The Hoosier Crossroads Conference is always one of the most grueling conferences, from top to bottom.
And even more competitive is the 4A Sectional 8 field that includes Noblesville, Westfield, Carmel, Hamilton Southeastern, Fishers, North Central and Zionsville.
Down the 4A tournament trail it obviously gets even tougher to make it to the ultimate goal in appearing in and hopefully winning the State Championship.
Last season, Elkhart Central defeated Indianapolis Cathedral for the 4A State Championship. June will be here before we know it and we hope to see the Noblesville Millers playing at Victory Field for a chance to win their first 4A State Title!
What 2014 brings for Noblesville...
The 2014 version of the Noblesville Millers brings back a lot of experience and it could very well pay off in Justin Keever's 10th campaign at the helm.
Keever's crew returns 8 starters and a total of 14 lettermen. Senior Garrett Christman leads a group of 10 Miller seniors. GC was an All-Hoosier Crossroads Conference performer in 2013, excelling at both shortstop and as a starting pitcher. He'll be joined in one of, if not the, best pitching rotations in the state. Seniors southpaws Trevor Salmon and Zach St. Pierre complete the Miller rotation that will be extremely tough to beat.
Catching the pitches for these three senior hurlers will be another senior in Bret Rundle, who was a very reliable backup to TJ Lindstrand in 2013.
Around the horn for the starting lineup in the infield:
C - #4 Bret Rundle, (senior)
1B - #23 Dax McLochlin (junior)
2B - #11 Vinny Essig (junior)
3B - #24 Connor Christman (sophomore)
SS - #22 Garrett Christman (senior)
LF - #8 Andrew Wilson (senior)
CF- #1 Brian McLean (junior)
RF - #3 Zach St. Pierre (senior)
DH - #17 Trevor Salmon (senior)
Starting Pitchers - #17 Trevor Salmon (L), #3 Zach St. Pierre (L), #22 Garrett Christman (R)
Bullpen - #23 Dax McLochlin (R) junior, #19 Cory Conway (L) sophomore, #13 Will Plumer (L) junior, #25 Tyler Gamble (L) senior and #5 Easton Brock (R) senior.
Reserves:
#2 Toby Brown - INF, senior
#6 Austin Shirley - OF, sophomore
#7 Matt Swearingen - OF, senior
#9 Michael Carmosino - INF, sophomore
#10 Connor Adams - P, junior
#16 Alec Parker - C, junior
#20 Brady Lutz - 3B, senior
Brown and Swearingen are the lone pair off the bench that saw varsity action last season. With a mix of both youth and inexperience, there will be a lot to learn about the reserves as the season progresses. But, being in a reserve role as a Miller, they know to be ready to spring up into action at any time.
After an 18-12 (10-8 HCC) season in 2013, there is much room for improvement for sure. A couple astounding statistics stand out from last year's squad stemming into this season. The Miller pitching staff amassed 191 total innings of work on the mound and 155.2 of those return in the 2014 Noblesville arms. With a team ERA of 2.43, the Millers also bring back 16 of their 18 victories in from a year ago.
As the public address voice of Noblesville baseball, now in my 6th season, I will be blogging each game and series throughout the 2014 season. Stay tuned to my blog for constant coverage of Noblesville Miller baseball! You can also follow me on Twitter, where my handle is @MillerVoiceNDCB. Thank you for reading my 2014 season preview and GO MILLERS!
A look at the 2014 schedule...
March
31 - vs. New Castle, 6 p.m.
April
3 - at #1 St. Xavier (KY), 3 p.m.
5 - Miller Classic - vs. 3A #10 Brebeuf Jesuit, 11 a.m.
5 - Miller Classic - vs. Crown Point/4A #16 Homestead winner, 6:30 p.m.
10 - Diamond Demarini Invitational - Hardin Valley (TN), 8 p.m.
11 - Diamond Demarini Invitational - Dobyns-Bennett (TN), 2:30 p.m. (Beardon, Tennessee)
12 - Diamond Demarini Invitational - CAK (TN), 10 a.m.
12 - Diamond Demarini Invitational - Knoxville West, 3 p.m. at Lindsey Neslon Stadium, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN)
16 - *at 4A #13 Fishers, 6 p.m.
17 - *vs. 4A #13 Fishers, 6 p.m.
19 - vs. Carmel, 7 p.m.
21 - *vs. 4A #5 Brownsburg, 6 p.m.
22 - *vs. 4A #5 Brownsburg, 6 p.m.
24 - *vs. Zionsville, 6 p.m.
26 - *at Zionsville, 12:30 p.m.
29 - *at Lafayette Jeff, 6 p.m.
May
1 - *vs. Lafayette Jeff, 6 p.m.
3 - vs. Frankfort, 7 p.m.
5 - *vs. 4A #10 McCutcheon, 6 p.m.
6 - *at 4A #10 McCutcheon, 6 p.m.
9 - *at Avon, 6 p.m.
10 - *vs. Avon, 12:00 p.m.
13 - *at 4A #15 Hamilton Southeastern, 6 p.m.
15 - *vs. 4A #15 Hamilton Southeastern, 6 p.m.
17 - Noblesville Classic - vs. Hamilton Heights, 11 a.m.
17 - Noblesville Classic - vs. Lebanon/Mississinewa winner, 6:30 p.m.
19 - *vs. 4A #3 Westfield, 6 p.m.
20 - *at 4A #3 Westfield, 6 p.m.
22 - *vs. Harrison (West Lafayette), 6 p.m.
23 - *at Harrison (West Lafayette), 6 p.m.
28 - IHSAA 4A Sectional 8 - Dunker Field, Noblesville
29 - IHSAA 4A Sectional 8 - Dunker Field, Noblesville
30 - IHSAA 4A Sectional 8 - Dunker Field, Noblesville
31 - IHSAA 4A Sectional 8 - Dunker Field, Noblesville
June
2 - IHSAA 4A Sectional 8 Championship - Dunker Field, Noblesville
7 - IHSAA 4A Regional Semifinals
7 - IHSAA 4A Regional Championship
14 - IHSAA 4A Semi-State Championship
20 - IHSAA 4A State Championship, Victory Field, Indianapolis
* = denotes Hoosier Crossroads Conference games
Rankings listed are pre-season rankings as determined by the Coaches Poll
Here is a look at the pre-season polls for each class. Teams in bold are either Hoosier Crossroads Conference or Noblesville opponents.
Class 4A
#1 Jeffersonville 22-7 (92)
#2 Indianapolis Cathedral 28-1 (82)
#3 Westfield 22-8 (70)
#4 Hobart 9-7 (62)
#5 Brownsburg 12-9 (52)
#6 Floyd Central 29-3 (46)
#7 NOBLESVILLE 18-12 (42)
#8 Munster 21-9 (24)
#9 McCutcheon 18-10 (22)
#10 Carroll (Allen) 21-7 (20)
Receiving Votes:
Concord, Fort Wayne Northrop, Fishers, Greenfield-Central, Hamilton Southeastern, Homestead and Pendleton Heights
Class 3A
#1 Norwell 33-3 (58)
#2 Jasper 27-4 (56)
#3 Silver Creek 23-7 (42)
#4 Crawfordsville 23-10 (36)
#5 Andrean 15-0 (30)
#6 Northfield 29-3 (22)
#6 Charlestown 24-7 (22)
#8 West Vigo 4-4 (14)
#8 Franklin County 7-2 (14)
#10 Brebeuf Jesuit 3-9 (10)
Receiving Votes:
Angola, Griffith, Hanover Central, Lebanon, Leo, Mt. Vernon (Posey), North Montgomery and Northwood
Class 2A
#1 South Spencer 4-5 (76)
#2 Lafayette Central Catholic 31-5 (60)
#3 Alexandria19-13 (46)
#3 Indianapolis Scecina (46)
#3 Park Tudor 7-6 (46)
#6 Wabash 17-11 (36)
#7 Wapahani 17-7 (24)
#8 Delphi 19-6 (22)
#9 Evansville Mater Dei 20-7 (12)
#10 Hebron 15-10 (10)
Receiving Votes:
Fort Wayne Canterbury, Hammond Bishop Noll, Lapel, Switzerland County, Tell City, Union County and Westview
Class 1A
#1 Vincennes Rivet 5-7 (58)
#2 Shakamak 25-4 (46)
#3 South Central (Elizabeth) 20-5 (40)
#4 Orleans 21-7 (38)
#5 Frontier 26-4 (30)
#6 NORTH WHITE 25-5 (26)
#7 Fort Wayne Blackhawk 2-3 (20)
#8 Barr-Reeve 5-2 (16)
#9 Tri-County 20-8 (16)
#10 Elkhart Christian Academy 6-6 (12)
Receiving Votes:
Bethesda Christian, Daleville, Northeast Dubois, Rising Sun and Washington Township
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