06/27/2016 9:58 AM -
MONDAY’S GAME:
Michigan City Lakers (7-13)
at Northwest Indiana Oilmen (12-11)
June 27, 2016 • 7:20 p.m. • Whiting, Ind.
Radio: AM 1230 WJOB, 104.7 FM, NWIOilmen.com
Pitching Matchup
NWI’s Reggie Johnson (Alcorn State / South Holland, Ill.) vs. Michigan City’s Casey Young
For Starters
The Oilmen will play their first Monday game of the season. Mondays are a mutual off day for teams in the Midwest Collegiate League and are often used to make up games that were previously postponed by poor weather. That’s the case on Monday night, as the Oilmen and Lakers do battle in a game that was initially slated for last Wednesday. The Oilmen stayed hot with a 9-3 win over the Admirals on Sunday. They’ve got an opportunity to extend their winning streak to four, which would mark their third different four-game streak this season.
Inside the Oilmen
Tommy Szczasny continued to garner attention on Sunday by going 3-for-3 with five RBIs. He became the fourth different Oilmen player to homer this season and lifted the team’s season total to five when he launched a go-ahead, two-run blow in the bottom of the third. Szczasny finished a triple shy of the cycle. He’s now second on the team with 15 RBIs, behind Oilmen leader Stefano Belmonte, who has 17. Szczasny boosted his season hit total to 20, two off the team pace set by both Chase Dawson and Belmonte. Szczasny has three three-hit games and six multiple hit performances. Josh Mutter made his first start since June 12 and had two hits for the Oilmen on Sunday. Tyler Sroczynski extended two streaks in the first inning of Sunday’s game – singling to run his hitting streak to 12, then swiping second to make it 19 straight steals without being caught in MCL play. Zack Forney saw his eight-game hitting streak snapped as he went 0-for-4 with a sacrifice fly on Sunday. Forney’s Eastern Illinois teammate Jordan Flint hit .200 in his first eight games and is hitting .419 over his last eight. After Max Siedlecki picked up his first win on Sunday, Reggie Johnson will look to follow suit on Monday. He’s 0-4 with a 6.28 ERA in 18 1/3 innings. He’s issued 10 walks and struck out 17. Johnson, who will face the Lakers for the first time, last pitched on June 19 against the Admirals and allowed seven runs (six earned) on 11 hits in 4 1/3 innings to take the loss.
Inside the Lakers
Right-handed pitcher Casey Young will make his second MCL start of the year after notching a win against DuPage County on June 19. He hurled seven innings and surrendered three runs (one earned) on six hits and five walks while striking out four. Young has not faced the Oilmen this season, but he did so twice in 2013, once in 2014 and twice in 2015. His most recent outing against the Oilmen produced an usual pitching line, as he allowed 12 runs (eight earned) on 19 hits in a complete game win on June 21 of last season, a 13-12 Lakers victory. The Lakers boast one of the league’s top players in Colin Willis, who leads the team in average (.466), OBP (.584), RBIs (17), home runs (3), runs scored (16), walks (15) and stolen bases (6). In three games against the Oilmen, Willis is 6-for-11 with a homer and four RBIs.
About the Matchup
The Oilmen are 3-0 against the Lakers this season, most recently escaping with a 4-3 victory on June 15. They lead the all-time series against Michigan City 13-9. After Wednesday, the next meeting between the two teams will be on June 29 at 7:20 p.m. at Oil City Stadium.
