SYCAMORE – One of Cody Simon’s objectives this summer was to take an outside pitch and go with it, to stop pulling the ball.

Thursday, the DeKalb County Liners’ utilityman made some significant progress on that goal.

Simon, a right-hander from Wright State University, hit an opposite-field home run in the first inning and then one to deep center in the third to help propel the Liners to an 8-2 win against the Chicago Zephyrs at Sycamore Park. The win gave the Liners (22-14) a 31⁄2-game lead in the North Division of the Midwest Collegiate League.