Baseball Game Preview: Lake Central Indians vs. Portage Indians

Indians

Runs

05/03/25 @ Lincoln-Way Central	8
05/02/25 @ Munster	2
04/30/25 @ Chesterton	10
04/29/25 vs Chesterton	5
04/26/25 @ Penn	5
+ 12 more games

Lake Central is a perfect 10-0 against Portage since April of 2019 and they'll have a chance to extend that dominance on Tuesday. Lake Central will venture away from home to face off against Portage at 4:30 p.m. Lake Central is strutting in with some hitting muscle as they've averaged 7.8 runs per game this season.

Lake Central is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another highly-ranked state team: Lincoln-Way Central, who was ranked 25th in their home state at the time (Lake Central was ranked tenth). The Indians came out on top in a nail-biter against the Knights on Saturday, sneaking past 8-6. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest win the Indians have posted since April 8th.

Lake Central got a great performance from Ethan Champman as he tossed five innings while giving up just two earned (and two unearned) runs off five hits. Champman has been consistent: he hasn't given up more than one walk any time he's pitched this season.

At the plate, the team relied heavily on Drew Kosteba, who went 2-for-3 with one home run, four RBI, and two runs. That's the most RBI he has posted since back in April. Another player making a difference was Keegan O'Bryan, who went 1-for-3 with two stolen bases, two runs, and one RBI.

Meanwhile, Portage fell victim to Andrean and their airtight pitching crew on Thursday. They took a 4-0 hit to the loss column at the hands of the Fighting 59ers. The defeat continues a trend for the Indians in their meetings with the Fighting 59ers: they've now lost six in a row.

Lake Central's victory bumped their record up to 14-3. As for Portage, their loss dropped their record down to 9-6-1.

Lake Central was able to grind out a solid win over Portage in their previous meeting back in May of 2024, winning 3-0. The rematch might be a little tougher for Lake Central since the squad won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.