Oilmen let another lead slip away in loss to DuPage County
By Dave Melton Post-Tribune correspondent July 4, 2012 11:08PM
Updated: August 6, 2012 12:16PM
WHITING — Another winnable game slipped through the hands of the Northwest Indiana Oilmen in the late innings, as they fell 4-2 to the DuPage County Hounds.
“These guys are putting a lot of pressure on themselves right now,” said Oilmen (15-11) manager Justin Huisman. “They have to get back to the basics and use the talents that they were given. We’ve had opportunities. We’re just not executing as much as we were at the beginning of the season.”
That lack of execution was evident in the final inning. Entering the ninth tied at two, the Hounds (14-12) scored a pair of unearned runs for the winning margin.
After a leadoff groundout, DuPage’s Mark Kornacher then reached first base on a single. Then, an error by Oilmen LF Billy Miller put runners on first and second. A lineout to center field followed, and the Oilmen appeared to be escaping the jam. But Jason Euler sent one off of the wall in left field for a double, scoring the game-winning runs.
The final inning marred an otherwise stellar performance from Oilmen starter Joey Eichmann. The Purdue pitcher went 82/3 innings, giving up just two earned runs on seven hits and two walks while striking out three.
Eichmann was spotted an early 2-0 lead as the Oilmen tallied a run in both the second and third innings.
Billy Miller drew a leadoff walk in the second and later scored when DuPage starter Brandon Delany made a bad throw on a pickoff move to first base, allowing Miller to advance from third. The Oilmen’s second and final run came on an RBI single from Bennett Oliver, scoring fellow Boilermaker Brandon Krieg.
The loss was the Oilmen’s eighth in their last nine games.
“Someone has to come out here and be the guy,” said Huisman. “We’ve had two real good starts go to waste in our last two games because we’re not getting the big hits.”
