryal and Zimmerman again came through in the third.   Pryal singled with one out and Zimmerman followed with an RBI double to right.   The early 2-0 lead expanded in the fourth.  Adam Karas worked an eight pitch walk and stole second and Stine drove him home with a one out single.  With two outs, Joe Munn drew a walk and scored on Curt Pryal's booming double to left.  At the end of four, the team had a comfortable 5-0 lead and never looked back.

The Nationals (5-1, FLL) return to action on Tuesday night June 17 at Zirkel Field in West Allis vs the Burlington Barons (3-3, FLL)   First pitch is set for 7:30pm.

Tuesday evening's affair between two of SE Wisconsin's finer squads did not disappoint.   The lead changed hands on several occasions before the Nats Jared Stengal finally ended things with a walk off two run single in the bottom of the tenth, sending the team to an exciting 11-10 victory.

Stengal's heroics, though, would not have been possible without Tom Zimmerman's bases-clearing, two-out, two strike double in the bottom of the ninth which tied the score at 9.

The Nats took the lead in the first on a two run, two out error by Kings third baseman, Kevin Zalnis.   The squad added to the lead with three more runs in the second.   After that Kings starting pitcher, Chad Ori, settled in, holding the Nationals scoreless through the seventh while allowing his squad to chip away at Nats starter, Greg Donovan.   Donovan went 7 innings in the contest, but was hurt by 6 defensive miscues and left with his team trailing 9-5.   Curt Pryal pitched the final three frames for the win, allowing only one run.

Next up are the rival West Allis White Sox on Friday night at Zirkel Field.   The DH begins at 6PM.

The Friday June 6 game between the West Allis Nationals and Racine Kiwanis was rained out.

The game has been rescheduled as the first game of a DH set for June 27 at Zirkel Field.   First pitch will be at 6PM.

The West Allis Nationals rebounded from a winless road trip with two impressive victories over the scrappy Barons, winning by scores of 7-5 and 5-1.

In game one, Jared Stengal secured the victory with a 7th inning, two run homer to break a 5-5 tie.   Stengal finished with 3 RBI on the day.   Newcomers Joe Munn and Jordan Stine contributed 2 and 1 RBI respectively.

It was Jim Jungbauer's second start of the year on the mound, but could have been counted as two given a tight strike zone and high pitch count.   Jungbauer battled for 5 innings allowing only one run on two hits while walking 8 and striking out 9.   He gave way to George James in the sixth.  James was wild in the strike zone, allowing 4 hits and 4 runs as the Barons overcame a 5-1 deficit.   Curt Pryal shut down the Barons in the seventh to secure the win.

Game two saw the Nationals debut of Joe Munn, the pitcher.    After allowing 2 hits and a run in the first, Munn locked in.   He finished with a three hitter, striking out 9, and retired the final 13 batters he faced.

The Nationals struck early in game two.   After a single by Jim Jungbauer and a double by Mike Kenseth,  Curt Pryal stepped to the plate.   His groundout to short scored the first run.   With two outs, game one hero Jared Stengal came through again - this time doubling in Kenseth with the inning's second run.

That would be all for the offense until the seventh inning.   Overly aggressive baserunning defused several scoring opportunities.   In the seventh, though, the Nats broke the game open.   Catcher Matt Soderlund's second double of the game got things started.    After Mike Kenseth coaxed a two out walk, Jordan Stine came through with a timely RBI single to extend the lead to 3-1.    Curt Pryal followed with a two run single to center to put the game away.    Munn struck out the final two Baron batters to end the game.

Next up for the Nats are the Milwaukee Angels on Tuesday June 3 at Zirkel Field.   First pitch is set for 7:30pm.