The Region's Team Of Northwest Indiana

Carol Stream Ill.- The Northwest Indiana Oilmen began their 11th season of competition with a 9-3 takedown of the Joliet Generals in a rematch of last season’s championship series. 

The Oilmen opened the scoring in the second inning and didn’t lose control of the lead from the point. Nine runs on 11 hits was more than enough to get the victory with seven different batters reaching base. Chris Baker (South Holland/ Trinity Christian) set the tone from the leadoff spot with three walks. Nick Anderson recorded two RBI off of three hits while David Marshall (Downers Grove/ College of Dupage) reached base five times.

“We handled the strike zone quite well, we didn’t swing at a lot of bad pitches, we walked quite a bit which set us up to score runs without having to string tons of hits together” Manager Adam Enright said. “Whatever the score was, our approach didn’t go away, nothing changed for our guys as far as how they were taking care of their at bats.”

Right hander Jake Ostrowski (Lockport/ Trinity Christian) got the nod to be the Opening Night starter and was spectacular going five innings, striking out five and walking just one while allowing two runs. His command of the strike zone set the tone for the bullpen pitchers that would follow as the Oilmen pitching staff only walked a combined three batters. 

“Jake throwing as many strikes as he did and keeping the game moving fast was something that everyone got behind and kept the energy up.” Enright said.

This also marked the first win for manager Adam Enright in his second stint with the team. While the win was nice Enright was impressed with the way his team was able to compete on day one.

“Getting the win is good but it's not about that, it's about getting experience for our guys.” Enright said. “Our guys were able to go out and play with some confidence with something positive happening on day one to build off of.”

The Oilmen will look to continue their winning ways when they face off against the Crestwood Panthers on Tuesday at Dowling Park. First pitch is scheduled for 5:00 P.M. and the broadcast will be available on Facebook live.