After a game cancellation and a rainout, the Oshkosh Giants finally played their home opener Wednesday. They’ll have to wait a while longer before picking up their first home victor, however. The Giants fell, 9-2, at the hands of the Sheboygan A’s in a Wisconsin State League game at E.J. Schneider Field. The bats were just too cold against A’s hurlers Eric Dayton and Sam Radbill — Oshkosh managed only four hits — and the defense was not quite sharp enough — the Giants committed three costly errors. “It definitely helps to have more hits and more runs, but we didn’t look good anywhere, to be honest,” Giants manager Brian Gerl said. “It was one of those days where nothing really worked out.” Gerl thought it was just a slow day at the plate more than anything the A’s were throwing. “Their pitcher pitched well but I wouldn’t say he was overpowering or anything,” Gerl said. “But he did what he had to do.” In the eighth inning, Oshkosh (4-2, 3-1) trailed 9-2 and brought up the meat of its order. It got something started when Derek Hiroskey walked and Wes Munson hit a single through the infield to put runners on first and second. However, Kyle Kannenberg grounded into a double play to end the inning and effectively ended a chance at getting back into the game. Sheboygan struck first in the bottom of the second inning when its No. 8 batter, Graham Bintliff, doubled home two runs for the early 2-0 advantage off Giants pitcher Adam Roos. Hiroskey put Oshkosh on the scoreboard in the top of the third with a stand-up double into the left-field gap that scored Jason Foster. The Giants then took advantage of a pair of A’s miscues when a bad throw to Shawn Wozniak at first base allowed Brad Demmin to reach. Wozniak was then unable to track down the ball in time to keep Hiroskey from scoring from second base, tying the score at 2-2. “It was huge to tie the game up at that point,” Gerl said. “A couple of clutch hits when we needed them but we didn’t get enough of them today. One inning isn’t going to do it.” Things started to unravel for Oshkosh in the sixth inning. With Wozniak on third base and Tim Patzman on first base, Roos threw over to first when Patzman took a large lead. Patzman was caught in a rundown with the Giants looking over to third frequently in attempt to hold Wozniak on. But Patzman proved too quick on the basepaths and Oshkosh eventually lost track of Wozniak who raced home for a run. In the commotion, Patzman landed safely on second, giving the A’s a 3-2 lead. Sheboygan added three more runs in the inning to make it 6-2. The Giants take on Sheboygan next Thursday and some lineup changes might be in store. “We’ll have some changes if they throw a lefty; we’ll get some more right-handers in there,” Gerl said. “It will be a gametime situation. It always depends on who shows up.” Notes: The Giants went down 1-2-3 three times … They left two runners in scoring position in the third inning … Sheboygan had at least one base runner in eight out of nine innings Game ball: Munson led the Giants by going 2-for-4. Numbers game: 1 more hit than errors for Oshkosh. 

Sheboygan A’s 9, Oshkosh Giants 2 Sheboygan 020 004 030 — 9 9 2 Oshkosh (4-2, 3-1) 002 000 000 — 2 4 3 Pitchers — SHE: Eric Dayton (7IP, 7K, 3BB), Sam Radbil (2IP, BB). OSH: Adam Roos (5IP, 4K), Luke Vosz (4IP, 3K, 4BB). WP: Eric Dayton. LP: Adam Roos. Hitters — SHE: Graham Bintliff 2-3 (2B, 3RBI). OSH: Wes Munson 2-4 (2B), Derek Hiroskey 1-3 (2B, RBI).

(Reprinted from The Oshkosh Northwestern)