Aurora, Ill. – Though he’s had long outings earlier in the season, for the first time in 2020, Norman Standish (South Suburban College/Highland, Ind.) was entrusted to start for the MCL Minutemen (9-17) against the DuPage County Hounds (18-8). His team’s faith was rewarded with a masterful pitching display as he helped take down the Hounds, winning 5-1.

Over his eight innings on the mound, Standish dominated one of the Midwest Collegiate League’s most potent offenses. He did not allow a single earned run on just two hits, striking out six in the process. Of the 24 Hounds hitters that put a ball in play, he induced weak contact 20 times. The incredible performance improves his record to 2-0.

In Standish’s support, the Minutemen lineup made sure his efforts did not go in vain. Brennan Brogni (Illinois-Springfield/Flagstaff, Ariz.) opened the scoring in the second inning, blasting a leadoff home run to right field, his third of the year.

Unfortunately, the Hounds erased that tally shortly after, manufacturing their first run in the bottom half of that frame. An error permitted their first batter to reach second base before stealing third. An RBI groundout leveled both teams at one apiece.

Three innings later, the Minutemen took advantage of wild Hounds pitching to take the lead, plating two more in the fifth. Ryan Missal (Western Michigan/Lowell, Ind.) started the rally by knocking a single to right field. A pair of walks issued to Matthew Lelito (Kankakee CC/Merrillville, Ind.) and Tyler Struck (Murray State College/Orland Park, Ill.) loaded the bases for Christian Peña (Eastern Illinois/Davenport, Iowa). He put his team in front by keeping his bat on his shoulder, driving in a run via a base on balls. Mike Bolton (Purdue/Calumet City, Ill.) hit a sacrifice fly one batter later to double the Minutemen advantage.

Hungry for more, the Minutemen struck for another pair the very next inning. The bases filled once again for Peña, this time from a Brogni single and free passes to Lelito and Lukas Broske (Lake Land College/West Bend, Wis.). However, given another chance to come through in a similar situation, he produced his best swing to give MCL a 5-1 edge, knocking a two-run base hit to right field.

That was all Standish needed to carry the Minutemen to victory. Following the only DuPage County run, he reached another level, retiring 16 of the next 21 Hounds he faced, none reaching further than second base.

Cade Turner (Illinois-Springfield/Frankfort, Ill.) took over in the ninth and picked up where Standish left off. He worked a three-up, three-down inning to secure a Minutemen win, their ninth this summer.

The Minutemen go right back to work Tuesday at Howie Minas Field at 3 p.m. when the Crestwood Panthers come to town. Be sure to tune in on the MCL Minutemen Broadcast Network via Facebook Live as Ryan Zimmerman and Jon Zaghloul will have the call.