The Region's Team Of Northwest Indiana

Whiting, Ind. – June 29, 2023 – Going into the bottom of the ninth inning, all eyes were on the Northwest Oilmen as they looked to walk it off and move to first place in the Northern League.

The Oilmen came away with a 2-1 win over the Southland Vikings in thrilling fashion on Thursday night at Oil City Stadium. Neither team scored a run until the Vikings notched their first in the top of the eighth. Both starting pitchers allowed no runs. Joey Turek pitched seven innings, struck out eight and allowed six hits. Vikings starter Jack Otis pitched five innings and struck out two on one hit.

“Turek is just a strike-throwing machine, and he had unbelievable command of his off-speed,” manager Adam Enright said. “He was throwing it wherever he wanted to, and they had a really tough time putting the ball into play.”

The Oilmen tallied seven hits as a team with three coming in the ninth. Graham Mastros had a multi-hit game going 2-for-3. The hero for the Oilmen was Nick Daugherty as he stepped up with bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth. Daugherty didn’t have a hit until his last at-bat, when it mattered most. He drove in two runs to win the game on a single to right field. Daugherty’s walk-off propelled the Oilmen to first place for the first time this season.

“There’s a lot of season left, we are a long way from the end,” Enright said. “Putting ourselves, at the halfway point, not trailing and not having to make up a lot of games in July is big.”

The Oilmen improve to 16-7 and reach the top of the Northern League for the first time this season. The Oilmen will look to stay hot Friday, June 30 at 7:10 p.m. against the Indiana Panthers.