The Region's Team Of Northwest Indiana

SATURDAY’S GAME:
MCL Minutemen (3-9)
at Northwest Indiana Oilmen (9-3) 

July 18, 2020 • 6:10 p.m. • Whiting, Ind. • Oil City Stadium
Broadcast: Oilmen Broadcasting Network (Facebook Live)

After a drama-filled evening of baseball that ended with a walk-off, two-run single by Nick Anderson in the bottom of the ninth to beat the Southland Vikings 7-6, the Northwest Indiana Oilmen will look to keep the positive momentum going on Saturday night at Oil City Stadium. This time the MCL Minutemen are in town as the Oilmen attempt to extend their winning streak to five.

Pitching Matchup – Northwest Indiana RHP Tommy Windt (South Suburban / Orland Park, Ill.) vs. Minutemen RHP Jacob Frencl (Southeastern CC / Frankfort, Ill.)

Game Notes

• The Oilmen are already riding their longest winning streak of the season at four and have a chance to make it five in a row by beating the Minutemen on Saturday night. Northwest Indiana’s last five-game winning streak came from July 6-11 last season.
• The Oilmen enter Saturday’s action locked in a first-place tie with DuPage County with Southland chasing by one game in a tight three-team race.
• Michael Machnic hit his second home run of the season on Friday night and owns both Oil City Stadium big flies by the Oilmen this season. He’s one of three players in the entire MCL with multiple home runs, joining DuPage County’s Jackson Dvorak and Crestwood’s Andrew Tenison.
• Oilmen catcher Angelo Cantelo extended his hitting streak to 10 on Friday and has hit safely in every game he’s played in an Oilmen uniform.
• Tyler Nelson’s on-base percentage of .551 is second in the league behind Dvorak at .583.
• The Oilmen will look to move to 3-0 against the Minutemen this season after winning 5-3 on opening night at Oil City Stadium and 11-1 in seven innings on Monday in Lansing.
• One area where the Minutemen hold a distinct advantage over the Oilmen is the stolen base department. The Minutemen lead the league with 38 stolen bases, while the Oilmen are last in the MCL with 18. Northwest Indiana’s biggest statistical weakness has been in swiping bags, as the team has been successful just 78.3 percent of the time, while every other team in the league has a success rate of 84 percent or better.
• The Oilmen lead the league in ERA at 2.34, while ranking second with a .272 team batting average, one percentage point behind DuPage County. NWI is second in the league with a .950 fielding percentage, behind only Southland at .960.
• Jacob Frencl gets the ball for the Minutemen on Saturday, making his third start. He is 0-2 with a 3.38 ERA in 10 2/3 innings over two outings, including the opening night nod at Oil City Stadium when he allowed four runs on four hits while walking four and striking out four in 4 2/3 innings.
• Tommy Windt will make his third pitching appearance and first start. The two-way standout has logged 7 1/3 innings over two relief outings – both against Joliet – allowing three runs (two earned) on four hits and four walks while striking out nine. 

Season Notes

• The 2020 Oilmen roster features representatives from numerous Division-I institutions including the following conferences: Big 10, American, Ohio Valley Conference, Missouri Valley Conference, Horizon League, Mid-American Conference, Summit League and the ACC.
• The Big Ten is well represented on this year’s roster, with players from five different conference members on the squad – Indiana, Purdue, Ohio State, Michigan and Iowa.
• This marks the Oilmen’s first season under the direction of Chris Cunningham, who is the fourth manager in team history. Cunningham is no stranger to the MCL, as the former professional ballplayer in the Tampa Bay Rays organization managed the Southland Vikings from 2011-2014. In his final two seasons, the Vikings won back-to-back MCL championships.
• Oilmen legend Matt Pobereyko is serving as the team’s pitching coach this season. He racked up an MCL-record 18 career saves in 2013 and 2014 including a single-season MCL record 13 in his final campaign with the Oilmen. Pobereyko is an active professional pitcher and has reached as high as Triple-A.
• As usual, the Oilmen are loaded with local talent. Three Oilmen players graduated from Andrean High School, one from Highland, three from Griffith, one from Valparaiso, two from Munster and two from Lake Central. Expanding to Illinois high schools, two Oilmen competed at Brother Rice, one at Oak Forest, one at Marist, one at Marian Catholic, three at Homewood-Flossmoor, one at Carl Sandburg, one at St. Rita and one at St. Laurence.