Baseball Game Preview: Lake Central Indians vs. Munster Mustangs

The Lake Central Indians will head out to face off against the Munster Mustangs at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.

Lake Central gave up the first runs on Wednesday, but they didn't let that get them down. They blew past Chesterton 10-3. For those keeping track at home, that's the biggest win the Indians have posted against the Trojans since May 11, 2022.

Lake Central got a great performance from Luke O'Keefe as he tossed 6.1 innings while giving up three earned runs off four hits.

Dylan Hein

Hits (Career)

04/30/25 @ Chesterton	3
04/15/25 vs La Porte	2
04/09/25 vs Valparaiso	2
04/01/25 vs Lowell	2
04/26/25 @ Penn	1

On the hitting side, the team relied heavily on Dylan Hein, who went a perfect 3-for-3 with one home run, five RBI, and two runs. Those three hits gave him a new career-high. The team also got some help courtesy of Victor Villegas, who got on base in three of his four plate appearances with one stolen base, one run, and one RBI.

Lake Central kept the outfield on their toes and finished the game with 11 hits. The team's really been improving in that area: they've now improved their hit total in three consecutive matchups.

Meanwhile, Munster came tearing into Thursday's contest with three straight wins (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 6 runs), and they left with even more momentum. Their pitchers stepped up to hand the Panthers a 24-0 shutout. That 24 run margin sets a new team best for the Mustangs this season.

Munster's victory was their third straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 9-5. The road wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 14.7 runs over those games. As for Lake Central, their record now sits at 13-2.

Lake Central took their victory against Munster in their previous matchup back in May of 2024 by a conclusive 7-1 score. Will the Indians repeat their success, or do the Mustangs have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.