Fieldhouse, Indians overpower Mustangs

Updated: April 7, 2011 4:04PM

MUNSTER - Munster coach Bob Shinkan had a feeling the Mustangs would have a difficult time holding down Lake Central's potent lineup even before the game began.

"They're very impressive," Shinkan said. "I knew they were going to swing the bat very well."

And that the Indians did, although they had not swung the bat as well as they did Tuesday since 2004. Lake Central hit seven home runs, equaling a school record with three of them coming from leadoff man Chase Fieldhouse in the Indians' 14-2 win. You'd have to go back seven seasons for the last time the Indians were this homer happy, when they rolled a seven on Chesterton in a regional championship game.

And it's not like they just decided to pick on the Mustangs, because the Indians have become an equal opportunity buzz-kill for opposing pitchers. They now have 20 homers in their last six games.

"We have a great ballclub and I can't wait to play in the DAC," Fieldhouse said. "I saw this coming back when I was a freshman."

Munster (3-2) saw its fate coming right off the bat when the Indians scored four in the first inning thanks to back-to-back homers by Cody Dykema and Brandon Cloutier before Fieldhouse had a field day, hitting homers in consecutive at-bats in the second and fourth innings, then adding a another in the seventh, giving him five homers in his last two games.

"He's a candidate for some player of the week honors," Lake Central coach Jeff Sandor said. "He's doing some really special things right now. The things he has done on the baseball field the past couple of weeks - he's been our leader."

Homers by Steve Letz and Matt Siedentopf added to the Lake Central (6-0) barrage, which pleased Sandor. But he had a word of warning for his red-hot Indians.

"Great job seeing the ball fly out of the ballpark, but when May comes, some of those balls will be outs," he said. "So our kids have to remember to still play the game, still move runners, and put the ball in play."

The Indians' Brad Wartman pitched six innings, while giving up two runs and only five hits to get the win.

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