Sheboygan, WI – It was a busy day at Wildwood Park on Saturday. Runners crowded the streets as the A’s hosted another successful 5K run/walk. Pat McCurdy entertained fans with a pre-game musical performance. And the Sheboygan A’s opened up the 2018 season with a pair of victories over the visiting Redbirds of Marinette. The A’s took game one 5-0 and held off a late Marinette comeback attempt 8-5 in game two.
John VanderPloeg had an impressive debut in getting the opening day nod, striking out 13 and walking just one in six innings on the mound. Rookie Austin Wagner pitched the final frame to secure the victory. He picked up two strikeouts to bring the game one total to 15.
Cole Miklavcic and Chris Saltzman had two hits apiece to pace the A’s offense.
In game two, the A’s jumped out to an 8-0 lead led by Ryan Fields and Kyle Peterson, who collected three hits each in the game. Brady Nehring struck out 11 over six innings and didn’t surrender a run.
Josh Olson and Austin Fox each made an appearance on the mound in the seventh. Olson ran into some control issues before Fox came in to get the final out of the game.
The A’s are back in action at Wildwood Park on Tuesday when they host the West Allis Nationals at 7:30 PM.