The Region's Team Of Northwest Indiana

CRESTWOOD, Ill. -- June 27, 2017 -- After a five-game winning streak was snapped Monday at Oil City Stadium, the Northwest Indiana Oilmen bounced back with a 8-0 win on the road against the Crestwood Panthers. The Oilmen took a 3-2 lead in the season series with the Panthers and improved to 16-10 on the 2017 season.

The Oilmen started their scoring in the first inning. Alec Olund tripled to score Tyler Sroczynski, and later in the inning Stefano Belmonte hit a sacrifice fly which scored Olund. NWI led by two before starter Hunter Clark took the mound, and that was all the support he would need. Clark allowed a single in the first inning to Ryan Peistrue, but he wouldn’t let another Panther reach base in five near-perfect innings for Northwest Indiana. The Oilmen scored more later in the game, but Clark made sure the offense didn’t feel any pressure to do so.

“He was trying to throw hard and was hitting his spots,” said Coach Adam Enright after Clark’s final game with the Oilmen. “It’s good to see. The first thing he said when he got here was, ‘what can I do to be better?’... Today, that showed.”

Clark gave up one hit in five innings. He struck out seven and didn’t walk any in his last MCL game.The Oilmen offense continued a successful day with three more runs in the fifth. First, Tyler Sroczynski hit a two-run home run. Later, Stefano Belmonte doubled to score Alec Olund. In the seventh, Belmonte doubled again and scored Sroczynski and Olund. Sroczynski had the best day at the plate for NWI; he had three hits and two RBI to go with three runs scored.

“For [Sroczynski], it’s not a lot of thinking or coaching, it’s all about feels,” Enright said. “It’s all how he feels at the plate and going off of comfortability and feeling good at the plate. I never worried about him, I’m just happy he’s strung a couple days together.“

The Oilmen won the game, 8-0 to take their second win of the season at Shepard High School. Clark imroved to 1-1 with the win, and Northwest Indiana is now 16-10 in 2017. The Oilmen are in DuPage County tomorrow to face the Hounds at 5 pm.