Chicago, Ill.- August 8- Two teams at the bottom of the standings went back and forth to see who finishes the season on a win.

The MCL Minutemen (10-30) fell to the Chicago American Giants (16-22-1) 9-4 in a run for run contest. Early on, both teams traded shots on the scoreboard, but the American Giants took over, and the Minutemen couldn’t find an answer in the seven inning game.

The Minutemen got on the board first to set the tone in the first inning. With runners on first and second, Justin  Keresets (Northwood/ Loves Park, Ill.) hit a ground ball single to score Ryan Nelson (Eastern Kentucky/ Aurora, Ill.). In the second inning, Nelson hits a fly ball that bounces over the head of the center fielder. He would come around and score along with Donovan Zielke and Jason Daniels (Waubonsee/ Hammond, Ind.). Those would be the last runs scored for the Minutemen for the rest of the season as the American Giants put together 6 runs after the second inning. The Minutemen had no answer for the red hot Giants. 

The Minutemen ended their season series against the American Giants 3-6. The team ended with a record of 10-30 and finished sixth in the MCL standings. The Minutemen did not make the playoffs as their season has come to an end. 

The Minutemen had some bright spots in their season. They had four all stars Doug Loden (Joliet JC/ St. John, Ind.), Gabe Cortez (Prairie State/ Tinley Park, Ill.), Ryan Nelson, and Gino Gazzillo (Joliet JC/ Chicago, Ill.) who was the only starter in the all star game for the Minutemen. He started at catcher. Loden was also the player of the week in the second to last week of the season. 

The players will all return to their schools for the regular season, and Manager Deandre Gilmore will return to Prairie State where he is an assistant coach.