A’s Eke Out Win over De Pere
Posted: June 18, 2008
Except for the effort put forth by young righthander Frank Raff, it was far from pretty, but this gritty 2008 Sheboygan A’s team deserved an ugly win.
The A’s scored the game’s only run in the bottom of the 10th inning to steal a 1-0 Northeastern Wisconsin League victory from the DePere River Bandits. The win put the A’s at 6-2 in the NEW and 11-9 overall.
Turning its attention back to the Wisconsin State League, the club leaves Wildwood Park at 5 p.m. tonight for Oshkosh and a 7:30 p.m. game against the Giants at E. J. Schneider Field.
Raff and De Pere’s Adam Linsmeyer alternated zeroes on the scoreboard through nine innings. Neither got much support as the A’s finished with four errors and De Pere five. Both pitchers, but Raff particularly because his six walks contributed mightily, pitched out of one jam after another. Between the two teams, they left 26 on base and De Pere left eight in scoring position.
But both left the game in the hands of relievers. Raff started the 10th, but after he got the first out, he walked two straight and got the hook in favor of Sam Radbil, who was a fine pitcher in high school but had yet to climb Wildwood’s hill. He took it over like it was his backyard playground. He got one out on a fly ball and another on a ground out to give the A’s their shot at the win in the 10th.
Grant Berkovitz led it off with a base hit. Then the A’s caught a break. Shawn Wozniak hit a bounder to De Pere second baseman Jeff Riddle. Riddle, one of the top players in the NEW, juggled the ball just long enough to take De Pere out of the double play, but he managed to nail Wozniak at first. Then the River Bandits intentionally walked Tim Patzman. Here manage Chad Gehr put on the double steal and both Berkovitz and Patzman moved up with Tim Salm at the plate.
One might have thought De Pere would walk Tim Salm, a good contact hitter, to set up the double play, but obviously De Pere skipper Dannis Riddke decided he didn’t want to see left-handed hitting Lucas Wilsing, who already had two hits and a walk in the game.
Salm did his thing, he made contact and bounded a roller toward third. Going on contact, Berkovitz charged the plate, but there was never a play on him as De Pere’s Gavin Scray bobbled the ball for his third error of the night and never got off a throw.
Matt Schilter had three hits for the A’s and Wozniak and Wilsing two each.
Following tonight’s game in Oahkosh, the A’s go to Appleton before returning home for the Hall of Fame game a 5 p.m. doubleheader against Janesville. A’s fans should note the starting time which is a change from the original 6 p.m. start.
The Sheboygan A's are members of the Wisconsin State League and Northeastern Wisconsin Baseball League. The A's have helped develop more than 43 players that have reached professional baseball, including 2002 World Series Champion Jarrod Washburn (Anaheim Angels). All Sheboygan A's home games are played at Wildwood Baseball Park in Sheboygan. Connect with the A's on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.
