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Lelito Shines As Oilmen Beat American Giants

Matt Lelito had 10 strikeouts in the victory
07/21/2021 10:57 PM -

South Holland Ill.- A Day after the MCL all-star game the Northwest Indiana Oilmen had several all-star performances in a 12-4 win over the Chicago American Giants.

The offense set the tone early with a four-run explosion in the top of the first inning. A Jacob Ferry (Aurora/ Morehead State) double in the first inning forced the American Giants to go to their bullpen in the first frame of action. Andrew Petsche (Oswego/Purdue Northwest) and Anthony Fumagalli (Plainfield/Purdue Northwest) each had two hits apiece and Mike Carey (Tinley Park/ John A. Logan) had a triple late in the game that shifted the momentum in favor of the Oilmen.

“Mike Carey’s triple really distanced the game,” Marik said. “All the momentum was on their side at the time, they were putting up some runs and we were able to put up a big hit which was huge.”

Right hander Matt Lelito (Andrean/Kankakee) was stellar on the mound going five and two thirds’ innings with 10 strikeouts. The American Giants were only able to record three hits against Lelito.

“He battled a lot of adversity and gave us over five good innings of work and 10 Ks, you gotta tip your cap to that,” Oilman Manager TJ Marik said. “For him to come out and do that was huge.”

Behind the dish Luke Napleton(La Grange/ Quincy) caught two runners stealing and picked off another against a team the leads the league in stolen bases. The catcher has been a superb addition to the Oilmen roster.

“They are a really good baserunning team and are not afraid to show it whenever they can,” Marik said. “Luke has been great back there all season and today he was really able to show off his arm and his ability to throw.”

The Oilmen will continue their road trip tomorrow at 5:05 pm at Dowling Park against the Southland Vikings. The game will be broadcast on the Northwest Indiana Oilmen broadcasting network on Facebook live with Brandon Vickrey and Leo Staudacher on the call.