Kuntz homers 3 times, Corn Dogs 25-9

By Andrew Mild

The Lake County Corn Dogs needed a bounce-back game. On Tuesday against the Joliet Generals, the Corn Dogs only had five hits in the game and just one hit through the first six innings. When they arrived at Marion Catholic High School on Wednesday to play the Crestwood Panthers, they had the wind blowing out to right field. The Corn Dogs were due for a big offensive game, and they got it.

The Dogs scored two runs on doubles from Carter Sakamoto and Colin Small. The third inning saw Lake County execute a couple of hit-and-runs to perfection and set the table to score two more runs to make it 4-0.

Bryce Schaum, who started the game for the Dogs, allowed only one run. Schaum went 4 innings, striking out a season high nine batters. In the bottom of the third the Panthers score two runs, but just one was earned.

The fourth inning rolled around and it’s a 4-2 game, and the Corn Dogs needed some more offense. They scored a run from a Doug Loden single to drive in Small. Then came Roman Kuntz. With the count even at 2-2, Kuntz hit his fourth home run of the season to give his team a 7-2 lead.

Fast forward a few innings and Kuntz came up again with runners on base, hitting a changeup over the right field wall for his second home run of the game and fifth on the season. Three more runs would score in the inning and the Dogs had pulled away 13-2 on Crestwood.

After the Panthers scored three runs in their side of the sixth, Kuntz came up again. Even with the new pitcher it didn’t matter for the red-hot hitter, Kuntz clobbered his third home run and his sixth on the year. The three-homer performance would make Kuntz an easy choice for Macron Player of the Game. On the day, he went 3-5 with the three long balls and six RBIs. He is also just one home run behind Doug Loden for most this season.

The Panthers scored two runs in the seventh and one in the eighth, but because of the sun setting the game would end in the eighth and the final would be 14-8 for the Corn Dogs’ win.

The offense picked up 19 hits in the game, as six players from the team had a multi-hit game. Scott Hansen went 4-5, and has six hits in the last two games. Behind the offense the Corn Dogs moved to 25-9 and gained a game on the second and third place teams.

Their next game is Thursday on the road against the NWI Oilmen in Whiting, Indiana. First pitch is at 7:10 p.m., with the game being broadcast on the Region Sports Network the Oilmen Facebook page.