The Millers are fully aware that they are, and have been for a while, in the driver's seat of the Hoosier Crossroads Conference standings. A week and a half ago, Noblesville was caught a littler off guard being swept by McCutcheon in two close games, 5-4 (home) and 8-6 (road).
As per every other sport that Noblesville meets up with Hamilton Southeastern, the competition level rises and they wouldn't probably have it no other way.
4A #7 Noblesville 4, Hamilton Southeastern 3 - (Thursday, May 14 at The Dunk)
Royals 0 1 0 2 0 0 0 - 3 5 2
Millers 0 1 0 0 0 0 3 - 4 8 4
Garrett Christman got the nod on the mound and couldn't have seemed more dialed in. He retired the side in the first, 1-2-3, keeping the ball in the infield for the first couple outs and striking out Aaron McGee to end the inning.
The focus continued with two groundouts to start the 2nd. Erik DeWael struck out swinging and managed to dart down to first when the third strike got by catcher Bret Rundle. Andrew Bohm singled for runners at first and second to give GC his first setback on the hill. Then, Brian Gradison took the first pitch he saw and slapped it into shallow right field, driving DeWael home from second for a 1-0 Royals lead.
Hamilton Southeastern hurler Bryan Roberts knew that Vinny Essig has some clout, so it was going to take a little strategy with he and catch Brian Gradison.
That didn't work on Vinny. Roberts served up a fastball down the middle to Essig and he lofted it up and over Royals' left fielder Jack Casey for a solo home run to start the 2nd. It was Vinny's 4th longball of the year and we were tied 1-1.
Christman sent down the visitors in order in the 3rd, striking out Collin Miller and forcing David Herrman and Aaron McGee to fly out and ground out, respectively.
The Royals bats got to Garrett a little in the 4th. Carter Poiry took a one-out double to left and was moved over to third on DeWael's infield single for runners at the corners. Bohm K'd to put the Millers in position to get out of the inning. Gradison reached on a throwing error by third baseman Connor Christman and Poiry score to make it 2-1. Jack Casey gave Hamilton Southeastern a 3-1 edge with Jack Casey's double down the left field line that scored DeWael for the second time.
After that two-run 4th, GC got back in his groove and kept the Southeastern bats somewhat silent for the final three frames.
Heading into the bottom of the 7th, there was a vibe in the air that something great was about to happen with the Millers coming to bat.
Zack St. Pierre smoked the first pitch from Roberts over the head of RF Collin Miller for a leadoff double, igniting the home crowd. Two batters later, Connor Christman reached on an error by Poiry, which advanced St. Pierre to third with one out.
Pinch hitter Austin Shirley took at 0-1 pitch and drilled it up the middle and into center, scoring St. Pierre and closing the gap to a 3-2 Hamilton SE lead. Matt Swearingen came in to pinch run for Connor and scored on a fielder's choice by Andrew Wilson. The game was now tied 3-3.
Brian McLean walked up to the batter's box with the opportunity right in front of him and took full advantage of it. McLean drove the first pitch he saw from reliever David Herrmann on a rope to left center. Wilson showed his speed and scored the game-winning run all the way from first.
A walk-off RBI-double. Game 1 went to the Millers in dramatic fashion, 4-3.
Garrett Christman joined McLean by each notching two hits. GC had a pretty good night on the mound, striking out a season-high 9 batters, allowing 4 hits, 3 runs (unearned) and walking none in a complete game effort.
4A #7 Noblesville 9, Hamilton Southeastern 0 (Friday, May 15 - Grand Park, Westfield)
Noblesville 2 4 0 2 1 0 0 - 9 11 1
Hamilton SE 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 - 0 2 0
With the great weather that we have in Central Indiana, it really is hard to tell what kind of tempuratures and weather patterns we'll be faced with. Originally, the road game against Hamilton Southeastern was slated to be on Tuesday, May 13 over in Fishers at Hamilton Southeastern's home field. Instead, the game was shifted to brand new Grand Park in Westfield. The Royals' home stadium doesn't have lights and weather obviously played a role.
Friday night, it didn't matter where this game was being played. Noblesville was riding high from the night before and Brian McLean's walk-off double to beat the Royals at The Dunk, 4-3.
The momentum kept going in Noblesville's favor for sure.
A lot of factors played into Noblesville completely shutting down Hamilton Southeastern's offense and ripping apart their defense at the plate.
Zack St. Pierre was lights out on the mound in his 6 innings. The senior southpaw wiffed 8 Royals, gave up one hit and walked just one. Fellow senior lefty Trevor Salmon came in and worked the 7th in flawless order, striking out one and giving up just one hit to combine with St. Pierre for the two-hit shutout of HCC rival Hamilton Southeastern.
Garrett Christman, St. Pierre and Bret Rundle all three knocked a pair of hits to lead the Miller offensive attack. Andrew Wilson went 1-for-3 with 3 runs scored. Getting walked in three of his plate appearances really helped him to score 3 of Noblesville's 9 runs.
Hamilton Southeastern drops its record to 8-14 and 4-10 in the HCC.
Following the sweep of Hamilton Southeastern, Noblesville ups their overall record to 18-6 overall and 11-3 in Hoosier Crossroads Conference play.
The Millers also maintain one full game ahead of McCutcheon in the HCC standings, two games up on Fishers and three games distance from Brownsburg.
Noblesville starts a crucial series with Westfield on Monday, May 19 at home, followed by the second matchup of the series at Westfield on Tuesday.
The Millers finish up the week with Senior Night at The Dunk on Thursday with Harrison (West Lafayette) and make their final trip to Harrison on Friday night to end the regular season.
It's coming up quicker than expected. The 2014 IHSAA State Baseball Tournament pairings will be announced on Tuesday, May 20 at 8 a.m. Sectional play will start on Wednesday, May 28. Noblesville will host the 4A Sectional 8 tournament at Dunker Field.
If you're a fan of what you're reading right now, don't hesitate to follow me on Twitter at @MillerVoiceNDCB!
GO MILLERS!
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