Chicago, Ill.- June 3- After taking a loss to the Chicago American Giants (1-2) the night before, the MCL Minutemen (1-2) rallied back and beat the Giants 9-5 at Gouwens Park.

Defense was the name of the game. It started with the outfield making sure no ball dropped in the outfield. This forced the Giants to have to hit it into the infield, and test their speed to first base before the ball could get there. The outfield consists of Jorge Santos (South Suburban, Homewood, Ill.) at left field, Mike Kozsewski (Cincinnati, Oak Brook, Ill.) in center, and Isaiah Gaines (Prairie State/ Homewood, Ill.) in right field. 

The pitching from the Minutemen was also a hot spot in the defense. Dennis Perl (Roosevelt/ Homewood, Ill.) provided a majority of the pitching. He pitched five innings, and let up one run and four hits in four innings. Then Gabe Cortez (Prairie State/ Tinley Park, Ill.) came in and pitched the rest of the game, striking out four batters. 

After losing by 11 runs the night before, the Minutemen were able to refocus on the road and win their first win of the season. Manager Deandre Gilmore couldn’t be more happy with the team’s performance tonight and grabbing their first win of the season.

“It feels great to get that first win and get it out of the way,” he said, “We don’t have to worry about waking up and thinking that we have to get a win.”

The Minutemen’s next game is Friday, June 4 at Riverside Park at 5:05 pm. Follow @MCLMinutemen on Facebook to catch the live stream, and follow @MclMinutemen on Twitter to catch up on all the latest Minutemen news and stories.