WHITING, Ind. – The Northwest Indiana Oilmen remain the hottest team in the Northern League, as they won their seventh straight game in an obliteration of the Griffith Generals 18-0. The Generals made mistakes the entire game, as they totaled six errors and only logged two hits, stranding runners in scoring position like they have all season.
Jimmy Fairley, despite a strong start to the year, was knocked around as he gave up eight runs (four earned) on seven hits in four innings pitched in his losing effort. Other Generals struggled mightily out of the bullpen, as Ryan Polly hit five batters and surrendered seven runs without recording an out in his Generals debut. Caleb Deel also failed to record an out, as he hit two batters of his own and gave up three runs. Ronnie Nowak, the Generals starting shortstop, was called on to get outs in the sixth inning, as he managed to record all three of them without giving up a run.
Jordan Landkrohn had a day to forget on defense, as he accounted for four of the six Griffith errors at the hot corner. Mark Ross also logged an error, his fourth of the year in eight games played.
After the game, the coaching tandem of Peter Romsek and Ryan Jemar were largely “at a loss” for their team’s performance. “It was a bad, bad night overall,” remarked Romsek. “We didn’t show up to play and compete in a baseball game. Lackadaisical effort across the board. At the end of the day, I’m gonna be penciling in the guys who want to compete and win baseball games.”
Pitching coach Ryan Jemar had a simple message for his pitching staff after a tough day in Whiting: “Throw a ton of strikes. I don’t even know what else to say. We’ve gotta be able to consistently throw strikes at this point.”
The Generals start a four-game homestand tomorrow against the Southland Vikings at 7:10 p.m. at Brian Jennings Field. The game was originally scheduled to be hosted by the Vikings but was changed at the beginning of the month. The Generals will look to tally their first home win of the year.