Bandits Hold Off Late Rally By A’s

SHEBOYGAN — The Manitowoc Bandits survived 14 hits and a late charge by the Sheboygan As to pull out a 9-6 Northeast Wisconsin Baseball League and Wisconsin State League victory on Thursday in Sheboygan.

Chris Krepline picked up the win for the Bandits, pitching six strong innings with six strikeouts and only giving up two runs. Kevin Wild took the loss for Sheboygan, also pitching six innings with four strikeouts and five walks.

Brandon Bartels was 3-for-5 for the Bandits at the plate at Ben Warwick was 2-for-5.

The A’s trailed by seven runs, 9-2, but refused to give up, chipping away at Manitowoc’s lead in the bottom of the seventh with an run-scoring double by Jordan Rennicke. The A’s bats were busy again in the eighth as Justin Hunt started a rally with a single followed by a Ross Fassbinder walk. After another walk to Matt Schilter, Ryan Schilter came through with a one-out RBI single. Doug Dekoing followed suit with a two-run single bringing the A’s within three runs, but that was as close as the A’s would get.

The action picked up in the top of the third inning when Mike Hall doubled to center field, scoring the Bandits first two runs. Manitowoc padded its lead in the sixth inning with the help of four walks by Wild. Brandon Bartels added a two-run single to extend the Bandits lead to five.

Sheboygan’s bats finally woke up in the bottom half of the sixth. After a lead- off walk by Dekoing, clean-up hitter Jared Fon ripped a single. Two batters later Hunt drove in Fon and Dekoing with a two-run single, closing the A’s deficit to 5-2.

However, the Bandits would have an answer in the top of the seventh. After back-to-back two-out walks, Ben Warwick and Brad Liermann had consecutive RBI singles. Two more runs would come across courtesy of a throwing error by Sheboygan shortstop Taylor Schwarz.

Hunt lead the A’s at the plate with three hits and two RBI, while Bartels also had three hits and two RBI for the Bandits.

Manitowoc 9, Sheboygan 6
Manitowoc 002 003 400 — 9 9 0
Sheboygan 000 002 130 — 6 14 3
WP: Krepline 6 ip, 6 k, 2 w, 6 h, 2 er.
LP: Wild 6 ip, 4 k, 3 w, 5 er.

Story by: Sheboygan Press and Manitowoc Herald Times