Entering the series with outgoing HCC rival McCutcheon, the Millers knew full well that they had two very tough games ahead in back-to-back nights.
There were a handful of professional baseball scouts in attendance at The Dunk on Monday night to catch a glimpse of McCutcheon's senior all-state candidate and pro prospect Logan Sowers, but as per usual, Keever's squad kept focused on the task at hand.
Lately, the Millers have a target on their back, being in sole possession of first place in the Hoosier Crossroads conference entering the second week of May. Having one league loss, is a rarity in any season.
Standing with a 7-3 league mark, Noblesville took Wednesday and Thursday to get back to practice before heading to Avon on Friday night.
McCutcheon 5, 4A #6 Noblesville 4 - (Monday, May 5 at The Dunk)
McCutcheon 0 4 1 0 0 0 0 - 5 5 2
Noblesville 0 1 0 0 3 0 0 - 4 8 2
Garrett Christman started off Game 1 cool, calm and collected on the mound. Going right through the Mavericks' lineup in the first, GC looked like he was on a mission.
The second inning was a different story for McCutcheon.
Jake Burton's Mavericks found a way to get to Christman on the mound, more than he previously had been roughed up all season long. McCutcheon managed to put four runs on the board in the 2nd. Three hits, two hit into a fielder's choice and another walked. But, that wasn't what threw off the Millers' D.
McCutcheon's 8 and 9 hole hitters reached consecutively on errors by Vinny Essig at SS and Michael Carmosino as 2B, resulting in the final two runs of the inning to cross and the Mavs were up 4-0.
Zack St. Pierre cut the deficit to three runs with a one out, solo home run over the right field fence to get the Millers on the board. Unfortunately, a preceding strikeout by Vinny Essig and fly outs from Trevor Salmon and Connor Christman put a halt to any other action from Noblesville.
Hann led off the 3rd with a singled to left and was driven in a couple batters later by TJ Harmon for a 5-1 McCutcheon lead.
Noblesville got their bats on the ball for four hits combined in the third and fourth, but weren't able to muster any runs from them.
The black & gold came back alive in the bottom of the 5th though. Bret Rundle singling to left led things off. Andrew Wilson came up and duplicated with a slap to left. Brian McLean saw a pitch he wanted right away. McLean tripled to right center in the gap to plate bother pinch runner Brady Lutz and Wilson. He also managed to make it home himself on the play with a throwing error on Maverick second baseman Caleb Jordy.
Just like that, the Millers had quickly made it 5-4 game.
From that point, both starting pitchers continued to be dialed in and allowed nothing more offensively. That left us with the final score of 5-4, McCutcheon taking Game 1 at Noblesville.
McLean and St. Pierre were the sparkplugs for Noblesville at the dish. McLean's two-run triple that he wound up scoring on, St. Pierre's solo home run and Rundle's pair of singles were the bright spots for the home standing Millers.
Garrett Christman pitched a solid seven inning complete game, striking out 8 Mavericks. One bad inning that produced 4 runs, 3 hits, two Noblesville defensive errors and three other base runners proved to be the difference in this HCC battle, won by McCutcheon.
McCutcheon 8, 4A #6 Noblesville 6 - (Tuesday, May 6 at McCutcheon)
Noblesville 0 4 0 1 0 1 0 - 6 9 2
McCutcheon 1 0 0 2 5 0 x - 8 12 3
Game 2 of this HCC series was a game of spurts. In my 6 seasons as the PA voice of Noblesville baseball, I only recall Noblesville and McCutcheon splitting their season series and it being an absolute dogfight, no matter where the game is located.
That was the case in the 2014 and final version of this rivalry as Hoosier Crossroads Conference foes. It has already been established that the Millers and Mavericks will meet again in 2015 for the first time as non-conference rivals, with the location yet to be determined.
Out of the three Lafayette schools leaving the HCC (also Lafayette Jeff and Harrison), it's almost a no-brainer that McCutcheon would be one to stay on the Noblesville schedule.
McCutcheon took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first, but that didn't last long at all.
Noblesville came back in the front half of the 2nd with a four run inning. Adding another in the top of the 4th and it was 5-1 Noblesville.
There are times you should feel good about your lead and times where it can vanish in no time. In the Mavericks' 4th and 5th inning at-bats, the hosts put up 2 and 5, respectively, on the board and took an 8-5 lead.
The Millers scored one more time in the top of the 6th, but that was all from there and McCutcheon came out with an 8-6 win, sweeping the Millers in the two-game set.
McLean once again had a great night at the plate, going 2-for-4 with a pair of RBI's. Garrett Christman also drove in two with a double. St. Pierre had a couple hits, including a double and Bret Rundle added a triple.
St. Pierre started on the mound, but was roughed up a little. In 3.2 innings, the long-haired lefty gave up 8 hits, 3 runs (all earned), walking one, fanning another, while one of those hits was a home run.
Trevor Salmon came in to relieve St. P, but couldn't quite keep the Mavs' bats quiet. Salmon threw 2.1 innings, was hit 4 times, allowed 5 runs in the 5th (unearned), struck out 4 and walked one.
Getting swept, Noblesville dropped to 14-6 overall and 7-3 in the HCC.
4A #6 Noblesville 7, Avon 4 - (Friday, May 9 at Avon)
Millers 1 0 1 0 1 2 2 - 7 9 0
Orioles 1 0 1 0 2 0 x - 4 8 2
After getting swept in their two games with McCutcheon to start the week, Noblesville had to do something to right the ship and get back to their winning ways. The Mavericks snapped the Millers' 7-game winning streak and it was time to start another streak.
The Orioles give the Millers all they can handle and that's what happened in Game 1 of this series.
Each squad put one run on the board in both the 1st and 3rd to keep things even through three innings.
Avon edged out Noblesville 2-1 in the 5th to take a 4-3 lead on a two-run home run by Khristian Reynolds and left the Millers' backs against the wall on the road with just two chances left at the plate.
The 6th and 7th became statement innings for the Noblesville offense. Keever's Millers scored two runs each in those frames, to overtake the host Orioles and come away with a big road victory, 7-4.
Dax McLochlin got the start on the hill, working 4.1 innings and had his roughest outing as a pitcher thus far this season. Six hits allowed, three runs (all earned), while striking out one and walking another.
Trevor Salmon came in to relieve Dax in the 5th to get the win, striking out four Orioles.
Andrew Wilson led the way at the plate with a 3-for-3 performance, scoring twice and driving in one, thanks to a pair of triples.
Zack St. Pierre also had a couple extra-base hits (doubles), going 2-for-3 and scoring.
Garrett Christman had a two-run double and sophomore Connor Christman also doubled, driving in a couple of runs.
4A #6 Noblesville 4, Avon 0 - (Saturday, May 10 at The Dunk)
Orioles 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 - 0 3 1
Millers 0 2 0 1 1 1 x - 4 5 0
It didn't take much, but the Millers got back to their winning ways in a hurry. After a comeback win the night before at Avon, Noblesville posted a 4-0 home field shutout of the Orioles.
Garrett Christman continued his dominance on the mound with another solid complete game performance. The senior Butler commit had 8 strikeouts in his 7 innings and only allowed 3 hits and two walks. GC also added a triple to his credit at the plate.
The Millers really didn't need too much offense on a day when the elder Christman was mowing down Avon hitters. All Garrett would need to do is just keep his composure and his defense would do the rest. That is exactly what happened.
Pressure was off of the Miller offense, in a way.
Zack St. Pierre belted a two-run home run to the opposite field, just inside the left field foul pole for a 2-0 Miller lead in the 2nd. Bret Rundle also doubled to drive in a run.
They would put one run on the left field scoreboard in both the 4th and 5th to tally up the final margin of 4-0, a three-hitter by Christman.
These two victories move the Millers to 16-6 overall and 9-3 in the HCC.
Come back to millervoiceonsport.blogspot.com on Sunday for a recap on the HCC series with Hamilton Southeastern and also coverage of all 4 Noblesville Classic games!
Also, don't hesitate to follow me on Twitter: @MillerVoiceNDCB
GO MILLERS!
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