06/17/2017 11:56 AM -
SATURDAY’S GAME:
Southland Vikings (7-7)
at Northwest Indiana Oilmen (10-7)
June 17, 2017 • 6:30 p.m. • Whiting, Ind.
Broadcast: Facebook Live
Pitching Matchup
NWI’s Bo Hofstra (Purdue / Schererville, Ind.) vs. Southland’s Kevin Glynn (South Suburban / Chicago)
For Starters
The Oilmen built a 5-0 lead and had to hold on for dear life to fend off the Joliet Admirals 5-4 on Friday night. The Vikings are coming off a 17-8 defeat at the hands of DuPage County on Friday evening at Hap Bruno Field. Southland got off to a favorable start, but has since dropped six straight games. The Vikings have surrendered eight runs or more during each game on the skid. Southland is under the direction of first-year manager Kevin Franchetti, who played for the Oilmen during the team’s inaugural season of 2012.
Inside the Oilmen
Tyler Sroczynski was the star of the show for the Oilmen offensively on Friday, collecting three hits including a two-run double off the left-field wall in the fourth that proved to be an important blow in the game. Sroczynski also scored a run in the first inning, boosting his Oilmen career runs scored total to 98, moving within two runs of becoming the first player in franchise history to reach the century mark. Sroczynski has collected three hits in two of his last three games and posted multi-hit performances in seven of his 14 games this season. Carter Naughton had his third multi-hit game of the summer, stroking two singles. Starting pitcher Joe Graziano earned the win with five scoreless frames while fanning eight. He’s started his Oilmen career with nine consecutive scoreless innings. Turning to Saturday’s game, the Oilmen will send Schererville native Bo Hofstra to the mound. Hofstra, a 6-foot-5 righty, recently graduated from Illiana Christian High School, also the alma mater of Tyler Sroczynski. The incoming Purdue freshman has logged seven innings this summer and racked up 10 strikeouts while allowing three runs (one earned) for a 1.29 ERA. This will mark his first start and third game of the summer. Hofstra’s most recent outing was three scoreless – the eighth, ninth and 10th of a 10-inning win over Bloomington on June 10.
Inside the Vikings
The Vikings will send South Suburban College righty Kevin Glynn to the mound on Saturday evening. Glynn has heaved 16 2/3 innings over four starts this summer and holds a 1-1 record with 12 walks and nine strikeouts. This will mark his second start against the Oilmen, as he beat NWI with 5 2/3 innings of one-run ball on June 3. Glynn, a graduate of Chicago High School for Agricultural Sciences, just finished his first season of JUCO ball with the Bulldogs. As a team, Southland has a 4.61 ERA and .266 batting average. They are just 9-for-14 in stolen base tries. Kevin Fitzgerald owns a .391 batting average in nine games for Southland to pace the team offensively. Trey Polewski leads the team with 11 RBIs. Southland’s roster includes Munster graduate Joe Bryant, who appeared in one game for the Oilmen in 2015. Other NWI locals on the Vikings include Hobart native Tyler Kenjic, Munster native Tom Decero, East Chicago’s Angel Figuero, Valparaiso’s Chuck Kidd and Portage’s Hunter Kraynak.
About the Matchup
This Vikings own the upper hand against the Oilmen this season, as they’ve taken three of the first four meetings. However, the Oilmen are 29-26 all-time against Southland, a matchup between two MCL mainstays that dates back to 2012. The Vikings won back-to-back MCL Championships in 2013 and 2014, but have not returned to the postseason since.
Click "download attachment" to view full Oilmen Game Notes.
