Baseball Game Preview: Portage Indians vs. Chesterton Trojans

For the second straight game, Portage will face off against Chesterton. The Indians will welcome the Trojans at 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday.

On Tuesday, Portage didn't have quite enough to beat Chesterton and fell 4-3. The Indians have now taken an 'L' in back-to-back games.

For Chesterton's part, Zach Fender and Dylan Bradford dominated on the mound. Fender tossed five innings while giving up just one earned (and one unearned) run off four hits, while Bradford pitched one inning while giving up no earned runs or hits. Fender is becoming a predictor of Chesterton's success: when he allows at most one earned run the team is 5-2 (and 7-8 when he doesn't).

At the plate, the team relied heavily on Rob Czarniecki, who went 1-for-3 with one home run and three RBI. That's the most RBI he has posted since back in May of 2024. The team also got some help courtesy of Nick Foust, who got on base in three of his four plate appearances with two runs.

With the win, Chesterton broke their four-game losing streak and moved their record to 12-10. As for Portage, they now have a losing record of 9-10-2.

Portage's speedy runners might be the difference in Wednesday's match. The Indians have been swiping bases left and right this season, having averaged 3 stolen bases per game. It's a different story for Chesterton, though, as they've been averaging only 0.5 stolen bases. Will they be able to secure the bases, or will Portage continue to outrun the ball? Check back here after the action for a full breakdown and analysis of the contest.