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It’s safe to say that the boys from DuPage had no interest in leaving any gas in the tank today as they absolutely routed the Northwest Indiana Oilmen by a score of, 13-4. The explosive offense continued for the second day in a row as we saw the Hounds’ batsmen put up an astounding 16 hits in today’s contest. DuPage’s scorching bats weren’t the only headline for today’s game, as we saw pitcher Tom Concklin continue to solidify himself as the Hounds’ ace as we witnessed him completely shut down the Oilmen bats through his six innings of work.

 

The Oilmen jumped out to a quick 1-0 lead and held onto it for the first two innings. The third innings is when everything fell into place for the Hounds and they never looked back. DuPage put up three runs in the bottom half of the third, three in the fourth, three in the fifth, two in the sixth, and two in the seventh. Every Hounds starter had at least one hit in the ballgame and eight out of the nine starters contributed at least one RBI. 

 

Zac Taylor got things going from the leadoff spot where he went two for six with a single and an absolute screaming line-drive home run that plated two. Taylor’s outfield companion, Joe Duncan hit second in the order and went one for four with a single while also reaching on two walks. He also drove in two RBIs and stole his team-leading 15th bag of the season.

 

The Carrier brothers moved back down into their familiar three-four spots. Trent hit first between the two and went one for three with a walk, single and three runs batted in. Shane also picked up one hit in his four at bats, which came in the form of a single. He also reached base an additional time on a walk and drove in one RBI.

 

Arguably the Hounds’ hottest hitter, Ryan Fitzgerald hit fifth and went two for five with two singles. Richie Gorski continues to see the ball well after reaching base four times in his five at bats, once on a walk and the other three times on singles. He also drove in one of the Hounds’ 13 runs.

 

Hunter Morris and Ryan Taylor split today’s catching duties. Morris reached base once in his three plate appearances on a walk while Taylor was one for two with a single and a RBI.

 

Today’s offensive MVP was no doubt Matt Wollnik who continues to not only play gold glove defense, but also continues to be one of the more dominant hitters on the team. He went a team best four for five with three singles, a double and two RBIs. Finally, Dustin Krob rounded out the red-hot Hounds lineup where he went one for four with a walk, single and a run batted in.

 

After today’s game, there is no doubt that Hounds’ All-Star Tom Concklin has developed a strong case when it comes to arguing who the best pitcher in the MCL is this year. His final line for today’s game read an impressive six innings of four hit ball in which he gave up no earned runs while striking out three. He would of continued to pitch in the ballgame, but his early exit was attributed to the fact that his Hounds’ held a double-digit lead. A lead that allowed manager Sean Osborne to stretch out some new arms in his bullpen.  With that being said, newcomer Thomas Goodyear threw the remaining three frames in which he allowed three runs on five hits while striking out two. After today’s performance, Concklin moves to 2-0 on the season with a 1.29 ERA over his six starts.

 

For NWI, MVP candidate Stefano Belmonte reached base three times on a walk, single and double. He also drove in one of the four Oilmen runs. Fred Smart was tow for four with two singles. Zach Jones was also two for four with a single, double and a RBI. Brian Seymour hit a single that drove in two. Joe Jumonville and Brad Wood each had one single in their four at bats.

 

Brian Jestice was the Oilmen pitcher that took a majority of the beating from the hot Hounds’ bats, giving up nine runs in four and two-thirds innings on nine hits and six walks while striking out three. His major downfall was his six free passes, but in all fairness, the poor defense behind him forced him to throw more pitches than he should have. Hunter Clark came on in relief and went the next two and a third innings in which he gave up four runs on six hits. Finally, All-Star relief man Richard Yelnick threw the final inning in which he gave up no runs on one hit.

 

The Hounds’ (18-9) next game will be Sunday, July 12th at 3:00 PM (CT) at Hap Bruno Field against the Southland Vikings (8-14). The Hounds currently lead that season series four games to one.