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When ominous skies imperiled yesterday's affair, the locals were left with the prospect of sitting idle for over a week. (This is not exactly newsworthy considering the day-to-day affairs of Tom Donovan and Joey Reisinger)
Alas, poor Sussex, the rain did not prevail. Those fans and players sober enough to take in the action witnessed a workmanlike performance by the boys from 'Stalis as they took two from a lean Cardinals squad, winning by scores of 8-4 and 10-0.
Sussex's Scott Carberry put the Cardinals on the board early in game one. His two out, first inning homer off Nats starting pitcher, Jimmy Jungbauer, gave Sussex and early 1-0 lead.
The Nats responded quickly. After leadoff batter, Kellen Haynes, grounded out to the pitcher, the Nationals offense went to work. An Adam Kaufman single was sandwiched between walks to Alex Franson and Jared Stengel, loading the bases for red-hot Tom Donovan. Once again, the team RBI leader came through. Donovan smoked a single to the gap in right center field. All three runners scored on the play and the Nats were well on their way to victory. Jim Jungbauer went 5 innings before tiring and giving way to Tim Spata for mop up duty.
Game two was shortened to six innings as a courtesy to the old, injured, and thirsty Nationals on the bench. Seeing your seated comrades wearing silk instead of Nationals blue and sporting casts and braces as opposed to batting gloves can really put the game in perspective.
Not really. The squad simply took advantage of the league's 10 run slaughter rule, piling on 5 runs in the sixth to send the Sussex home and the locals to the Cadillac in the parking lot.
Corey Berndsen picked up his second win of the year, going the distance while recording his first career Nationals shutout.
Next up are the pesky Racine Kiwanis. Also 3-0 in league play, Jack Schiestle's squad is sure to be well-prepared. Nationals BP starts anytime after 5PM on Tuesday. Jack has already told his guys, though, that they should be at the park by noon for calisthenics, film sessions, and early-season performance evaluations.
Appleton Prevails in 10 Inning Affair
We play to win, but sometimes there is satisfaction when we don't.
The locals were able to get work for many new players and competed well, forfeiting 6 runs in the 10th inning in a 15-11 loss to the Appleton Legends. The Nats fell to 5-1 on the year while the Legends maintained a perfect 10-0 ledger.
Jesse Hart led the offense with 2 key homers, 2 other knocks, and 2 walks. Hart's first homer gave the team a 1-0 lead and his second tied the game at 9 in the bottom of the night.
Darin Leveraus made his Nationals' debut on the mound, going 4 innings. Corey Berndsen threw the final six, but was the victim of several defensive misplays and errors.
Nats Prevail in Spirited Battle Against Cross Town Rival
There is no such thing as a comfortable lead when playing a rival.
Those Nationals who didn't know this, learned quickly on Saturday night at Zirkel Field.
Jim Jungbauer started on the hill for the Nats and made quick work of the West Allis White Sox in the top of the first inning, striking out two. One of those strikeouts came against his own brother.
The Nats, on the other hand, burst out of the gate. The team batted around in the first inning, scoring 5 times against one-time National pitching great, Mark Sura. Timely hits by new National Jesse Hart, Johnny Arnold, and Tom Donovan keyed the rally.
5-0 did not stand long. Jungbauer began losing command in the third. Coupled with some kicks and errant throws, the White Sox threw three runs on the board. After trading runs, The White Sox tied the game 6-6 in the fifth inning on a sacrifice fly.
The damage could have been far worse if not for a stellar defensive play by Mike Wajerski and Tom Donovan. With one out and runners on the corners, the White Sox hitter smoked a sinking liner off of relief pitcher, Nick Kibler, that seemed destined to fall in. Wajerski laid out in right center field for a diving catch, quickly sprung to his feet, and fired to Tom Donovan at first base, who alertly took away a nasty short hop and made a sweeping tag of runner, Andy Tuler, for the third out of the inning.
With this momentum shift, the Nationals never looked back. The team added a couple runs in the sixth and three in the seventh, ultimately prevailing in the contest 16-9.
Next up for the Nationals are the undefeated Appleton Legends (9-0) at Zirkel Field on Sunday at 1PM.
Victory over Sheboygan caps 6th Annual Road Trip
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.
