Sheboygan A's Baseball

A’s Win Opener in Manitowoc

Posted: May 29, 2014

Chad Langley drove in a run with three hits, Cole Heili hit a 2-run home run and first year player Blake Fleischman knocked in two runs with a base hit and a sacrifice fly to lead the Sheboygan A’s to a 6-4 Northeastern Wisconsin League win at Manitowoc Wednesday night.

Their season opening win behind them, the A’s will treat fans to a four-game weekend with plenty of pre-game activity at Wildwood Park.

On Friday night the Menasha MACs are in town for the Project G.R.I.L.L. home opener. On Saturday West Allis is here for a 5 p.m. twi-night doubleheader and on Sunday, the Chicago Clout is in town for a 1:30 p.m. game. At 4:15 Saturday the new scoreboard will officially be welcomed to Sheboygan and the businesses that sponsored it will be recognized. At 12:45 Sunday, the ball park’s new Donor Wall will be unveiled and its benefactors Elsie Udovich and Betty Zeichert will be cited.

Wednesday night Taylor Schwarz, the returning 2013 Most Valuable Pitcher, got the opening day start and pitched five strong innings to earn the win. He struck out five, walked two and gave up one run.

The A’s were in charge until Manitowoc rallied for four straight walks off A.J. Alessi to score three runs in the bottom of the eighth. Max Kramsky got the A’s out of that inning and pitched a scoreless ninth to earn a save. Taylor Ditter and Mitch Gardner pitched two perfect mid-game innings.

The A’s took a 2-0 lead in the second. Harry Steldt led off with a base hit and Zach Brenner was hit by a pitch. After an out, Langley singled in Steldt and Fleischman knocked in Brenner with his sac-fly. Heili’s 2-run home run came in the fifth.

In the sixth, hits by Brenner, Eric Solberg and Fleischman coupled with a Manitowoc outfield error got A’s their final two runs.

Derek Loomans is scheduled for Friday’s start against the NEW League’s defending champion MACs and Brandon Winfield and Bryce Taylor are penciled in for Saturday.

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 FacebookTwitterInstagram and YouTube.