Menasha Tops A’s, 4-3 In NEW Title Game
Posted: August 12, 2013
Leading 3-0 entering the bottom of the fifth inning, the Sheboygan A’s baseball team allowed the host Menasha Macs to score four unanswered runs as Sheboygan fell 4-3 in Game 3 of the best-of-three Northeastern Wisconsin Baseball League championship series.
The A’s scored single tallies in the first, third and fourth innings to take a 3-0 lead, but in the last five innings they left six on base, three in scoring position.
Sheboygan lost 4-1 on Friday night in Menasha but earned a 4-0 win in Sheboygan on Saturday night to force the decisive game.
The A’s scored in the top of the first to make it 1-0 and added runs in the third and fourth innings.
Tony Lamers hit a 2-run home run in the fifth to narrow the gap to one at 3-2 for Menasha and in the sixth they sent seven men to the plate, but managed only one run thanks to some artful relief pitching by Mitch Gardner. Gardner worked out of a one-out bases-loaded jam thanks to some solid defense by Chad Langley and Grant Evans. But the damage was done; the score was tie at three. It stayed that way until the bottom of the ninth.
The A’s stranded runners at first and second in the ninth. Then with two outs in the bottom of the ninth and Eric Keenan on second base after a walk and sacrifice bunt, Gardner braced for top of the order. Will Randerson hit a playable drive into centerfield, but the usually reliable Sam Mattheis couldn’t make the play and Keenan scored the game-ending run..
Starter Sam Raff gave the A’s an opportunity to win, as he retired the first 11 Macs he faced in order and had goose eggs on the board until Lamers’ home run.
Meanwhile the A’s had Jack Taschner, the former Big Leaguer and Sheboygan A’s pitcher, on the ropes in the first, third and fourth innings, but managed only one run in each.
Luke Maldonado, Chad Langley, Grant Evans and Frank Pietrantonio all had two hits for the A’s. who finished the night with 10 hits to MenashA’s four. Menasha committed five errors while the A’s only had one.
The A’s finish the 2013 season, their 51st, with a 37-25 record.
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.
