The Region's Team Of Northwest Indiana

Saturday, the Northwest Indiana Oilmen played the second of its three-game series with the Serbian National Team at Oil City Stadium. After a tightly-contested first half, the Oilmen broke the game open in the late innings and came away with an easy 15-3 win.  

The Serbian team scored first in the fourth inning. Danilo Cvijovic drove in Nick Mitrnic with a sacrifice fly for the first run of the inning, and later a pair of singles from Vladimir Saravolac and Bojan Ninic each scored runs to give Serbia a 3-0 lead.  

On the mound, Serbian starter Christian Bokich pitched six outstanding innings. He held the Oilmen scoreless through five, and his only runs allowed came in the sixth inning off a Noah Davis two-run home run. He struck out eight and didn’t walk any.  

Down 3-2, the Oilmen offense exploded in the seventh inning. Danijel Kozjak gave up four runs without getting an out, and Cal Djuskovic allowed two more before getting out of the inning. The Oilmen scored six runs on six hits in the frame and took an 8-3 lead.  

“It was a very competitive game for the first half,” Coach Adam Enright said after the game. “We were down 3-0, their starter was really good. Defensively, they were good. They only made two errors but made some really good plays. We just got into their bullpen, and it seems like that’s their one weaker point. I’m sure they don’t have a lot of [bullpen arms]. Once we got into their bullpen, we were able to score some runs.”  

The game went from out of hand to straight blowout in the eighth. Jayson Jovetic came in for the Serbians and gave up five runs before recording an out. He threw just 22 pitches, only 27 percent of them for strikes. Aleksander Milic and Dusan Nakic combined to finish the inning, but not before allowing two more runs. The Oilmen won the game handily, 15-3.  

“It’s just something that nobody’s really doing in collegiate summer ball; a chance to do something that breaks up the monotony of playing the same five teams every week,” Coach Enright said of the series after the game. “It gives [the players] something to remember from their experience with the Oilmen. There’s college summer leagues all over the country that are doing pretty much the same thing, but I don’t think anybody’s doing something like this… It’s something that they’ll remember.”

The Oilmen are back at Oil City Stadium for their third and final game against the Serbian National Team Sunday at 4 p.m. You can buy tickets online at NWIOilmen.com.