07/24/2016 9:58 AM -
SUNDAY’S GAME:
Joliet Admirals (23-16)
at Northwest Indiana Oilmen (24-19)
July 24, 2016 • 4 p.m. • Whiting, Ind.
Radio: AM 1230 WJOB, 104.7 FM
Internet: NWIOilmen.com, wjob1230.com
Pitching Matchup
NWI’s Jordan Petty (Purdue Northwest / Highland, Ind.) vs. Joliet’s Seth Rosenberg (Northern Kentucky / Niles, Ill.)
For Starters
Only eight games remain in the Oilmen regular season, and the top three teams in the MCL could still finish in any order. Joliet and DuPage County are tied for the league lead, with the Oilmen just one game back. The Oilmen plan to return to the diamond on Sunday after Saturday’s game against Southland was postponed by rain. The game will be made up as part of a doubleheader at Hap Bruno Field on Saturday, July 30 beginning at 1 p.m. The teams will play two seven-inning games. After Sunday, there are only two home games remaining in the regular season.
Inside the Oilmen
Tyler Sroczynski tied the Midwest Collegiate League home run record by launching his sixth and seventh round trippers of the season on Friday. He joins Adam Casson (Lexington 2014), Gary Mayberry (DuPage 2012) and Joey Burney (DeKalb 2012) as the three players who have belted seven home runs in a single MCL season. With one more home run, Sroczynski would stand all alone as the MCL record-holder. There have been four two-homer games in the MCL this season – two by Sroczynski, one by Oilmen catcher Jake Perreira and one by DuPage’s Tyler Tesmond. The Oilmen have had three two-homer games this year after having only one (Billy Miller in 2012) in the franchise’s first four seasons. Sroczynski alone has more home runs than the entire Southland, Bloomington and Joliet teams combined. As a team, the Oilmen lead the league with 15 home runs. The Oilmen have 62 stolen bases this season, tied with Joliet for second in the MCL, well behind DuPage’s 99. Tommy Szczasny turned in his fifth three-hit game of the summer on Friday. Chris Baker worked two more walks on Friday and now has 14 in his last 10 games. His 28 walks lead the league and he’s two away from matching the Oilmen single-season record. Oilmen lefty Jordan Petty will make his third start of the season on Sunday. He was the winning pitcher in each of his first two starts. In eight total games spanning 24 innings, Petty is 2-0 with a 2.25 ERA. He has issued 12 walks and struck out 24. Petty has pitched against the Admirals twice – both in relief – and allowed two runs over four innings.
Inside the Admirals
The Admirals will look to get back on track and seeing their seven-game winning streak come to an end on Saturday with an 11-10 loss to DuPage County. After a seven-game hitting streak, Cody Grosse is 0-for-8 in the last two games. Brendan Brundage collected four hits on Saturday, his first multi-hit game since June 25. Brundage played for the first time since July 16. The Admirals send Seth Rosenberg to the bump on Sunday. The Northern Kentucky hurler has a 2.82 ERA in 38 1/3 innings this season over seven games, six starts. He has a 3-2 record and has issued 12 walks against 35 strikeouts. Rosenberg, who has the best ERA of any Joliet starter, has not faced the Oilmen yet this season. He threw six innings and allowed one run on seven hits to beat DuPage in his most recent start on July 16.
About the Matchup
The Oilmen have won five of the eight meetings between the two teams so far this season. There are still three games remaining including Sunday, so the Oilmen need one more win against Joliet to nail down the season series and a potential tiebreaker in the MCL standings. They will play back-to-back games against the Admirals sandwiched around an off day on Monday, as the Oilmen travel to Joliet on Tuesday.
Click "download attachment" to view full Oilmen game notes.
