Bunton Strikes Out 10, A’s Secure 11-6 Win Over Nationals
Posted: June 14, 2024
Games against the West Allis Nationals are always important, as the A’s and Nationals have constantly found themselves battling at the top of the league standings, going back to their days together in the Langsdorf League.
Now joined together in the Wisconsin State League since 2015, the two club’s continue to be near the top of the league standings. With the Nationals winning the WSL championship last year, and going 4-1 against the A’s in the process, the A’s had a message to send Thursday night, and they did.
Jason Bunton, who started on the mound for the A’s, struck out 10 over five innings as the A’s won 11-6.
The A’s wasted no time establishing the tone in the first inning. Chase Hanselman started the action with a single, and Jacob Neese drove in the first run with a fly ball single to center. Jimmy Juergensen then smashed a double to right field, bringing home two more runs. Ben Buehring grounded into a double play, but Ian Merry crossed the plate, giving the A’s an early 4-0 lead.
West Allis responded in the third inning, scoring their first run on a defensive throwing error. However, the A’s quickly regained control in the bottom of the third when Neese doubled to left, driving in Hanselman and extending the lead to 5-1.
The Nationals clawed back with three runs in the fourth inning, narrowing the gap to 5-4. They capitalized on two more A’s errors and timely hits.
The A’s counter-punched again in their half of the fifth, when Juergensen’s single brought in two runs, and Alex Perez added another with a ground ball single, pushing the score to 8-4.
The Nationals continued to attempt to mount a comeback as they pushed two across the plate in the eighth. But the A’s sealed things away with three more runs in the bottom half when Hanselman singled to drive in Jason Sims, Neese’s sacrifice fly scored Gus Walker, and Merry reached on an error, allowing Hanselman to score and finalizing the 11-6 win.
Hanselman, Juergensen, and Neese each collected multiple hits, with Juergensen leading the way with four RBIs, while Hanselman contributed with two stolen bases and two walks.
Brad Rindfleisch secured the four-out save, with Bunton getting the win.
The A’s head to Menasha Friday night for an NEWL matchup between the top two teams in the league. The Macs won the first game of the season series against the A’s in Sheboygan on June 6. The 2024 season is presented by Meijer.
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.
