MISHAWAKA — It was a tough afternoon for the Lake Central Varsity Indians on Saturday, as they dropped both games of a doubleheader to a strong Penn Kingsmen squad. Despite striking first in each contest, the Indians couldn’t hold off the relentless offensive attack from Penn, falling 12-2 in Game 1 and 14-5 in Game 2.

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Game 1: Penn 12, Lake Central 2

Lake Central opened the scoring in the top of the first when Drew Kosteba ripped an RBI double to give the Indians a quick 1-0 lead. But Penn responded in a hurry, putting up three runs in the bottom of the inning behind a River Pecina home run, a defensive miscue by Lake Central, and an RBI single from Gavin Taylor.

The Kingsmen kept their foot on the gas, adding three more in the second and two in the third to stretch their lead to 8-1. RBI singles from Mason Braun, Bennett Hartford, William Barnes, and Brayden Plummer powered the surge.

Grant Mercer started on the mound for Lake Central, tossing 1.2 innings and allowing six runs (four earned) on five hits. Tyler Thuftedal came on in relief, striking out three across 3.1 innings but allowing five more runs on seven hits.

Offensively, Ryder Fernandez led the way with a 2-for-3 performance. Kosteba finished 1-for-3 with the team’s lone RBI.

Penn finished with 13 hits, including a 3-for-4 effort from Braun and multi-RBI games from Braun, Plummer, and Hartford. The Kingsmen also swiped four bases and played flawless defense behind starting pitcher Cayden Stockbridge, who earned the win after allowing just two runs over five innings while striking out nine.

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Game 2: Penn 14, Lake Central 5

The second game mirrored the first, with Lake Central striking early but unable to keep pace in the later innings.

Dylan Hein gave the Indians a 1-0 lead in the top of the first after being hit by a pitch with the bases loaded. Penn then surged ahead in the third on a two-run homer by Braun and an RBI single from Taylor.

Lake Central responded in the fourth, reclaiming the lead with a three-run frame that included a two-run error and a sacrifice fly by Jake Figg. After Penn tied it 4-4, Kosteba once again came through with the bat, launching a solo home run in the fifth to push the Indians back in front, 5-4.

However, Penn exploded for 10 runs in the bottom of the fifth, taking advantage of seven hits, two walks, and a defensive miscue to blow the game open. RBI hits from Barnes, Taylor, Haq, and Plummer highlighted the inning.

Ryder Fernandez was charged with the loss, giving up eight runs (three earned) in two-thirds of an inning. Starter Luke O’Keefe was effective in his two-inning outing, striking out one and walking two without allowing a hit or run.

Jacob Zimmerman led the Indians with two RBIs, while Keegan O’Bryan went 2-for-4 to pace the offense.

Penn’s offense was once again clicking, finishing with 13 hits and nine walks. Taylor led the way with three RBIs and a 3-for-4 performance, while four other Kingsmen turned in multi-hit games.

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Up Next:
Lake Central looks to bounce back at home Tuesday as they return to conference action against Chesterton.