A’s Split with WSL Leader Lombard
Posted: August 9, 2020
Ordinarily, a split at Lombard would be a cause for celebration. After all, Lombard’s Orioles are the reigning Wisconsin State League champions and have been for the past 16 years. This year the A’s f,elt they had a shot at it and were on a mission to unseat the Orioles. But they could only get a split of Saturday’s doubleheader.
They racked up 11 hits and won the first game 8-5 behind a gutty performance on the mound by Eric Schmitz. But in the second game, unearned runs put the A’s in a hole that, against Lombard pitching, the club was unable to escape. Lombard won the second game, 7-1.
Outstanding defensive plays by Nathan Ebersole and TD Walker and aggressive base-running set the tone for Schmitz whose challenging ”here-it-is-see-if-you-can-hit” pitching style won out in the end despite the Orioles racking up 11 hits, and six left on base. He went to 5-0 for the season.
Josh Moses had a home run, a base hit and walked twice. Tyler Butkiewicz was 3-for-3 with a walk and an RBI and Ebersole and Juergensen each drove in one run with a pair of hits.
The tone for the second game was set in the first inning when they A’s were unable to score after leading off the game with a single by Krist and a double by Mark Wanner. A strikeout and a double play got Lombard out of the inning.
Conversely, assisted by A’s errors, Lombard capitalized on all of its scoring opportunities. Jared Reklaitis was the victim of the shoddy defensive play as only one of the six runs charged to him was earned.
Butkiewicz went 2-for-3, giving him a 5-for-6 day. Wanner was 2-for-3. Walker drive in the A’s only run with a seventh inning sacrifice fly.
This is the week that the 2020 A’s will see what they are made of as they play all the State League contenders. The A’s (13-6) play Lombard (16-3) Monday in Burlington, West Allis (13-7) Thursday at Burlington, and Burlington (12-6) in a doubleheader Saturday at Wildwood Park. Sandwiched in between is a Wednesday game at Appleton.
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.
