Oilmen stay hot at home
By Dave Melton Post-Tribune correspondent June 19, 2012 11:28PM
Updated: July 21, 2012 6:30AM
WHITING — Capping a perfect 5-0 homestand, the Northwest Indiana Oilmen topped the Rockford Foresters 6-2 to run their home record to 10-1.
“If we see an opportunity, we’ve been taking advantage of it,” Oilmen manager Justin Huisman said of his team’s success at Oil City Stadium. “We’ve had timely hitting, good base running, and quality starting pitching.”
It was the starting pitching that shined on Tuesday night, as starter Joey Eichman delivered another impressive start for the Oilmen. The Purdue right-hander went seven scoreless innings, registering nine strikeouts while scattering four hits and three walks. After the game, Eichmann said a practice session with Huisman paid off on the mound.
“We just worked on staying on my back leg more during my windup … and it helped,” said Eichmann. “I had a really good fastball the entire night.”
“(Eichmann) had some really quick innings out there,” said Huisman. “It was an outstanding outing and I hope it’s a sign of things to come from him.”
Adam Dennis relieved Eichmann in the eighth, and quickly walked the bases loaded without retiring a batter. Nik Mason finished the inning, although Rockford did score a pair of runs. Josh Stowe overcame two walks and two hits with a double play groundball to close out the game in the ninth.
“There were too many free passes there,” said Huisman. “You have to come into the game throwing strikes.”
The Oilmen offense first got on the board in the third inning, thanks to a two-out rally that was started when John Livingston was hit by a pitch. Cody Dykema then singled, Danny Britt walked and Brandon Krieg also singled, resulting in a 2-0 NWI lead.
Two walks and three stolen bases in the fourth inning extended that lead to 4-0, providing enough run support for the victory.
