The Region's Team Of Northwest Indiana

Whiting, Ind. – June. 14, 2023 –  Any hopes of a Griffith General rally were erased in the sixth inning, when the visitors hit seven Northwest Indiana Oilmen batters as the Oilmen turned an eight-run lead into 18 in an 18-0, seven-inning victory.

Josh Ortiz showed promise on the mound with a shoutout inning. Then after Ortiz’s promising inning, he was replaced with Ryan Polly. Polly hit the first batter to start his time on the mound. Polly proceeded to hit six more and walk three. His defense didn’t help either as they recorded an error.

Oilmen bats got hot early. A single from Amir Wright started the Oilmen’s day in the opening inning. Graham Mastros launched his first home run for the Oilmen in the first as well. Mastros had a big Oilmen debut, going 2-for-4 with three RBIs.

“Well, I was excited to see (Graham Mastros) play because I know he’s Division-I  quality,” Oilmen manager Adam Enright said. “We’re in a situation where we can mix and match pretty much any way we want and have a really competitive lineup.”

The Oilmen earned their first shutout win of the season as starter Brandon Laux proved himself. Laux pitched six shutout innings while striking out seven and only allowing one hit. He was replaced in the seventh by Tanner Sobkoviak, who allowed one hit.

“(Laux) took a huge step forward tonight,” Enright said. He threw a lot of off-speed pitches for strikes. He is also figuring out how to sequence his pitches in order to get swings and misses or takes in the strike zone.”

The Oilmen improve to 7-3 after a strong showing over the Generals. They sit second in the Northern League behind Lake County. The Oilmen will look for a franchise-tying, eighth win in a row on Thursday night against the Indiana Panthers. 

First pitch is set for 7:10 p.m. at Oil City Stadium in Whiting, Ind