The Region's Team Of Northwest Indiana

Whiting, Ind. – July 20, 2022 – Most nights we write about the Northwest Indiana Oilmen, but we know a compelling story when we see one.

And the Chicago American Giants were the story on Wednesday night at Oil City Stadium.

An 11-game losing streak came to an end in resounding fashion as the visiting Giants blanked the Oilmen by a fitting score of 11-0. The Giants entered the game at 4-26, but have had seven one-run losses and played competitive baseball throughout the summer. A team that hasn’t quit was rewarded for its efforts on Wednesday by beating the team that has been the league’s signature franchise for the last decade.

The Giants had come close before, having lost three one-run games to the Oilmen this season including a pair of walk-offs in Whiting. But this time manager Dre Gilmore’s team sealed the deal on a night where they outhit the Oilmen 10-4.

“They’ve had us beat more times than we’ve beaten them,” Oilmen manager Adam Enright said. “Good for them for actually putting us away. A number of our wins against them were through no doing of our own. Most of them were self-inflicted wounds that the Giants gave to themselves late in the games. Tonight, they outplayed us in pretty much every aspect of the game. They deserved to win.”

Chicago scored twice in the first and then tacked on single tallies in the second, third, fifth and sixth innings. The game transformed into a blowout in the top of the ninth, when the Giants pushed across five more to widen the lead to 11.

Starter Jeremiah Williams allowed just three hits over five shutout innings to earn the win, before the Giant bullpen of Caleb Arndtt and Aubrey Yarborough combined for four shutout innings of one-hit ball while issuing no walks.

“We needed to look to do more damage early in the count,” Enright said. “I can’t tell you how many fastballs with no strikes we were late on and fouled over the first-base dugout or fouled off to the opposite field. In those spots, having a better plan and being really ready to do something with pitches to hit is important.”

The Oilmen (19-16) will look to bounce back on Thursday at 7:10 p.m. against the Lake County Corn Dogs at Oil City Stadium. Tickets are available on NWIOilmen.com. Brandon Vickrey and Andrew Mild will have the call on the Oilmen Broadcasting Network, available via Facebook Live.