The Region's Team Of Northwest Indiana

South Holland Ill.- A first inning explosion where every hitter had an at bat proved to be the start the Northwest Indiana Oilmen needed to tie a franchise record.

A five run first inning propelled the Oilmen to a seven inning 14-2 win over the Chicago American Giants to extend their win streak to eight games. This is tied for the team’s longest streak since June of 2018.

Offensively the Oilmen batted around the order in the first and sixth innings and recorded five runs in each of those frames. All nine hitters reached base at least once in the victory. Casey Kmet (Arlington Heights, Notre Dame) led the way with three hits and three runs batted in. AJ Wright (Griffith, Northwood), Gaillien Coupet (Homewood/ Creighton), Jared Comia (Dyer/ Illinois), and James Harris (Chicago/ UIC) all had two hits apiece.

“I feel comfortable putting every single guy on this team out every single day and the offensive we’ve been showing lately is what I’ve been expecting the whole time.” Manager TJ Marik said. “The bats are starting to get hot, and I’ve really liked what I’ve been seeing.”

Jacob Bimbi (Crystal Lake/ Wabash Valley) started the game on the mound and struck out five batters over two and two thirds of an inning. Hunter Keim (Rock Island/ Saint Leo) and Tom Egan (Chicago/ Iowa Western) were solid in relief as well allowing just two total hits.  

While tying the win streak is an accomplishment, the team hopes to break the franchise record in their next contest on Monday against the Southland Vikings. Marik is not content with just tying the record and hopes this could lead to bigger things.

“We’re going for a record right now; we’re not going to settle for anything.” Marik said. “I want us to win every single game and win every single pitch. That’s something I expect to do and that these guys expect to do.”

The Oilmen will return to action against the Southland Vikings on Monday at 5:05 p.m. Brandon Vickrey and Leo Staudacher will have the call on Facebook Live, the Northwest Indiana Oilmen Broadcasting Network.