Highland IN– The first home game in 17 days was not as fun as anticipated. In the 7-0 loss versus the Miracle, nothing went right. The Panthers had one more chance to give their home crowd something to cheer for before hitting the road again and they did exactly that by edging out the Corn Dogs in an incredibly tight 4-3 game.
Adan Vega had the task to shut down the best offense in the Northern League and he did exactly that. Vega went deep into the game and allowed three runs in his eight innings of work. Two of them were earned. Vega limited the Corn Dogs while still allowing 11 hits. Vega struck out six and the most impressive feat he accomplished was not giving up a single free pass.
“My mindset was just attacking the zone and making them hit the ball. I noticed the wind blowing in during warmups and I just kept that in the back of my mind. I think I was successful because I was getting ahead in a lot of my counts, so it gave me confidence with my secondary pitches. I also trusted my defense to make plays which kept me attacking the zone.”
The Corn Dogs got on the board first in the third, but in that same inning, the Panthers answered back with a run and then the lead. Two walks led to a Robert Tate RBI-single. George Bilecki followed with a single in which he advanced all the way to third on the throw. Robert Tate and Beau Polickey scored. A couple batters later, Gino Gazzillo got in on the third inning rally by singling to bring in Nicholas Signorelli. It was 4-1 Panthers.
That was all the Panthers needed as Vega was untouchable until the eighth inning. In that eighth, he allowed two runs, one which was unearned, on three hits. Vega’s outing was done and he was in line for the win.
Dominic Chillman came in for the save opportunity as he is one of the several guys that head coach Deandre Gilmore has put in this spot. The Corn Dogs made it incredibly nerve-wrecking in the ninth. Chillman allowed a lead-off walk which eventually stole second base after a swinging strikeout. Chillman then allowed a single and brought the tying-run to third. That single advanced to second on a stolen base. Chillman then got a pop out and another strikeout to officially finish that dramatic game.
Adan Vega got the well-deserved win after his eight inning outing against a potent lineup. This win not only provided confidence for himself going forward, but as well as his confidence for the team as they look to build a winning streak.
“It feels great to get us a win. I felt a lot of responsibility coming in today’s game to turn momentum around since I knew I had the start. I feel confident in both the team and me. Our team can win any game we play if we come out with energy and get the bats going early like we did today. I’m very confident in myself moving forward because all my outings so far have been solid. I put the work in so it’s not a surprise to me that the results are showing. I’m just going to keep the same mindset every time I go out there.”
BOX SCORE-
http://thenorthernleaguestats.com/sports/bsb/2022-23/boxscores/20230621_su9c.xml