2010 A’s Final
Posted: August 24, 2010
A’s Finish 29-25 . . .
Dekoning, Van Beck, Rennicke
Set Individual Pace in 2010
One would think that for a club accustomed to being in contention, a 29-25 overall record would be a disappointing season.
It was. But between all of the roster and rain problems that ditched one line-up after another, those close to the club know that winning 29 games was something of an accomplishment for manager Chad Gehr this year.
Losing five pitchers that the club had rostered this year combined with rainouts that seemed to occur only when A’s had pitchers ready was too much to overcome.
Brandon Magee was going to be with the club this year, but then got an offer from the Gary Railcats of the Northern League. Bryan Dominick was too, but then the New York Collegiate League called; Greg Blohowiak left at mid-season and Eric Van Beck and Jack Archie late in the season when the Northwoods League called.
“It hurts, but we have to live with those things. We are in the business of getting opportunities for these kids. When these opportunities come along, we have to release them from their commitments to us,” General Manager Denny Moyer said.
In the final weeks Kevin Wild, Eric King, Mitch Gardner, Jack Larsen and Chevy Tollefson carried the load, frequently on short rest as the rainouts resulted in a crushing final weeks’ schedule.
It was a really tough year for Tollefson. Every time he was scheduled in the first two-thirds of the season, his start was rained out. Then in the last third, he took the ball when he really wasn’t rested enough.
The bottom line was 29 wins, 12-14 (4th) in the Wisconsin State League and 14-10 (3rd) in the Northeastern Wisconsin League. The season ended in the first round of the playoffs when Appleton won the best of three series.
The Lombard Orioles won the State League and the Green Bay Storm the Northeastern, winning both the regular season title and beating Appleton in the playoffs.
Doug Dekoning led the A’s at the plate. The crack centerfielder from UW-Milwaukee hit .331 and also led the team in runs batted in with 30.
Other regular players who enjoyed solid seasons were Taylor Schwarz, bound for UW-Parkside, at .328; Matt Schilter, Ryan Schilter (both Condordia Wisconsin) and Phil Kramsky (UW-Stevens Point) all at .321; and Ryan Schmitz (Beloit) at .310.
Cody Marshall hit .368 and led the team in home runs with two, but appeared in only 17 games.
Matt Schilter set the only individual club record this year. His 41 stolen bases surpassed the 36 swiped by Kevin Schwoch (1982) and Jason Bartelt (1998).
Others with good years offensively were Kyle Edlhuber (Wisconsin Lutheran) .297, and Jared Fon (UW-Whitewater) and Jordan Rennicke (UW-Stevens Point) both .280.
UW-Stevens Point’s Van Beck led the pitching staff with a 5-2 record and a 1.31 earned run average, and Archie, also a Pointer, was 4-4 and 3.77. Van Beck was the only pitcher to throw 50 innings this year as no less than 25 players climbed the hill for the A’s this season. Fourteen of them divided the 29 wins and 13 the 25 losses.
Van Beck led in strikeouts with 57 in 55 innings.
The only team record set this year was hit batsmen by A’s pitchers, 52 (with 18 pitchers contributing) surpassing the former mark of 42 in 2005.
Rennicke led defensive players, handling 84 chances without an error. Dekoning was at .989, Gabe Marshall .987, and Kramsky .984. Justin Hunt led in putouts with 215 and Schwarz and Matt Schilter both had 91 assists to lead that category.
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.
