MCL All-Star Game to Benefit American Cancer Society Whiting, Ind. – July 1, 2015 – The first-place Northwest Indiana Oilmen will be represented by 14 players in the 2015 Midwest Collegiate League All-Star Game on Tuesday, July 7 at Oil City Stadium. The league released its All-Star rosters on Wednesday. The Oilmen representatives will be a part of the South All-Star squad, which also includes members of the Southland Vikings and Michigan City Lakers. The North roster is comprised of members of the DuPage County Hounds, Joliet Admirals and Lexington Snipes.
Jimmy Skiff, Richard Yelnick, Enrique Zamora, Keith Mahler, Brian Jestice and Christian Howell will represent the Oilmen pitching staff in the MCL’s mid-summer classic. Catchers Joe Jumonville and Josh Turnock have be named All-Stars, as have outfielders Tyler Sroczynski and Jordan Lewis and infielders Alec Olund, Brian Seymour, Brad Wood and Stefano Belmonte.
Among all the Oilmen who made strong cases for the All-Star Game, perhaps none stronger than Sroczynski. The outfielder, who is headed to Trinity Christian for the 2016 season, leads the team in hitting at .420. In addition, he owns a .560 slugging percentage and has a team-high eight stolen bases in nine attempts.
Belmonte has more than earned his way onto the All-Star Roster. His numbers (.396 AVG / 20 RBIs) speak for themselves. Belmonte is still in the process of selecting his college for the 2016 season after exhausting his junior college eligibility at South Suburban.
Wood joins Belmonte and Sroczynski in the group of position players that were considered “locks” for the All-Star Game. He has done everything from making dazzling defense plays at third base to laying down bunt hits to launching home runs to nailing down a save this summer. Wood, who plays collegiately at Northern Illinois, is hitting .361 with two home runs and eight RBIs.
Lewis has been a powerful bat for the Oilmen this season. The California native, who plays collegiately in the Big Ten at Purdue, has three home runs and 12 runs batted in.
Olund, a Lake Central High School product who just completed his freshman year at Purdue, has been a utility man for the Oilmen this summer, playing all over the diamond. Regardless of his defensive position, his offensive prowess has been a constant. Olund has a .288 average with one home run and 10 RBIs.
Seymour, who plays at South Suburban College, is hitting .310 with seven runs batted in. He has scored 10 runs and compiled a .415 OBP.
Purdue Calumet’s Skiff, an Andrean High School graduate, holds a sparkling 0.47 ERA in 19 1/3 innings this season. He has made two starts and three relief appearances, recording 17 strikeouts while issuing only three walks.
Richard Yelnick, a left-handed reliever from Parkland College, has gotten key outs out of the Oilmen bullpen throughout the summer. He owns a 1.50 ERA in 12 innings of work.
Hammond Clark graduate Enrique Zamora, a right-handed hurler from Calumet College, boasts a glittering 2.12 ERA this summer. He owns a 2-0 record and has nailed down two saves in six games, two of which were starts. Zamora leads the Oilmen with 20 strikeouts.
Keith Mahler becomes the third player in Oilmen history with multiple All-Star appearances. He joins former Oilmen greats Matt Pobereyko and Jimmy McNamara with two All-Star selections. Mahler has a 2.84 ERA in four starts and 19 innings. He has issued three walks and struck out 12. The hard-throwing Highland graduate will play for NAIA power Cumberland this coming year.
Evansville University’s Jestice has nabbed an All-Star spot by virtue of his 2-0 record and 3.27 ERA. His best start of the season came on Sunday against Southland, when he hurled eight shutout innings and gave up only two hits.
Howell, who plays for Minnesota-State Mankato, has a 3.20 ERA in 19 2/3 innings. His best outing was on June 25, when he did not allow an earned run in 7 2/3 innings against Michigan City.
Jumonville, a Munster graduate playing collegiately at Northern Illinois, has been on an offense tear of late. In his last five games, he’s raised his batting average from .200 to .356. He has driven in eight runs in 12 MCL games.
Turnock, an Eastern Illinois Panther, is hitting .342 with five RBIs and a .435 on-base percentage.
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