Corn Dogs move to 6-1; Crown Point’s new mayor to throw out first pitch on “First Responders Night”

By Andrew Mild and Jim Masters

Crown Point Mayor Pete Land will throw out the first pitch at the Lake County Corn Dogs game on Sunday, June 5. Game time is 6 p.m.

Land, who was serving as Crown Point’s police chief, became mayor this week following the resignation of David Uran, the new Executive Director of the Lake County Convention & Visitors Bureau.

Sunday is “First Responders Night,” as the Corn Dogs organization and their fans will honor all those people who help keep our world safe.

“This is one more way our baseball franchise is promoting our mission of ‘building community through baseball,” Majority Owner Ralph Flores said.

The Corn Dogs take a 6-1 record into Sunday’s game, having defeated the Joliet Generals 8-5 on Friday. The Corn Dogs are alone in first place atop the Northern League.

Another Corn Dogs comeback win
The Generals’ offense struck first, scoring five runs in the top of the second inning and chasing starter Bryce Schaum out of the game. The big hit came from Aaron Vertuno, who doubled and drove in two runs.

To go along with that crooked second inning, left hander Jack Bell went four innings and struck out eight Corn Dog hitters and just a pair of hits.

After Bell was replaced, things went south for Joliet. The Corn Dogs salvaged a run in their half of the fifth, but it was the sixth inning that changed the game. The Generals issued three walks, plunked three hitters and had one error, as the Corn Dogs took the lead, 6-5.

In the seventh inning, Bret Matthys doubled in two runners to put the game at arms length. Matthys would close out the game on the mound, striking out two hitters to pick up his second save of the year and be chosen Macron Player of the Game.

The Corn Dogs’ bullpen was key, throwing seven scoreless innings. Former Valparaiso Viking Ryan Troxel went 3.1 innings without allowing a run. Southpaw Jake Thometz added two more zeros for the hold before handing it off to Matthys to end it.

The Corn Dogs play at Legacy Fields, 851 Center Ross Rd., Crown Point.