Baseball

GRIFFITH, Ind. – With opening night in Griffith looming, the Generals look to start their season strong in their new home against the white-hot Lake County Corn Dogs, who swept the Northwest Indiana Oilmen in Crown Point to start the league year. With a spaced-out opening week, Generals manager Peter Romsek announced a four-man starting rotation. The opening day start was granted to southpaw Josh Bennema out of the College of DuPage.

Bennema pitched in four games for the Chapparals last season, posting a 5.93 ERA and striking out 12 batters in 13.2 innings. He’s looking to not do “anything too crazy” since it’s been a while between starts.

“Getting comfortable with everything I have in my arsenal is the first priority,” said Josh. “I may lean on my fastball early on so I can work everything else off of it. Other than that, most of how I sequence pitches is combined based on how hitters react to pitches and what’s working for me on that day. So if one pitch is really effective, I might go back to it more often.”

The two, three, and four starters in the rotation are Jimmy Fairley, Evan Nieter, and Osvaldo Ballesteros. Fairley will face the Vikings on May 31, Nieter will face the Corn Dogs on June 3, and Ballesteros will also face the Corn Dogs on June 4.

Jimmy Fairley was outstanding last season for Romsek’s Saint Xavier University Cougars, as he posted a 1.64 ERA and struck out 12 batters in 11 innings of work. Evan Nieter pitched 23 innings in his senior year at Homewood-Flossmoor Community High School, posting a 9.74 ERA and striking out 21. Osvaldo Ballesteros also pitched for Romsek’s Cougars, striking out two batters in as many innings.

The Generals are seeking their third consecutive playoff berth and their second league title in three years. Last year’s title went to the Corn Dogs, who finished with a 35-11 record. They return 12 players from last season, including reigning Northern League Pitcher of the Year Ryan Troxel, who was the opening-day starter on Wednesday in Crown Point.