Baseball

The Generals fell 13-0 after only managing one hit in their Friday night road game against the Northwest Indiana Oilmen.

 

The Oilmen got on the board in the first inning after an error scored one run.

 

Followed by two RBI singles by Oilmen batters that extended their early lead with two additional runs.

 

The Oilmen continued their barrage of runs in the fifth and sixth innings scoring five runs each inning. Walks and errors fueled both innings with three errors and four walks in the two innings. 

 

"We didn't throw strikes, we didn't make them earn it," said Generals manager Amir Wright.

 

RJ Bergren earned the win for the Oilmen with five innings of work, in which he compiled nine strikeouts without allowing a hit. 

 

The Generals were hitless until the 7th inning when Connor Jerkatis lined a hit up the middle, Jerkatis finished with the only hit of the game for the Generals. 

 

Hunter Smith started the game for the Generals and also earned the loss. Smith had six strikeouts but allowed five earned runs off of seven hits through almost five innings on the mound. 

 

Smith's start was his first collegiate-level start after finishing his high school career at Griffith High School in 2024. 

 

"[Smith] established all three pitches he had," said Wright, "he let his defense play behind him."

 

The Generals struggled at the plate throughout the game with only the one hit, provided by Jerkatis, and zero runs. 

 

"You need failure, especially early to get these guys going," said Wright, "we're going to bounce back."

 

The Generals fall to 1-1 in the early Northern League season and are tied for third in the league. 

 

The Generals play at home on Sunday against the Elkhart County Miracle with a scheduled first pitch of 4 p.m.