Sheboygan A's Baseball

2016 Season Wrapup: A’s Finish with 37-19 Record

Posted: September 6, 2016

For a long time you will remember that the Sheboygan A’s lost the last three games of the season, the playoff games. And you will remember that they got ousted in the semi-finals in the WABC tournament by a 7-6 score.

You know they were tired and hobbled, still, you just don’t forget playoff losses. They are etched.

Also etched is the memory of the team that started the season with a 10-1 record, a team that got stuck with a stretch of 26 games in 21 days. With remarkable grit and toughness they responded with a 19-7 record in that stretch that included six and eight game winning streaks. It was a team that pushed its tired, beat up bodies to a 37-19 record under the direction of manager Derek Loomans.

It was also a team of outfielders and infielders who took the ball and went to the mound to save the arms of their pitchers or to cover for no-show pitchers. And a team that stayed after games to sign autographs for kids, mingle with fans and help the groundskeepers prepare the field for the next day’s game.

“They were a classy bunch. If this is my last team it is a good one to go out on,” general manager Denny Moyer said. Moyer, the club’s GM since 1967, was planning to leave after this season, but has agreed to stay on until a successor is found.

Wyatt Olson, who starred at Indian Hills and will be continuing his career at Niagara University, led the club in hitting with a .385 percentage. Cole Heili (UW-Milwaukee) was right behind, .384, with Mitch Sutton (UW-La Crosse), Harry Steldt (UW-Steven’s Point Alum) and Taylor Grimm (UW-Oshkosh) rounding out the .300 hitters at .331, .329, and .321 respectively.

Despite missing the last three weeks of the season with a knee injury, Olson also led the team in runs scored 39, hits 67, doubles 16, and total bases 94. Steldt led the team in games played 52, walks 40, hit by pitch six, and on-base percentage .477. Grimm lead in plate appearances 206, at bats 190 and runs batted in 42. Heili led in slugging percentage .628 and shared the triples lead with Sutton. Nate Heili (UW-La Crosse) lead in stolen bases, nine.

Steldt and Dylan Detert (UW-Milwaukee) shared the home run lead with five each. The A’s hit a total of 26 home runs for the season which resulted in a donation of $2,600 by Wisconsin Bank and Trust to Habitat for Humanity.

On the pitching side, Brandon Winfield (Marian University Alum) posted a sparkling 0.56 earned run average and a 6-0 record. Eric Schmitz (UW-Whitewater Alum), 7-1 with a 2.23 ERA, was the team’s was the team strikeout leader with 78 compared to just seven walks. Taylor Schwarz (UNC-Greensboro Alum) was 5-1 with a 2.37 earned run and Weston Nelson (UW-Steven’s Point) was also 5-1. Connor Keating (Wayne State College) emerged as the closer, posting seven saves and a 0.98 earned run average in 18 innings. Keating led the team in appearances with 16. Loomans racked up two shutout victories.

Defensively, Tyler Agard (Davidson University) was the leader. Catching and playing second base, he handed 95 chances without an error.

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.