Game Notes: Oilmen look to solve Lakers, capture fifth straight win SATURDAY’S GAME: July 18, 2015 • 7:10 p.m. • Whiting, Ind.
Radio: None
Internet Broadcast: nwioilmen.com
Pitching Matchup
NWI’s Jimmy Skiff (Purdue Calumet / Dyer, Ind.) vs. Michigan City’s Bobby Humphreys (Indiana University / Chesterton, Ind.)
For Starters
Sunday’s game against DuPage County may appear to be the most significant game of the weekend, but the Oilmen are certainly not looking past the Michigan City Lakers. That’s because the Oilmen are 2-5 against Michigan City this season. The Lakers are the only team in the MCL that the Oilmen have a losing record against. Five of Michigan City’s 11 wins this year have come against the Oilmen. The Lakers have dropped three straight entering Saturday, while the Oilmen hold a four-game winning streak.
Inside the Oilmen
There are 15 games remaining in the season, including a makeup game with Joliet that has not yet been rescheduled. Entering Saturday’s league games, the Oilmen are three back of the DuPage County Hounds. The Hounds have won seven consecutive games to put themselves in favorable position to win the Midwest Collegiate League regular season title. The two teams do have three more meetings with one another, giving the Oilmen the opportunity to make up ground. The Oilmen have now played in 11 one-run games this season, winning two more of them on Friday against Southland. Enrique Zamora shattered the team’s single-game strikeout record, becoming the first player in franchise history to record 11 strikeouts in one game. He also took over the league lead with 43 strikeouts and is 10 away from passing Danny Pobereyko’s single-season franchise record. Tyler Sroczynski is flirting with the highest batting average in team history. He stands at .384 with two weeks remaining, while John Loeffler finished 2012 at .387.
Inside the Lakers
The Lakers remain within striking distance of the final Midwest Collegiate League playoff spot. They enter Saturday only 1 ½ games behind fourth-place Joliet. Their success against the Oilmen has allowed the Lakers to remain in the playoff hunt. They send Indiana’s Bobby Humphreys to the mound for Saturday’s game. He is 0-2 with a 7.00 ERA in 27 innings. The Oilmen have faced Humphreys twice, including June 25, when they scored eight runs on 11 hits against him.
About the Matchup
The Lakers have already secured at least a split in the season series. They can clinch the season set with a win on Saturday. The two teams meet again on July 26 at Marquette Athletic Complex and July 30 at Oil City Stadium. The last time the two teams faced off, the Oilmen fell 5-4 on July 10 in Michigan City. Jerry Hodges hit a go-ahead, three-run homer in the fifth that provided the game’s big blow. Sam Geraci homered in the ninth to slice the lead in half, and Tyler Sroczynski followed with a deep drive that was caught on the warning track for the second out.
Around the MCL
The Snipes and Hounds play a doubleheader on Saturday at Lemont Sports Complex. The Oilmen will keep a close eye on those games, as they enter Saturday three back of the Hounds and tied for second with Lexington.
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