The Region's Team Of Northwest Indiana

Whiting, Ind. – June 17, 2023 – Despite the Northwest Indiana Oilmen bats staying hot, the pitching has struggled to find its groove. Oilmen pitchers have given up 23 runs in the last three losses.

Oilmen starter Aaron Buckholtz had a strong first five innings, allowing only two runs on five hits. Reliever Tanner Sobkoviak  replaced Buckholtz in the sixth. Sobkoviak  pitched 2/3 of an inning and allowed six runs while hitting three batters and walking three more. With a nine-runsixth inning, the Southland Vikings beat the Oilmen 11-7.

“We got two pretty good at-bats of pitching and then quickly we couldn’t throw any strikes,” manager Adam Enright said. “With a four-run lead and two outs, we just tried to throw too many off-speed; the pitch that we know is the better of the two is the fastball.”

The Vikings changed the flow of the game in the sixth inning. The Vikings scored nine runs on three different Oilmen pitchers. Despite this outpouring of runs from the Vikings, the Oilmen still ended with more hits, 12-8. Kevin Denty and Christopher Suchoski were difference-makers for the Oilmen. Denty went 3-for-5 while scoring one run. Denty also accounted for two of the Oilmen’s eight extra-base hits. Suchoski would get out of his slump and go 2-for-3 with two RBIs and two runs. The Oilmen tallied six doubles and two triples in a game where Oilmen bats couldn’t be slowed down.

“The quality and the competitiveness of the at-bats had been really good and that’s the one thing that we aren’t worried about,” Enright said. “Today a lot more balls dropped, and we hit a bunch really hard. Kevin Denty had a really good game and Suchoski had a really good breakout game as well.”

The Oilmen fall to 9-6 and are now 2-5 away. The Oilmen look for a much-needed win at Oil City Stadium in Whiting, Ind. on Tuesday night against the Griffith Generals. The first pitch is set for 7:10 p.m.