07/27/2016 1:19 PM -
WEDNESDAY’S GAME:
Lakers (17-25)
at Northwest Indiana Oilmen (25-20)
July 27, 2016 • 7:20 p.m. • Whiting, Ind.
Radio: AM 1230 WJOB, 104.7 FM (7 p.m. pregame)
Online: NWIOilmen.com, wjob1230.com
Pitching Matchup
NWI’s Christian Howell (Minnesota State Mankato / Aurora, Ill.) vs. Lakers’ Colin Armold
For Starters
The Oilmen play the regular season’s penultimate home game on Wednesday against the Lakers. Northwest Indiana will attempt to bounce back from an 8-4 loss to Joliet on Tuesday. The Oilmen dropped to 1-17 when scoring five runs or fewer with Tuesday’s defeat. They are 27-3 when scoring six runs or more. Tuesday was the first road loss for the Oilmen since June 3, snapping a seven-game winning streak in games away from Northwest Indiana. The Oilmen have only play one game on July 27 in team history – four years ago against Rockford. Northwest Indiana went on the road and captured a 9-4 victory behind eight strong innings from Ben Mahar at Marinelli Field. The Oilmen enter Wednesday in third place in the MCL standings, ½ game behind second-place Joliet and two games in rear of first-place DuPage County.
Inside the Oilmen
Jordan Flint had his 10th multi-hit game of the season on Tuesday, while Tyler Sroczynski enjoyed his 13th. Cory Krolikowski doubled twice after having just one double and two extra base hits all season before Tuesday. He had his first multi-hit game since June 9 and his first double since May 29. All three of Krolikowski’s doubles this season have come at Wayne L. King Junior Field. The Oilmen go with Christian Howell as Wednesday’s starting pitcher. He has logged 43 2/3 innings (second on the team) over eight games, seven starts. Howell owns a 2.89 ERA and 4-1 record. He has allowed the most walks on the team (25), but is tied for the team lead in strikeouts (34) with Luke Jaksich. Howell’s last outing was against the Lakers in Game 1 of a doubleheader a week ago, a seven-inning complete game victory while yielding two runs on four hits and four walks. He has faced the Lakers three times this year and is 2-0 with one no decision. Marshawn Taylor collected two hits last week against the Lakers after going 0-for-10 over the first three games he played against them.
Inside the Lakers
The Lakers enter Wednesday tied for fifth with Southland in the MCL standings after besting the Vikings 5-3 on Tuesday. The Vikings and Lakers are two games behind the Bobcats for the fourth and final playoff spot. The Lakers got two hits and two RBIs from Anthony Olund in Tuesday’s victory over Southland. The Lakers have pulled off back-to-back wins and are 4-2 in their last six games. Former Oilman Alec Olund (Purdue) is hitting .329 in 20 games, while Chad Mateja leads the Lakers at .359. Lakers starting pitcher Colin Armold has logged just two innings this season, back on June 5 against DuPage County. He allowed four runs (three earned) on five hits and took the loss. The Oilmen saw Armold twice last season, including on July 4 when he pitched an 11-inning complete game to pick up the win while allowing five runs on 14 hits and throwing 139 pitches.
About the Matchup
The Oilmen have already clinched the season series with a 7-3 record in head-to-head matchups. They lead the all-time set 17-11. The two teams split a doubleheader at Oil City Stadium last week. This marks the final meeting of the year between the Oilmen and Lakers.
