On another cool night in Hammond, it was the Chiefs’ pitching that remained hot. Clay Keltner (1-0, Highland) and Justin Mender (1 save, Lake Central) combined on the 4-hit shutout Friday night. Keltner struck out 5 in his 5 innings of work and Mender struck out 3 on his way to a two inning save. Corey Rusboldt (Chesterton) doubled home Brandon Garcia (Griffith, 2 runs) in the third but the big blow of the game came in the sixth inning. With the bases loaded and one away, Larry Crisler (Bishop Noll) lined a bases-clearing triple into left center to push the lead to 4-0.

Up next for the 17U Indiana Chiefs is the Hammond Hurricanes Purple squad Saturday afternoon at Riverside Park at 1pm. The Chiefs’ likely starter is Highland student-athlete Kevin O’Donnell.