The Lake Central Indians are taking a road trip to square off against the Hanover Central Wildcats at 4:30 p.m. on Monday. The teams are on pretty different trajectories at the moment (Lake Central has seven straight wins, Hanover Central has three straight losses), but none of that matters once you're on the field.
Lake Central had to skate by with only a two-run margin when they last took the field, which might have inspired the seven-run drubbing they dealt NorthWood on Saturday. The Indians were the clear victors by a 9-2 margin over the Panthers. The Indians might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won 14 matchups by six runs or more this season.
Lake Central got a great performance from Ethan Champman as he tossed six innings while giving up just two earned runs off 11 hits. Champman has been consistent for a while: he hasn't given up more than two walks in 11 consecutive appearances.
At the plate, Dylan Hein was a standout: he went 3-for-4 with two runs, one triple, and one stolen base. That's the most hits he has posted since back in April. Parker Robinson was another key player, going a perfect 4-for-4 with two runs, two RBI, and one double.
Meanwhile, Hanover Central is ranked highly in their home state and on Saturday they took on another highly ranked team in the form of Lincoln-Way Central. The Wildcats fell just short of the Knights by a score of 5-3. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest defeat the Wildcats have suffered since June 3, 2024.
Anthony Rayski and Dylan Bowen stepped up to the plate in a big way. Rayski went 1-for-3 with one home run and two RBI, while Bowen went 3-for-4 with one stolen base, one double, and one RBI. That home run was Rayski's first of the season. Another player making a difference was Jaylen Rutherford, who went 2-for-3 with one triple and one run.
Lake Central's victory was their 16th straight at home dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 24-4. The home wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 2.1 runs on average over those games. As for Hanover Central, their loss dropped their record down to 19-7.
Lake Central took their victory against Hanover Central in their previous matchup back in May of 2022 by a conclusive 10-0 score. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Indians since the team won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
