Official Game Day Program
Week of July 7, 2014
www.nwioilmen.com
Vol 1., Issue 7
The Northwest VENGA A CELEBRAR LAIndiana HERENCIA LATINA CON EL ORGULLO Oilmen plan DEa NORTH fiestaWESTonINDIANA July 12 to celebrate Latin heritage in the region. PAGE 4
Jason Gasser, Cameron Linck, Jimmy McNamara, and Craig Dedelow will be playing in the MCL All-Star game and are highlighted for their talents. Page 38
Bryce Nowakowski, son of Calumet College of St. Joseph head baseball coach Brian Nowakowski will benefit from the Midwest Collegiate League All-Star Game held at Oil City Stadium. Page 2
Whiting celebrates 125 years of community with its annual Fourth of July Parade held downtown. Page 37
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HELP MEND A BROKEN HEART
MCL ALL STAR BENEFIT BASEBALL GAME
By Joey Gelman July 9 marks the annual Midwest Collegiate League AllStar game at Oil City Stadium. However, this year there is a much more important cause at hand during the game for one little All-Star. Bryce Nowakowski, who is one and a half years old, is the son of Calumet College of St. Joseph head baseball coach Brian Nowakowski. Bryce is currently in the fight for his life, as he is waiting for a heart transplant after being diagnosed with Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome at birth. This syndrome causes normal blood flow to be disrupted, not allowing the left side of the heart to pump oxygen-rich blood to the rest of the body. Bryce already had two out of the three needed surgeries and was in line for his third surgery when his circumstances changed on April 5. What was thought to be a normal stomach bug bothering Bryce was found to be a clot in his heart, and a heart transplant was necessary. Through the many ups and downs during the past three months, the Nowakowski family is still waiting for a heart transplant. The Oilmen, with the help of the Nowakowskis, Calumet College of St. Joseph and the greater Northwest Indiana Region have teamed up to host a benefit night during the July 9 MCL All-Star game. Fifty percent of ticket sales will go toward helping offset the hospital bills. Peter Haring, the Calumet College of St. Joseph Athletic Director, described the power of athletics in a time of need. “Athletics is that unique part that can be an extension of family,” Haring said. “We’re just trying to use our family, as an extension of a communication conduit, to get people aware of Bryce and his needs once that heart transplant comes.” Brian Nowakowski said they have just finished week 10, as of June 28, and are awaiting a transplant any minute, as the average wait time is about six weeks. Nowakowski was extremely thankful for the support from Calumet College of St. Joseph,
and what they have meant to his family. While this is an extremely difficult time in his life, Nowakowski has a meaningful take away from it. “The importance of realizing that these tragedies are out there, and to cherish every day with your children,” he said. Nowakowski also shared that this event was more special to him because it combined his two loves, baseball and his son. The combination is one of the reasons why he is “so grateful to Calumet College and the Oilmen for doing this for me and my family.” Sports can serve as a vehicle to help raise awareness for causes and Haring is excited about the event, and the great benefit it can provide for the Nowakowskis and the community. “It’s a nice cooperative,” Haring said. “That’s the unique thing about sports, you can bring a sporting organization like the Oilmen, connect it with a college program like CCSJ, and a cause that is pretty close to everyone in that part of the Northwest Indiana Region to bring about awareness. We are looking forward to the ninth.” After the MCL All-Star Game, there will be another event hosted by the Nowakowski family on July 20 at Silver Buckle Saloon in Highland to continue their effort to raise awareness and funds to help Bryce with his battle. There is also a donation website to help the Nowakowskis at youcaring.com/bryce-our-superhero. While July 9 may serve as a celebration of the collegiate All-Stars, it is a little All-Star that needs our help and will most certainly be the MVP of the night.
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SHOWCASING THE LEAGUE’S BEST TALENT
July 9 - 7:30 PM
The annual Midwest Collegiate League All-Star game allows professional scouts to get a first-hand look at the league’s talent. By Brandon Vickrey The Midwest Collegiate League’s brightest stars will be on display in the 2014 Midwest Collegiate League All-Star Game on Wednesday, July 9 at Oil City Stadium. For the fourth straight year, a midsummer showcase will allow professional scouts to get a first-hand look at the league’s premiere talent. The 2014 All-Star Game will be held at Oil City Stadium, the home of the Northwest Indiana Oilmen. The All-Star Game is making its third trip to Northwest Indiana in league history after previously being held at Oil City Stadium in 2011 and 2013. The South All-Stars roster is comprised of players from the Oilmen, Southland Vikings and Lexington Snipes, while the North All-Stars roster is made up of players from the DuPage County Hounds, Chicago Zephyrs and Joliet Admirals. The South All-Star squad will be managed by Chris Cunningham, who guided the Vikings to the Midwest Collegiate League championship last season. The North will be led by Sean Osborne, the manager of the first-place DuPage County Hounds. The Southland Vikings will be represented by pitchers Brandon White (Hill College), Kevin Hallberg (Grand Valley State University), Dan Wetzel (St. Xavier University) and Anthony Spangler (Purdue Calumet), infielders Bobby Sheppard (University of Buffalo) and Jeff Boehm (University of Illinois-Chicago) and outfielders Dan Potempa (University of Iowa) and Brandon Mallder (Northern Illinois University). In addition, catcher Alex Lugo (Western Oklahoma State College) has claimed a spot on the All-Star roster. Sheppard is hitting a robust .446 with a team-high 14 runs batted in this season,
while Potempa has launched four home runs. The Northwest Indiana Oilmen will have four pitchers and four position players on the South roster. Pitchers Cameron Linck (Hill College), Keith Mahler (Heartland Community College), Jimmy McNamara (Central Michigan University) and Matt Pobereyko (Kentucky Wesleyan University) will be joined by outfielders Craig Dedelow (Indiana) and Jason Gasser (Northern Illinois) and infielders Nate Schneider (Western Michigan) and Ryan Burvan (Purdue University) on the roster. Pobereyko is the all-time Midwest Collegiate League saves leader and has eight this season, while no other pitcher in the league has more than one. The Lexington Snipes will send infielders Chris Maranto (Butler), Reed Rodgers (Heartland Community College) and Adam Casson (Eastern Illinois University), outfielders Eric Phillis (Kankakee Community College) and Ryan Frye (Evangel University) and catcher Jake Capko (Illinois Wesleyan University) to Oil City Stadium next week. In addition, the Snipes will be represented by pitchers Brett Fanning (Upper Iowa University), Kyle Weller (Parkland Community College), John Munyon (Illinois Wesleyan University) and Matthew James (University of Illinois). James, who will be unavailable to pitch in the All-Star Game, hurled the second no-hitter in Midwest Collegiate League history earlier this season and is also a prolific offensive player with a .397 batting average. The North roster includes eight members of the Joliet Admirals. Pitchers Quinn Ahern (Northern Iowa Area Community College), Ryan VanVolkenburg (Maryville University), Brian Donley (University of Dallas), Brock Borgeson (Simpson College) and Steve Waldrop (Morehead State) will all participate in the game.
Infielders Justin Kovalsky (Benedictine University) and Alec Barnhart (St. Xavier University) and outfielder Jeff Evak (Purdue) are also on the North squad. Kovalsky leads the team in batting average at .350, while Evak is the biggest Admirals power threat with two home runs and eight RBIs. The DuPage County Hounds will be represented by pitchers Pat Bellinger (Tiffin University), Matt Frawley (Purdue University) and Pat Cashman (Southern Louisiana University). Hounds infielders Richie Gorski (University of Illinois), Connor Kopach (Southern Illinois University-Carbondale) and outfielders Drew LaComb (Mesa Community College) and Alex Cain (Eastern Illinois University) have also received All-Star honors. LaComb leads the team in batting average at .353, while Bellinger holds a 0.43 ERA. The Chicago Zephyrs will have pitchers Nick Heniff (Carthage College) and Kyle Cliff (Limestone College), catcher Brent Minta (Taylor University), infielders Andy Jaskolski (Carthage College), Drew Bailey (Carthage College), Greg Sidor (Illinois State University) and John Brodner (Wright State) and outfielder Bobby Smith (Waubonsee Community College) competing in the All-Star Game. The Midwest Collegiate League All-Star Game will take place on Wednesday, July 9 at Oil City Stadium with the first pitch slated for 7:30 p.m. Fifty percent of the revenue from all tickets sales will benefit the family of Bryce Nowakowski, the son of Calumet College of St. Joseph head baseball coach Brian Nowakowski. Bryce, age one, is currently fighting for his life and waiting for a heart transplant.
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CELEBRATING LATIN HERITAGE
JULY 12 - 7:30 PM Northwest Indiana is a rich melting pot of people with very diverse cultures. These people can trace their roots to all corners of the world. One of the largest of these cultural groups that call Northwest Indiana home is the Latino community, representing over 12 percent of the total population. The Latino population of Northwest Indiana represents over one quarter of the total Latino population of the entire state of Indiana. This 12 percent of the population is a rich melting pot within itself, comprised of the rich cultures of Mexico, Puerto Rico, Brazil, The Dominican Republic, El Salvador, and many other Latino countries in Central and South America as well as the Caribbean. Noche Latina will be a celebration of not only all the Latino cultures represented in Northwest Indiana, but all Latino cultures and heritages found worldwide. This celebration will include performances by Mariachi Infantil Santa Maria of Saint Mary’s Church in East Chicago, Ballet Folklorico Mexico Lindo, Latino music all evening, and of course for the main attraction, an exciting game of Oilmen baseball versus the DuPage Hounds.
By Vincent Medina
On July 12, before the baseball game, Mariachi Infantil Santa Maria of Saint Mary’s Church in East Chicago will play traditional mariachi music.
Ballet Folklorico Mexico Lindo will perform traditional Latin dances on the concourse at Oil City Stadium for Noche Latina.
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AROUND THE NEIGHBORHOOD Whiting’s 95th annual Fourth of July parade draws people from all around the region
The City of Whiting is celebrating its 125th year as a city this year and the city has a bunch of events lined up for the summer. One of the first events to start the summer is the annual Fourth of July parade that takes place every year on Indianapolis Blvd. and 119th Street, ending at Oil City Stadium. The annual Fourth of July parade in Whiting, which started in 1919, celebrated its 95th annual parade on July 4. Businesses that were all over Northwest Indiana and high school bands from Bishop Noll, Crown Point, Morton and Whiting were all walking in the parade and performing for the crowd along the side of 119th Street. Northwest Indiana Oilmen players Nick Vogelmeier, Cameron Linck, James Meeker and Nate Schneider all walked in the parade, represented the Oilmen and gave out candy to the kids along the side of the street. In addition, Whiting native Andrew Lowe walked in the parade and was popular among hometown fans. “I have been coming here since I was a kid. It is a lot of fun every year,” Lowe said. Oilman Stan also walked in the parade, waving to the crowd and taking photos with Oilmen fans. Oilmen representatives distributed tickets to the July 4 Oilmen game to many spectators. Some of the businesses in Whiting had mascots or characters promoting and giving out free items for people that watched the parade on the street and asking people come out, not only to the citizens of Whiting, but for people all around the region to support them and draw more people to their business. There were a lot of cartoon characters that were present in the parade to interact with the kids including Mickey Mouse, SpongeBob, Barney and Mr. Pierogi. By David Bork
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PLAYER SPOTLIGHTS: By Brandon Vickrey
When Craig Dedelow steps on the Oil City Stadium diamond for Wednesday’s Midwest Collegiate League All-Star Game, he will be flooded by memories of his childhood. Dedelow, a Munster High School graduate and current member of the Indiana University baseball team, will be participating in an All-Star Game for the first time since he was 12 years old playing Babe Ruth baseball. “I think it’s pretty cool,” Dedelow said. “I haven’t been on an All-Star team in quite some time, so it should be fun to get to know some of the other guys on the teams and have another game.” Since joining the Oilmen after completing his freshman season with the Hoosiers, Dedelow has made an instant impact. He leads the team in batting average at .346 and ranks third in RBIs with 10. Dedelow holds a team-best .519 slugging percentage, a .407 on-base percentage and is tied for the club lead in extra-base hits with eight. “I’ve just been trying to swing at good pitches and not get behind in the counts as much as I did in college or even some during high school last year,” Dedelow said. “I’m trying to get myself into good
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JASON GASSER
hitter’s counts and go from there.” Although Dedelow joined the Oilmen late after Indiana’s season extended into the NCAA Regional, he had no problem fitting in with his Northwest Indiana teammates. Dedelow played high school baseball with pitchers Scott Jerge and Anthony Gomez at Munster. “It’s been nothing but easy,” Dedelow said. “Guys have welcomed me with open arms and the coaches are good. It’s good competition. The games are almost always close, so that’s a good thing.” Dedelow has reached base safely in 12 of the 13 games he has played in an Oilmen uniform. His consistent production has made him a fixture in the middle of the Oilmen order, hitting either third or fourth in manager Justin Huisman’s lineup each game. Although Dedelow received significant playing time as a freshman at Indiana, he did not feel any pressure to carry the team because the Hoosiers were loaded with veteran leadership. With the Oilmen, Dedelow is relied upon to swing a productive stick. “It’s different, but I like it,” Dedelow said. “I like having more responsibility. I still think I could get my bat a little bit better and get a little bit stronger by the end of the season.”
By David Bork Jason Gasser is a multi-sport athlete in football and baseball who graduated from Mount Carmel High School in Chicago. Gasser had to travel 45 minutes every day to go to high school all the way from his house in Dyer, Ind. Gasser had to make the decision after high school to either play Division-I football or Division-I baseball at either Ball State University or Northern Illinois University. Gasser had played both sports for over 13 years, but made the decision to focus on baseball at Northern Illinois. Gasser was one of the few athletes from the state of Illinois to win a state championship in both football and baseball. “Coach [Ed] Mathey seemed like a great guy and heard great things about him,” Gasser said. “He has been pretty successful at NIU.” Gasser has been one most consistent and one of the best hitters on the Oilmen, hitting .318 with 11 runs batted in and a .416 on-base percentage. His stats are no surprise since he hit .425 drove in 33 runs his senior year at Mount Carmel. “It has been spectacular and everyone has been great to me,” Gasser said. “I plan help the Oilmen bring home the championship where it belongs.”
#1
CRAIG DEDELOW Gasser has started in 18 out of the 22 Oilmen games this season with Oilmen manager Justin Huisman switching him all over the outfield. “I wanted improve in my game and stay close to home for my first summer home from college,” Gasser said. “I saw some playing time my freshman year. I plan to be a leader next year with the experience.” Gasser is one of the eight Oilmen who made the MCL All-Star Game. He joins Craig Dedelow as the two outfielders from the Oilmen to make the All-Star Game. “I put in a lot hard work and had dedication,” Gasser said. “I am glad my hard work has been paying off as it shows that I am one of the best in the MCL.” Gasser gets fan support from his friends that live in Dyer that grew up with him, and always gets support from his parents, who come out to every game. Gasser was welcomed by teammate Nate Schneider and the two have become close friends. Gasser has a few friends that play with Schneider in college at Western Michigan University. “I plan to get better as the season moves along and help my teammates as well,” Gasser said. “I want to help the Oilmen as much as I can.”
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FEATURING TALENT IN THE MIDWEST COLLEGIATE LEAGUE ALL-STAR GAME By Joey Gelman In his second year with the Oilmen, Central Michigan left-handed pitcher Jimmy McNamara is setting himself up for another impressive season in the Midwest Collegiate League. After a loss in Game 2 of the MCL Championship Series against the Southland Vikings last season, McNamara is very motivated as this 2014 season continues. While summer ball is mainly used for tweaks and extra playing time, McNamara still maintains his competitive edge as winning is his first priority. “For me it’s all about winning,” McNamara said. “I couldn’t care less if I could tweak some stuff, I’d rather win.” McNamara has posted a 3-1 record so far this season, and has a 3.21 ERA with 28 strikeouts. However, while winning is the priority for McNamara, one thing he wants to work on is limiting his walks. So far this season, he has only allowed two walks in 28 innings. “In the spring, I got into a spell of walking guys, and it has never been a problem for me,” McNamara said. “So [I] wanted to make sure I was going to get ahead of guys and be aggressive all the way through an at-bat and have done a good job of that.” For the second straight year, McNamara has been named to the MCL South All-Star team along with seven other Oilmen, who will square off against the North All-Star team on July 9 at Oil City Stadium. “It’s a nice honor,” McNamara said. “And to share with other guys on the team, it’s nice to share it with them.”
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CAMERON LINCK
While joining a summer league team can be a big adjustment with many new players, and a big slate of games approaching to start the season, McNamara says that the transition has been easy. Many of the players are from the Northwest Indiana area, and have been high school rivals or teammates for years. An added perk for McNamara is that Central Michigan catcher and battery mate Alec Ornelas joined the team this year. “He knows what my strengths are and how I like to go about hitters and how I like to throw to hitters.” McNamara said. “It’s really nice to be able to mesh with your catcher and have that chemistry.” As McNamara is in his second year with the Oilmen, one of the main reasons he returned was to play once again for manager Justin Huisman. Huisman fulfilled every baseball players dream, as he pitched in the Major Leagues for the Kansas Royals in 2004. That experience is very apparent in his coaching approach and development of players, according to McNamara. “A guy like that can see anything and he has helped me with little tweaks,” McNamara said. “If you have a good coach like that, that can help you take stuff you have learned from the summer and bring it back to the fall and then discuss that back with your coaches there, it makes you that much better of a player.” As the season continues here for McNamara, he is excited to continue to represent his home of Northwest Indiana as the Oilmen make their final playoff push during the ever-important month of July.
By Brandon Vickrey For most players on the Oilmen roster this season, Oil City Stadium is just a short drive from their homes located in Northwest Indiana or Illinois. For Texas native Cameron Linck, a summer in Whiting has been a whole new ballgame. Linck grew up near Houston and plays his college ball at Hill College in Hillsboro. He had never lived outside of the Lone Star State until this summer. “It’s a lot different for me,” Linck said. “I grew up around the same group of people and I’d never really played with anyone except those buddies. It was strange for me getting to know a new team and playing with those guys in college, and then coming here and getting to know the whole atmosphere and how the north plays baseball.” In addition to gaining familiarity with life in the north, Linck has also found instant success on the field. He leads the Midwest Collegiate League in wins with four and ranks third in the league in strikeouts with 34. He has the best earned run average among Oilmen starting pitchers at 1.75. Linck’s stellar numbers have earned him a spot in the 2014 Midwest Collegiate League All-Star Game. “It is a cool opportunity for me because I know the league is full of good competition,” Linck said. “To be
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JIMMY MCNAMARA
chosen for that was pretty big. To be able to play on the same team as one of my buddies, Brandon White, will be pretty neat, so I’m looking forward to that.” White and Linck – both members of the Hill College pitching staff – are two of the top tier pitchers in the MCL this season. White, a Chicago native, is the ace of the Southland Vikings pitching staff. The All-Star Game will also provide Linck with the chance to share the dugout with other players from the Vikings and Lexington Snipes. “Pitching against those guys, you’re always trying to see how they take things and how they play the game,” he said. “I’ve learned a lot from the Southland team because we’ve played them so many times. Seeing how well they hit makes it pretty exciting that we’re going to have those guys on the team.” Linck has spent the first half of the summer soaking up everything he can learn from Oilmen manager and former big league pitcher Justin Huisman. “He’s a great guy and a great coach,” Linck said. “I asked him a couple questions about his transition from college to pro ball. Getting to talk with him on my off days about pitching and about the way he runs his program at Trinity Christian is pretty neat. I like learning from different people, so he’s a good coach to play for.”
VENGA A CELEBRAR LA HERENCIA LATINA CON EL ORGULLO DE NORTH WEST INDIANA