Whiting, Ind. – August 3, 2023 – On a warm evening at Oil City Stadium in Whiting, Ind., the Northwest Indiana Oilmen and Southland Vikings faced off in a season finale. The Oilmen started the scoring early and never held back, beating the Vikings 18-6.

On a bullpen day for both teams, Oilmen starter RJ Bergren went four innings while allowing three runs. Bergren struck out two while walking three. Matt Lelito replaced Bergren and went two innings. Lelito allowed two runs while walking three and striking out two. Matt Ostrowski finished the last inning for the Oilmen. Ostrowski went one inning and struck out all three batters he faced.

Brandon Laux will be the starting pitcher in the Oilmen’s first playoff game against the Vikings on Saturday night.

“Laux needs to have command of three pitches right out of the gate,” manager Adam Enright said. “Sometimes it takes him time to get commanded of his pitches, and maybe an inning or two to find control.”

The Oilmen’s bats got hot early and never let up. Four Oilmen tallied multi-hit games with Brendan O’Conner having one of the better days. O’Conner went 2-for-5 with a two-run home run. O’Conner also tallied four RBIs. Angelo Cantelo had a strong return to the Oilmen, going 2-for-5 with two RBIs. Josh Cunniff and Cain Headrick also tallied multi-hit games. Headrick also drove in two runs of his own.

“The confidence is abundant in our dugout right now and that always plays for you when you get into games that matter,” Enright said. “Getting hits in RBI situations and stringing things together to score runs is key for us.”

The Oilmen finish the regular season 30-22. The Oilmen will start their run at a Championship against the Southland Vikings Saturday night at Oil City Stadium. The first pitch is set for 7:10 p.m.