June 1, 2025 – West Bend, WI – The West Bend Spirits (4-0) pulled off a stunning walk-off victory Sunday afternoon at Carl M. Kuss Memorial Field, defeating the visiting Kettle Moraine Division powers Rome Raiders (3-1) 7-3 in extra innings in front of an enthusiastic crowd that included several teams awaiting their games.
With the game knotted at 3-3 entering the bottom of the tenth, shortstop Nathan Crick delivered the knockout punch – a towering first pitch grand slam to left field over the flag poles that sent the home crowd and awaiting Sunday Night League players and fans into a frenzy and capped off a remarkable five-run rally.
“I kinda saw it in his (Nathan Crick) eye when they intentionally walked Luke (Heinkel) and Brandon (Niedfeldt),” said West Bend coach Tyler Morrison after the thrilling victory. “He was looking fastball and he got that fastball.”
The dramatic finish came after both teams battled through nine innings of stellar pitching. West Bend starter Johnny Nieskes was masterful through six hitless, scoreless frames, scattering just four walks while striking out five batters. His counterpart, Rome’s Alex Block, was equally impressive, allowing just five hits over seven shutout innings with seven strikeouts.
“Johnny desperately gave us exactly what we needed today,” said Morrison, praising his ace’s gutsy performance. “After 70 pitches Friday, we were hoping for 3 or 4 (innings) and he gave us 6 of the best innings pitched of the season.”
The scoring drought finally ended in the eighth inning when Rome pushed across their first run on a fielder’s choice by Jet Weber that brought home a runner after an error. Ben Gallo gave Rome what looked like an insurmountable 2-0 lead with an RBI single in the ninth inning, scoring Hunter Santos and appearing to put the Raiders in the driver’s seat.
West Bend answered back immediately in the bottom of the ninth, manufacturing two runs on timely hitting to tie the game at 2-2. Ross Olsen delivered the clutch game-tying single, scoring Nathan Crick and sending the contest to extra frames much to the delight of the home faithful.
Rome briefly reclaimed the lead in the top of the tenth when Justin Jaquish ripped a go-ahead RBI single, making it 3-2 and putting the pressure squarely back on the Spirits. But West Bend had one more rally left in them.
After loading the bases in the bottom of the tenth with consecutive walks to Heinkel and Niedfeldt, Crick stepped to the plate and delivered his heroic blast that will be remembered for years to come around the local baseball community.
“This is what baseball is all about,” said Morrison after watching his team complete the comeback. “Both teams played their hearts out. Credit to our guys – they never gave up and came through in the clutch when it mattered most.”
West Bend collected 13 hits on the afternoon, with Luke Heinkel, Caleb Horvath, Crick, and Blake Church each recording two hits to pace the balanced attack. Heinkel also swiped two bases to keep constant pressure on Rome’s defense throughout the contest.
For Rome, Jaquish, Ryan Wenzel, Hunter Santos, and Ben Gallo each contributed one hit in the hard-fought losing effort.
Adam Lucas earned the victory in relief for West Bend, tossing a clean tenth inning to seal the dramatic win. Connor Keating took the tough loss for Rome after surrendering five runs in the bottom of the tenth.
“Today was a great test to see where we are at against one of the league’s best,” Morrison said. “We’re onto next week.”
The Spirits improve to 4-0 on the young season and will look to stay unbeaten when they host the Hartland Oilers (1-2) on Friday evening. First pitch is scheduled for 7 p.m. at Carl M. Kuss Memorial Field before the team travels to McCoy Park in Brookfield Sunday afternoon to take on the undefeated Brookfield Bulldogs (3-0) in a key Suburban Division matchup of unbeaten.
