Corn Dogs Drop One to Vikings, Remain in First Place

By Noel Fary

The Lake County Corn Dogs lost to the Southland Vikings on Sunday, 16-13, in a game that took a dramatic turn halfway through the contest and kept every fan on the edge of their seats.

Coming into the game, the Corn Dogs stood at 5-0 against the Vikings this season, with an eight- game win streak that extended into last season.

Check out the box score from the game.

Ryan Troxel started on the mound for the Corn Dogs and set the tone of a true pitcher’s duel for the first half of the game, as the contest remained scoreless through four and a half innings. The Corn Dogs pitched plenty of arms, with Troxel, Gavin Gallagher and Sean Kasper each pitching for two innings.

Neither offense broke through solid pitching from the opposing team, with the Corn Dogs leaving at least one runner on base for each of the first four innings.

The flood gates opened in the bottom of the fifth inning with the Corn Dogs scoring first, and the Vikings tying the game at 1-1 at the top of the sixth. From that point on in the game, at least one run was scored in every remaining frame.

Six lead changes piled up as both teams could not be stopped on offense. Key moments for the Corn Dogs included a Kevin Hall RBI double, a Tyler Schultz two-run home run and Owen Winter’s game tying RBI single in the bottom of the eighth inning.

With the game tied at 10-10 headed into the top of the ninth, the fans at legacy fields had experienced plenty of mood swings. After scoring six runs in the top of the ninth, the Vikings looked to put the Corn Dogs away. Following a valiant two-out effort, the Corn Dogs brought the game within three runs, but ultimately came up short.

The loss represents just the second time the Corn Dogs dropped a game at Legacy Fields this season.

The Corn Dogs head into the All-Star break (Tuesday in Whiting) and look ahead to Thursday when they travel to Oil City Stadium to take on the NWI Oilmen at 7:10 p.m. in an anticipated matchup between the top two teams in the Northern League.

Photo by Marco Magallon.