The Region's Team Of Northwest Indiana

 It was Elvis night at Oil City Stadium, which made for an entertaining night at the ballpark. It was a beautiful Friday evening, with a well-attended home crowd. However, despite the jumble of entertainment, the Oilmen dropped back-to-back games, and are on the verge of falling to third place in the league standings. 

The Oilmen lost to the Lake County Corn Dogs on Friday, with a final score of 13-4. Lake County blew it open in the eighth, scoring seven runs and extending the lead to 13-3. The Oilmen trailed by just three runs heading into the eighth, but could not find consistent pitching out of the bullpen. 

“With Matt Lelito coming out of the game in the eighth with an injury, it definitely disrupted the routine that Tanner [Sobkoviak] has developed for himself,” Oilmen Manager Adam Enright said. 

Despite a rough eighth inning which derailed the Oilmen’s hopes for a comeback, newcomer Zach Kwasny made his Oilmen debut Friday, going three innings without a single hit, while striking out three. In a game where the Oilmen allowed 13 hits, Kwasny was a different maker for the Oilmen pitching staff. 

“I'm looking forward to hopefully using him [Kwasny] in high leverage spots in the postseason, but also continuing to get a few innings over these last two weeks,” Enright said. 

Offensively, the Oilmen tallied double digit hits in back-to-back games, marking 11 hits Friday. Both Anthony Fornero and Cain Headrick had impressive performances, Fornero going 2-for-4, and Headrick going 3-for-5 with a run scored. 

Oilmen starter Joey Turek had a rare off-night on the mound Friday, going four innings, allowing eight hits and four earned runs while also hitting two batters. Turek, an All-Star selection for the Oilmen held the lowest ERA in the Northern League, coming into Friday’s game with a 1.71 average. 

The Oilmen dropped their first home game against the Corn Dogs, previously holding a 4-0 record when playing at Oil City Stadium. The Oilmen are now 24-16 and are just two games ahead of the third place Southland Vikings. 

The Oilmen look to snap their two-game losing skid on Saturday, July 22 against the Elkhart County Miracle at Oil City Stadium for a 7:10 p.m. start time.