The Lake Central Indians will face off against the Illiana Christian Vikings at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday. Lake Central is coming into the matchup hot, having won their last 12 games dating back to last season.
Illiana Christian's hitters are going to have their work cut out for them on Saturday: Lake Central hadn't allowed a single run the last three times they've hit the field. The Indians never let Valparaiso get on the board and left with a 10-0 victory on Wednesday. The high-flying hitting performance was a huge turnaround for the Indians considering their one-run performance the game before.
Luke O'Keefe
| 04/09/25 vs Valparaiso | 4 |
| 04/01/25 vs Lowell | 3 |
| 05/18/24 @ Northridge | 2 |
| 05/11/24 vs Marian Catholic | 5 |
Luke O'Keefe tossed a big game, not allowing a single earned run over 5.2 innings pitched. What's more, he posted four strikeouts, the most he's had since back in May of 2024.
On the hitting side, the team relied heavily on Drew Kosteba, who went 3-for-4 with two triples, five RBI, and two runs. That's the most runs he has posted since back in May of 2024. The team also got some help courtesy of Ryder Fernandez, who scored three runs and stole two bases while going 3-for-3.
Lake Central always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .515. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Valparaiso only posted an OBP of .292.
Meanwhile, Illiana Christian had to kick off their season on the road on Thursday, but they showed no ill effects. They had just enough and edged out Boone Grove 2-1. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest win the Vikings have posted since May 18, 2024.
Illiana Christian saw four different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Spencer Bandstra, who went 1-for-3 with one RBI.
Lake Central's victory bumped their record up to 3-0. As for Illiana Christian, their win bumped their record up to 1-0.
Lake Central beat Illiana Christian 6-1 in their previous meeting back in May of 2018. Do the Indians have another victory up their sleeve, or will the Vikings turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
