Eight-run Frame Costs Oilmen in Loss to Southland Whiting, Ind. – July 12, 2013 – The Southland Vikings scored eight runs in the seventh inning to pull away from the Oilmen for a 10-5 win over Northwest Indiana on Friday night at Oil City Stadium. The first six men in the inning reached base as the Vikings eventually sent 13 batters to the plate in the game-deciding frame. “It’s like a boxer when you’re about to be KO’d,” Oilmen manager Justin Huisman said when asked what it is like to be on the mound for an inning like that. “You’re kind of just mentally spent and drained and sometimes you’re just praying to God that they’ll take you out.” Andy Wellwerts exited after walking three straight batters to start the seventh. He was charged with six runs over six innings. Scott Jerge entered the game and allowed all three inherited runners to score plus five additional tallies. Jerge settled in and worked scoreless frames in the eighth and ninth innings. “We were just in a situation where we’ve got so many games coming up that I needed to leave Scott out there. He settled in and put up some zeros and gave us a chance to win, actually.” The Oilmen scored a run in the eighth on an RBI single by Rashawn Tillman to shrink the lead to five, but they would get no closer, leaving runners at second and third in that frame. Robbie Nunn was the winner in relief to improve to 2-1, while Wellwerts suffered his first loss of the year to fall to 3-1. Tillman and Leiff Clarkson finished with two hits each. Clarkson launched his first home run of the season to tie the game at one in the third. Whiting native Micah Rooke put together his best game of the season for Southland, registering three hits while playing in his hometown for the visiting team. The Oilmen dropped to 17-8 overall, 11-7 in Midwest Collegiate League play. They will attempt to bounce back on Saturday as the Rockford Foresters trek to Oil City Stadium for a double header beginning at 5:10 p.m. |