Whiting, IN– The Panthers were looking for revenge against the Oilmen Friday night. Rewind to the home opener, the Oilmen dominated the Panthers en route to an 11-2 final score. The Panthers were one out away from completing their attempt at revenge, but the Oilmen came alive in the ninth inning to complete a theatrical comeback. An Ethan Rossi bullet off the wall walked it off for the home team.
Jaden Jones toed the rubber after an impressive relief appearance in his only other game in the 2023 season. Jones got into some trouble in the first, but escaped the jam. The Oilmen loaded the bases in their next at-bats and brought in one from a groundout.
Still 1-0 in the top of the fourth, the Panthers were looking for their first hit. The red-hot Josh Williams finally got the Panthers in the hit column with a leadoff double. Williams stole third and was brought in to tie the game after a Brendon Meyers SAC-fly to right.
The Oilmen immediately broke the tie in the bottom of the fourth. The Panthers committed their second error of the game which led to the Oilmen eventually loading the bases with two outs. Logan Anderson brought in two with a base hit and gave the Oilmen a 3-1 lead.
The Panthers came into the sixth inning with only one hit. The Panthers did something that you might never see again in the Northern League. The Panthers put up a crooked four spot while only having one hit in the inning. Rainey reached on an error, Cobrales Jr. singled, Williams walked, and Jonny Crowell walked to bring in a run. The Oilmen saw that Noe was losing his command so they brought in Sobkoviak to inherit a one run game with the bases juiced. Sobkoviak also struggled to locate as he walked the first batter he saw, which allowed Brendon Meyers to collect his second RBI. The Panthers were not done as Bubba Davenport gave the Panthers the lead with a RBI-groundout. Sobkoviak threw a wild pitch and the Panthers completed their four run sixth and had a 5-4 lead.
The Panthers then brought in Anthony Scanlon for the first time this season. He surrendered one, but limited the damage as the Oilmen left two runners on base.
Scanlon found his rhythm and cruised to the ninth. With a high pitch count, Gilmore kept in his righty. The Oilmen were chasing one with a runner on third and two outs. The Oilmen leadoff hitter tied it with a single. Back-to-back walks set up the bases loaded for Ethan Rossi. Rossi got a pitch he could hit and turned on it for a walk-off off the brick wall in left field. This comeback kept the Oilmen five game winning streak alive and eliminated the possibility of the Panthers winning three in a row.
The Panthers will remain on the road and take on the league leading Corn Dogs Saturday, June 10 in another late night start. First pitch at 7 p.m. CT.
BOX SCORE:
http://thenorthernleaguestats.prestosports.com/sports/bsb/2022-23/boxscores/20230609_kpcv.xml