A’s Beat Kenosha, Force Game Three

An outstanding pitching performance was coupled with some timely hits and assisted by uncharacteristic Kenosha defensive errors that gave the Sheboygan A’s a 4-2 win Thursday night at Wildwood Park.

The win evens the series at a game apiece. The rubber game will be played Saturday night, 7:30, at Simmons Field in Kenosha.

The A’s are gunning for their first league championship since they won the Wisconsin State League title in 2000.

Starter Nolan Peterson and reliever Eric Schmitz combined to hold Kenosha to just five hits. Peterson got into the eighth to earn the win. Schmitz pitched a perfect 1 2/3 for the save.

A perfectly executed squeeze bunt by Luke Maldonado gave the A’s a 1-0 lead in the third inning. Sam Mattheis scored the run on the squeeze after getting aboard on an error and moving up on sacrifice bunt by Jeremy McCarty and a wild pitch.

The As made it 2-0 when Trevor Theissen got an infield hit and advanced to second on a throwing error. He scored on McCarty’s double.

The A’s padded their lead to 4-0 in the sixth on more Kenosha errors and Theissen’s RBI single.

Meanwhile Peterson was cruising through the Kenosha line-up with a 2-hit shutout until the eighth when he was charged with two runs on three hits before manager Tyler Martin took the ball from him and gave it to Schmitz, who closed out the game with five straight outs.

Theissen’s two hits led the offense, and in addition to his perfect sacrifice bunt, Maldonado turned in another spectacular defensive play.

Bryce Taylor is scheduled to start the championship game Saturday night. The A’s are 34-22 going in.

Following Saturday’s game, the A’s launch Northeastern Wisconsin Baseball League playoff competition with their best of three series against the Appleton Legends starting in Appleton Monday night. Game two will be in Sheboygan Tuesday night.

Story by: SheboyganBaseball.org