Lake Central senior first baseman Tyler Thuftedal is peaking at the plate at the right time.
Better late than never, Thuftedal has learned.
“I didn’t get off to the start I wanted,” he said. “But these last few games, I’ve been feeling like myself. I’m feeling way more confident than I have been. I’ve been contributing more than I have been.”
Thuftedal’s contributions continued during a Class 4A Crown Point Sectional first-round game against Munster on Wednesday. In his playoff debut, the Calumet College recruit went 2-for-2 with two doubles, an RBI and a run scored in the Indians’ 13-3 victory in five innings.
Thuftedal even was walked intentionally with one out and runners on second and third in the fifth.
“I was surprised,” he said. “That was a first for me, especially the year I’ve been having. It’s been a little rough. But I’ve definitely found it.”
Sophomore designated hitter Jacob Forystek went 3-for-4 with an RBI, three runs scored and two stolen bases for the Indians (22-8), who will play Morton (7-13) in a sectional semifinal on Friday.
Batting seventh, Thuftedal increased his average to .215. He entered the game with three doubles this season.
“He’s an interesting guy because he’s a senior and he had played all year and he had struggled until a week and a half ago,” Lake Central coach Mike Swartzentruber said. “I actually brought a sophomore up that was playing some first, and he (Thuftedal) handled it very well, which I was interested to see how he would handle it. It was like the sophomore played a game, he (Thuftedal) played a game. As soon as we started that, he started hitting.
“I don’t know what just clicked. It’s not like he wasn’t trying before. We don’t press a magic button, ‘Oh, I’ll start trying now.’ Maybe mentally something just flipped or switched. But about the last four or five games, he’s been crushing it. He was a big key (Wednesday). He had a couple of big hits that kept the line moving. When you get hits like that out of the bottom of the order, you’re going to be in pretty good shape.”
Thuftedal wasn’t in the best shape when last season ended. He went 2-for-7 and pitched 10 2/3 innings before he missed the final month-plus with a slipped disk in his back.
This season, rotating with Hunter Segal for that stretch affected another part of Thuftedal.
“That lit a fire under me because I wanted to play every day,” he said. “It worked out. I just got more aggressive. I just went up there thinking just to swing. I have nothing to lose, so why not just go up there swinging?”
Junior catcher Brayden Walls, a Ball State State recruit, noticed.
“He’s been coming alive recently,” Walls said of Thuftedal. “His bat’s been coming alive. It’s great to see.”
Munster (23-7), which shared the Northwest Crossroads Conference title with Andrean and ended the regular season tied for No. 5 in the state coaches poll with Valparaiso, jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first inning.
But Lake Central rallied for five runs in the third. That outburst included junior third baseman Connor Friesema’s go-ahead two-run single and Thuftedal’s run-scoring double to right-center.
The Indians broke out for eight runs in the fifth, sending 12 batters to the plate, highlighted by Walls’ three-run homer to right.
“We put together good at-bats, got on the board — that helped,” Swartzentruber said. “And then you can relax, and then the hits, you just get on a roll. Sometimes it just snowballs.”
Lake Central sophomore left-hander Owen Kopercinski settled down after the first inning, retiring 10 straight batters. He walked a batter with two outs in the fifth but recorded a strikeout to end the game.
Kopercinski had allowed one run in six innings during a loss to Munster in eight innings on May 1. The Indians are 14-2 since that game.
“He’s the guy I thought for this game (Wednesday night) was best suited,” Swartzentruber said. “Even for a sophomore, I thought his mentality was best suited to handle it. I knew the moment wouldn’t be too big.”
The big moments continue for Lake Central, but Thuftedal savored this victory.
“This was electric,” he said. “That was the most fun game of the season. It was great to be part of that.”
