By the way the Noblesville Millers played on Saturday against the Fort Wayne Snider Panthers, unless you really knew what happened Thursday night at LN, you would think they had completely forgotten about how that opener at LN turned out.
Talking to Coach Buckley before the game, it was obvious that her team had made a complete turn around in a very short amount of time.
This group had either completely put two nights ago in the past or they've learned from it and figured out exactly how to capitalize on the opportunity to turn back into the team they know they're capable of being.
4A #4 Noblesville 91, Fort Wayne Snider 50 - (Saturday, 11/7 at The Mill)
Panthers 9 10 13 18 - 50
Millers 24 30 22 15 - 91
The Millers came out scoring with a flurry from the opening tip. It started with K.O. and Alexis taking the reigns, scoring early and often, especially Alexis Shannon, pouring in eight in the first. Playing so quick and with such purpose, Noblesville started out on an 11-0 run that was capped by a Rachel Shipman three before Snider head coach Kelley Meiklejohn was forced to burn the Panthers' first timeout.
Following the timeout, the Millers kept rolling with another couple swishes from downtown from Shipman again and Brooke Herron joined the party to make it 19-0 Noblesville before Snider could barely blink.
It wasn't until the 3:21 mark of the 1st quarter that, off the bench, Kyla Covington scored the Panthers' first points, but Buckley's Millers made it clear they weren't happy with Thursday's performance and led 24-9 after one.
There couldn't have been a more balanced scoring effort in the second quarter by the home standing Millers. Highlighted by another pair of Shipman 3-pointers and another 9 points out of Alexis Shannon, Noblesville's offense scored 30 more in the second to extend their already big lead to 54-19 as the teams headed to the locker room at halftime.
Buckley's squad cruised throughout the second half on their way to a blowout with 91-50 win for their first of the year.
A game that was wide open was one that Noblesville was able to see what their bench is capable of, to say the least.
The different mixes of lineups that were on the floor throughout the night make it possible for Noblesville to play different scenarios against different teams all season long.
This seems like the team that we all thought would take the floor this season. With the senior leadership of O'Reilly, Shannon, Shipman and Haley Conway, they turned around what they did on Thursday and spun it into something special that got The Mill to its feet numerous times on Saturday night.
Fort Wayne Snider (0-1) was led in scoring by junior center Kyla Covington's 13 off the bench. Allana Hurst had 8, while Daysianae Hinton added 7 and Peytin Chamble with 6. The Panthers shot a mere 21 of 36 (58%) at the free throw line, which also didn't help their cause. Snider stays home for their next game, hosting Fort Wayne Bishop Dwenger (0-1) on Saturday, November 14.
Noblesville (1-1) had a pretty balanced scoring attack that wouldn't stop all night long. Katelyn O'Reilly led the Millers for the second game in a row with a game-high 19 points (including 7-for-7 free throws), 8 rebounds and a pair of steals. Alexis Shannon knocked down 18 points on six field goals and 6-for-7 at the charity stripe.
Rachel Shipman was another story. The senior southpaw was well on her way to breaking her own single-game record for 3-pointers made, a feat that she accomplished last season at home against Western Boone. Shipman finished with five treys made on the night against Snider, along with two free throws for her 17 points and also dished out 6 assists.
Brooke Herron turned in a solid night with 8 points and 7 assists. Sam Salmon netted six points of her own, all in the third quarter, before fouling out in the middle of the 4th. Freshman Mallory Johnson had a coming out party in her varsity debut, scoring 6 points, grabbing 6 boards and adding three assists to her stat line. Maddie Knight's second varsity game was a break out game with 5 points, 2 rebounds and 3 assists. Emily Kiser hit the boards with 8 to go along with her 4 points, 2 assists and 2 steals before hitting the deck with what we hope wasn't an injury.
Haley Conway pitched in 4, while Olivia Morales and Kaylin Mertens both added 2.
The Millers get to stay home and host Indianapolis Arsenal Tech (0-0) on Tuesday, November 10 at The Mill.
Monday, November 9, 2015
4A #3 LN drops 4A #4 Millers in season opener
For an early November season opener, it still felt like football season, because it is. But, with both Noblesville and Lawrence North's football seasons finished, all heads are turned to winter sports at each school. The weather is still pretty mild, but that doesn't mean that high school basketball season can't get started.
There's no better way to start the season off than to have two preseason ranked top-5 teams take to the hardwood.
Noblesville, coming off of an Elite 8 appearance after bowing out in the 4A Kokomo Regional to Homestead 83-66, is a hungry group that is out to prove something this season. Losing their five graduates
Lawrence North, lost a 69-60 battle with eventual state champion Columbus North and Miss Basketball Ali Patberg in the 4A south Semi-State and are also out to let people know that they still have a lot of talent despite the graduation departures of Amani Ferguson, Jordan Hankins (Northwestern) and Lamina Cooper (Purdue).
4A #3 Lawrence North 72, 4A #4 Noblesville 58 - (Thurs. 11/5 at Lawrence North)
Millers 16 8 9 25 - 58
Wildcats 21 17 16 18 - 72
From the opening tip, both teams seemed like they would be battling for a solid 32 minutes and we would all think that it was a great matchup to start the girls basketball regular season in central Indiana.
Lawrence North senior guard Lauren Dickerson started the game off with a 3-pointer and an early 3-0 lead. Katelyn O'Reilly and Alexis Shannon put Noblesville's first two field goals on the board and the Millers had their only lead of the game at 4-3. Freshman guard Trinity Brady knocked down a three to put the host Wildcats back on top 6-4, but O'Reilly would draw a foul and sink a pair of free throws to tie it up 6-6.
LN would regain the edge on the following possession and never look back for the remainder of the game.
The host Wildcats seemed like they didn't have an ounce of quit or even slow down in them during this season-opener. It wasn't just Lauren Dickerson and her 16 first half points, but freshman Trinity Brady wasn't timid in the least bit in her debut, knocking down eight of her 13 points in the first quarter. Junior move-in/transfer from Richmond, Destiny Perkins, was all over the court with her lightning fast feet, scoring seven while starting her first game in a new uniform.
Ae'Rianna Harris played like she didn't have to do a major amount of scoring, but she took on more of a defensive/rebounding role to help Lawrence North to victory. Harris and Dickerson are both all-state candidates.
Noblesville found itself trailing 21-16 after one and the Wildcats extended it to double-digits at 38-24. The Millers unfortunately weren't able to put the defensive clamps on in the third. The speed of Lawrence North's offense appeared to be too much for the Millers.
With the LN offense clicking on all cylinders, they held Noblesville's offense to a total of 17 points in the middle two quarters, both single-digit outputs. That helped the Wildcats extend their lead to 54-33 through three, making it that much tougher for a Miller comeback.
The fourth quarter became more of a shootout and a learning experience for Noblesville. Coach Buckley would leave it to no one other than the combination of seniors Katelyn O'Reilly and Alexis Shannon to wake up the Millers' offense.
It didn't go unnoticed that O'Reilly scored 15 of her game-high 24 points in the fourth and Shannon netted 7 of her 15 in the final frame.
The Millers made a great effort, but it wasn't enough as Lawrence North held on for a season-opening 72-58 win.
Lauren Dickerson led the Wildcats with a team-high 22, including four 3-pointers. Trinity Brady was the 2nd leading scorer for LN with 13, while Mya Parker added 11 off the bench on five field goals. Ae'Rianna Harris (9) and Destiny Perkins (7) also did their share for the hosts.
Noblesville (0-1) dropped their first season-opener in the Donna Keck era (now Buckley) since her first year on the Millers' bench when they opened the 2008-09 season with a 62-59 home loss to Kokomo.
The Millers were led by O'Reilly's game-high 24 points, 7 rebounds, along with 4 assists, 4 steals and 3 blocked shots. Alexis Shannon had 15 points and 3 rebounds. Emily Kiser (5), Brooke Herron (4), Haley Conway (4), Rachel Shipman (3) and Sam Salmon made up the remainder of the scoring.
There's no better way to start the season off than to have two preseason ranked top-5 teams take to the hardwood.
Noblesville, coming off of an Elite 8 appearance after bowing out in the 4A Kokomo Regional to Homestead 83-66, is a hungry group that is out to prove something this season. Losing their five graduates
Lawrence North, lost a 69-60 battle with eventual state champion Columbus North and Miss Basketball Ali Patberg in the 4A south Semi-State and are also out to let people know that they still have a lot of talent despite the graduation departures of Amani Ferguson, Jordan Hankins (Northwestern) and Lamina Cooper (Purdue).
4A #3 Lawrence North 72, 4A #4 Noblesville 58 - (Thurs. 11/5 at Lawrence North)
Millers 16 8 9 25 - 58
Wildcats 21 17 16 18 - 72
From the opening tip, both teams seemed like they would be battling for a solid 32 minutes and we would all think that it was a great matchup to start the girls basketball regular season in central Indiana.
Lawrence North senior guard Lauren Dickerson started the game off with a 3-pointer and an early 3-0 lead. Katelyn O'Reilly and Alexis Shannon put Noblesville's first two field goals on the board and the Millers had their only lead of the game at 4-3. Freshman guard Trinity Brady knocked down a three to put the host Wildcats back on top 6-4, but O'Reilly would draw a foul and sink a pair of free throws to tie it up 6-6.
LN would regain the edge on the following possession and never look back for the remainder of the game.
The host Wildcats seemed like they didn't have an ounce of quit or even slow down in them during this season-opener. It wasn't just Lauren Dickerson and her 16 first half points, but freshman Trinity Brady wasn't timid in the least bit in her debut, knocking down eight of her 13 points in the first quarter. Junior move-in/transfer from Richmond, Destiny Perkins, was all over the court with her lightning fast feet, scoring seven while starting her first game in a new uniform.
Ae'Rianna Harris played like she didn't have to do a major amount of scoring, but she took on more of a defensive/rebounding role to help Lawrence North to victory. Harris and Dickerson are both all-state candidates.
Noblesville found itself trailing 21-16 after one and the Wildcats extended it to double-digits at 38-24. The Millers unfortunately weren't able to put the defensive clamps on in the third. The speed of Lawrence North's offense appeared to be too much for the Millers.
With the LN offense clicking on all cylinders, they held Noblesville's offense to a total of 17 points in the middle two quarters, both single-digit outputs. That helped the Wildcats extend their lead to 54-33 through three, making it that much tougher for a Miller comeback.
The fourth quarter became more of a shootout and a learning experience for Noblesville. Coach Buckley would leave it to no one other than the combination of seniors Katelyn O'Reilly and Alexis Shannon to wake up the Millers' offense.
It didn't go unnoticed that O'Reilly scored 15 of her game-high 24 points in the fourth and Shannon netted 7 of her 15 in the final frame.
The Millers made a great effort, but it wasn't enough as Lawrence North held on for a season-opening 72-58 win.
Lauren Dickerson led the Wildcats with a team-high 22, including four 3-pointers. Trinity Brady was the 2nd leading scorer for LN with 13, while Mya Parker added 11 off the bench on five field goals. Ae'Rianna Harris (9) and Destiny Perkins (7) also did their share for the hosts.
Noblesville (0-1) dropped their first season-opener in the Donna Keck era (now Buckley) since her first year on the Millers' bench when they opened the 2008-09 season with a 62-59 home loss to Kokomo.
The Millers were led by O'Reilly's game-high 24 points, 7 rebounds, along with 4 assists, 4 steals and 3 blocked shots. Alexis Shannon had 15 points and 3 rebounds. Emily Kiser (5), Brooke Herron (4), Haley Conway (4), Rachel Shipman (3) and Sam Salmon made up the remainder of the scoring.
Wednesday, November 4, 2015
Noblesville girls basketball 2015-16 preview
The expectations of the 2015-16 Noblesville Millers girls basketball team is no different than it was last season. Yes, an outstanding group of five seniors have graduated. But, now it's time for the younger members of the past few years to step up and show what they've got!
Two of last season's starters will be back. Senior 5'10 guard Alexis Shannon brings back her great scoring and slashing abilities and with her she'll have Indiana Junior All-State 1st Team teammate 6'0 forward Katelyn O'Reilly, who is just a complete physical presence in the middle. Senior teammates 5'5 guard Rachel Shipman and 6'0 center Haley Conway look to help provide senior leadership and depth to what will be a young Miller bench.
Sophomore Emily Kiser has now grown to 6'2 and slid right into a starting role that was Erin Wood's for the past four years. Junior point guard Brooke Herron enters her third year at the varsity level and will be looked upon to help run the point, along with Shipman and 5'3 junior Sam Salmon. 5'7 sophomore Olivia Morales will look to add defensive depth.
A trio of freshman will grace the varsity squad with their presence the winter as 5'6 Mallory Johnson, 5'6 Maddie Knight and 5'6 Kaylin Mertens will all see time off of the bench. It looked as there would be a fourth member of the freshman class that would see varsity playing time this year, but during off-season workouts, Madison Whetro suffered a season-ending ACL injury that would put her varsity playing days on hold and unfortunately won't allow her to play with this group.
It will also be a transition for all of us to changing the name of our head coach. Donna Keck became Donna Buckley on July 4th in South Carolina in front of close friends and family (and part of the coaching staff) and we couldn't be happier for her and her husband Chris! Congratulations to her and Chris and we all wish them many years of happiness!
How the schedule looks...
Noblesville has one of the toughest schedules in the state again this season, which will only fuel their fire to succeed past what last year's squad did and make their own mark in the storied history of Noblesville Millers girls basketball.
The Millers open up on Thursday, November 5th on the road and will face an extremely tough test from the start against 4A #3 Lawrence North, who advanced all the way to the 4A south semi-state championship game, losing to eventual state champion Columbus North.
Two days later in the Millers' home opener, they'll face another rough opponent in Fort Wayne Snider, who also made it to the 4A Kokomo Regional, but was ousted by eventual Regional champ and state runner-up Homestead in the second game of the day.
Indianapolis Arsenal Tech pays another visit to The Mill on Tuesday, November 10th and the week finishes up on the road with Noblesville heading to visit their neighbors to the north in the 3A Hamilton Heights Huskies, who are now coached by first-year head coach Omega Tandy.
The third week features a few key match-ups. A road trip directly west on SR 32 will be another great game between the Lebanon Tigers' Kristen Spolyar and the Millers on Tuesday, November 17th. Their first weekend back-to-back Friday/Saturday features a home game to open up Hoosier Crossroads Conference play against Brownsburg and their new head coach Debbie Guckenberger. Coach Buckley and her staff will load up the troops and head north to Warsaw on Saturday, November 21st for an evening tilt with the Tigers of the Northern Lakes Conference.
Thanksgiving week serves up a home game on Tuesday, November 24 with the 4A #8 Carmel Greyhounds, as the Millers look to extend their winning streak in the series to three games. As per usual, Noblesville and Avon will tangle in a midday affair on Saturday, November 28 on the Orioles' home court.
December looks to get the pot stirring even more for the Millers. at trip to HCC rival Hamilton Southeastern starts the last month of the year on the calendar with a middle of the week trip to HSE on Wednesday, December 2nd, where Noblesville won their 1st sectional championship in 19 seasons on the Royals' home floor.
A home date on Saturday afternoon December 5th will give the Millers their third games against an opponent from the Metropolitan Interscholastic Conference when North Central comes to The Mill.
The schedule gets a little thick in the middle of December. Two home games in a row will bring the Fishers Tigers to Noblesville for an HCC battle. They will be without the services of senior guard/forward Kara Gerka, as she suffered a torn ACL during the off-season. December 15th will bring Shannon Cleckley and the Anderson Indians to The Mill in Cleckley's first season coaching the Indians with the departure of Chad Cook.
Westfield and first-year head coach Ginny Smith will host the Millers on Saturday, December 19th for an early afternoon game on the Shamrocks' home court. Former head coach Shane Sumpter has switched over to be the head coach of the boys team at Westfield.
The Millers finish up the month of December by playing in the Whitewater Valley Classic at Franklin County High School in southeast Indiana on December 22 and 23. That 2-day tournament at Franklin County has an 8-team field that, along with Noblesville, includes Beech Grove, Bloomington South, Danville, Franklin County, Bishop Chatard, Jennings County and South Dearborn. Noblesville will get the chance to play four games in a two-day span.
For the first time in quite a few years, Noblesville is getting the opportunity to play in the City Securities Hall of Fame Classic in New Castle on December 29. The Millers play in the 10:00 game against 3A #3 Benton Central and 3A #4 Lebanon meets up with the state's leading scorer Jackie Young and 3A #1Princeton at 11:45. The losers of the two morning games play again in the 6:00 consolation game and the winners take center stage for the championship at 7:45 that night.
Noblesville starts off the 2016 calendar on Wednesday, January 6 by heading back to Memorial Gym, but this time to face the Kokomo Wildcats. On Saturday of that week, the Mount Vernon (Fortville) Marauders head west on SR 38 to face the Millers in the afternoon.
On Friday, January 15, the Millers take their show to Boone county to play at 6:00 in the first game of a girls/boys doubleheader at Zionsville.
Two of the final three regular season games for Buckley's Millers will be on their home floor. 3A #2 Heritage Christian, who has now moved up to Class 3A as a result of the success factor from winning at the 2A level, visits The Mill on Thursday, January 21 and the Martinsville Artesians come to Noblesville on the evening of Saturday, January 23rd.
The regular season concludes with a trip to Pendleton Heights to face the Arabians and first-year head coach Chad Cook, formerly of Anderson High School.
The Class 4A Sectional 8 tournament will be hosted this year by the Westfield Shamrocks during the first full week in February.
Along with being the PA voice of Noblesville Miller girls basketball, now in my 8th season, I am also the play-by-play voice for Hometown Television Web Network/Hamilton County Television. We would like to welcome you to view our girls and boys broadcasts throughout the basketball season. I'd also like to thank you for reading my blog now and in the past!
You can follow me on Twitter at @MillerVoiceNDCB and also Hamilton County TV at @HCTelevision
Two of last season's starters will be back. Senior 5'10 guard Alexis Shannon brings back her great scoring and slashing abilities and with her she'll have Indiana Junior All-State 1st Team teammate 6'0 forward Katelyn O'Reilly, who is just a complete physical presence in the middle. Senior teammates 5'5 guard Rachel Shipman and 6'0 center Haley Conway look to help provide senior leadership and depth to what will be a young Miller bench.
Sophomore Emily Kiser has now grown to 6'2 and slid right into a starting role that was Erin Wood's for the past four years. Junior point guard Brooke Herron enters her third year at the varsity level and will be looked upon to help run the point, along with Shipman and 5'3 junior Sam Salmon. 5'7 sophomore Olivia Morales will look to add defensive depth.
A trio of freshman will grace the varsity squad with their presence the winter as 5'6 Mallory Johnson, 5'6 Maddie Knight and 5'6 Kaylin Mertens will all see time off of the bench. It looked as there would be a fourth member of the freshman class that would see varsity playing time this year, but during off-season workouts, Madison Whetro suffered a season-ending ACL injury that would put her varsity playing days on hold and unfortunately won't allow her to play with this group.
It will also be a transition for all of us to changing the name of our head coach. Donna Keck became Donna Buckley on July 4th in South Carolina in front of close friends and family (and part of the coaching staff) and we couldn't be happier for her and her husband Chris! Congratulations to her and Chris and we all wish them many years of happiness!
How the schedule looks...
Noblesville has one of the toughest schedules in the state again this season, which will only fuel their fire to succeed past what last year's squad did and make their own mark in the storied history of Noblesville Millers girls basketball.
The Millers open up on Thursday, November 5th on the road and will face an extremely tough test from the start against 4A #3 Lawrence North, who advanced all the way to the 4A south semi-state championship game, losing to eventual state champion Columbus North.
Two days later in the Millers' home opener, they'll face another rough opponent in Fort Wayne Snider, who also made it to the 4A Kokomo Regional, but was ousted by eventual Regional champ and state runner-up Homestead in the second game of the day.
Indianapolis Arsenal Tech pays another visit to The Mill on Tuesday, November 10th and the week finishes up on the road with Noblesville heading to visit their neighbors to the north in the 3A Hamilton Heights Huskies, who are now coached by first-year head coach Omega Tandy.
The third week features a few key match-ups. A road trip directly west on SR 32 will be another great game between the Lebanon Tigers' Kristen Spolyar and the Millers on Tuesday, November 17th. Their first weekend back-to-back Friday/Saturday features a home game to open up Hoosier Crossroads Conference play against Brownsburg and their new head coach Debbie Guckenberger. Coach Buckley and her staff will load up the troops and head north to Warsaw on Saturday, November 21st for an evening tilt with the Tigers of the Northern Lakes Conference.
Thanksgiving week serves up a home game on Tuesday, November 24 with the 4A #8 Carmel Greyhounds, as the Millers look to extend their winning streak in the series to three games. As per usual, Noblesville and Avon will tangle in a midday affair on Saturday, November 28 on the Orioles' home court.
December looks to get the pot stirring even more for the Millers. at trip to HCC rival Hamilton Southeastern starts the last month of the year on the calendar with a middle of the week trip to HSE on Wednesday, December 2nd, where Noblesville won their 1st sectional championship in 19 seasons on the Royals' home floor.
A home date on Saturday afternoon December 5th will give the Millers their third games against an opponent from the Metropolitan Interscholastic Conference when North Central comes to The Mill.
The schedule gets a little thick in the middle of December. Two home games in a row will bring the Fishers Tigers to Noblesville for an HCC battle. They will be without the services of senior guard/forward Kara Gerka, as she suffered a torn ACL during the off-season. December 15th will bring Shannon Cleckley and the Anderson Indians to The Mill in Cleckley's first season coaching the Indians with the departure of Chad Cook.
Westfield and first-year head coach Ginny Smith will host the Millers on Saturday, December 19th for an early afternoon game on the Shamrocks' home court. Former head coach Shane Sumpter has switched over to be the head coach of the boys team at Westfield.
The Millers finish up the month of December by playing in the Whitewater Valley Classic at Franklin County High School in southeast Indiana on December 22 and 23. That 2-day tournament at Franklin County has an 8-team field that, along with Noblesville, includes Beech Grove, Bloomington South, Danville, Franklin County, Bishop Chatard, Jennings County and South Dearborn. Noblesville will get the chance to play four games in a two-day span.
For the first time in quite a few years, Noblesville is getting the opportunity to play in the City Securities Hall of Fame Classic in New Castle on December 29. The Millers play in the 10:00 game against 3A #3 Benton Central and 3A #4 Lebanon meets up with the state's leading scorer Jackie Young and 3A #1Princeton at 11:45. The losers of the two morning games play again in the 6:00 consolation game and the winners take center stage for the championship at 7:45 that night.
Noblesville starts off the 2016 calendar on Wednesday, January 6 by heading back to Memorial Gym, but this time to face the Kokomo Wildcats. On Saturday of that week, the Mount Vernon (Fortville) Marauders head west on SR 38 to face the Millers in the afternoon.
On Friday, January 15, the Millers take their show to Boone county to play at 6:00 in the first game of a girls/boys doubleheader at Zionsville.
Two of the final three regular season games for Buckley's Millers will be on their home floor. 3A #2 Heritage Christian, who has now moved up to Class 3A as a result of the success factor from winning at the 2A level, visits The Mill on Thursday, January 21 and the Martinsville Artesians come to Noblesville on the evening of Saturday, January 23rd.
The regular season concludes with a trip to Pendleton Heights to face the Arabians and first-year head coach Chad Cook, formerly of Anderson High School.
The Class 4A Sectional 8 tournament will be hosted this year by the Westfield Shamrocks during the first full week in February.
Along with being the PA voice of Noblesville Miller girls basketball, now in my 8th season, I am also the play-by-play voice for Hometown Television Web Network/Hamilton County Television. We would like to welcome you to view our girls and boys broadcasts throughout the basketball season. I'd also like to thank you for reading my blog now and in the past!
You can follow me on Twitter at @MillerVoiceNDCB and also Hamilton County TV at @HCTelevision
Tuesday, June 9, 2015
Noblesville can't hold early lead, drops sectional opener to Zionsville
Winning the Class 4A State Championship in 2014 obviously sets the bar higher for Noblesville baseball from now on. With expectations that high, there are bound to be lessons learned and a bumpy road along the way.
The toughest thing to do in the world of sports, no matter which sport, is to repeat any feat that was accomplished during the previous season.
That was surely the case for this particular group of Millers in 2015. Some of this season's team were a part of last year's state champions and others were there this season for their first season at the varsity level and were going to do whatever it took to achieve the goals that were set in the beginning of the season and even in the fall during Fall Ball.
The more challenging task is to win the Hoosier Crossroads Conference in any season or any sport. This group of Millers had their hearts set on winning the conference title for a second consecutive season, but it would be a tall order with what the rest of the conference schools had coming back.
It all starts with the coaching staff getting the players to fully buy in to what they are trying to accomplish for the better of the team. Justin Keever is in his 11th season at the helm of the Millers and has an outstanding core of assistant coaches in Kevin Fitzgerald, Caleb Small and Jake Wood.
4A Sectional 8 First Round Game - (Thursday, May 28 at Zionsville)
Zionsville 3, Noblesville 2
Eagles 0 0 0 1 0 0 2 - 3 8 4
Millers 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 - 2 3 0
Cory Conway got in a top of the 1st jam, where he allowed two hits and a walk to load the bags, but the junior southpaw managed to find his way out. Jack Pilcher was called for the third out on an offensive interference to end Zionsville's early threat.
Noblesville got started off on the right foot in the bottom of the first inning by simply getting runners aboard and getting them home.
Travis Gillian led off getting hit by a Prather pitch for an early runner on. Michael Carmosino singled to short and was able to leg out an infield single for two on and one out. Bryce Masterson was hit by a pitch, loading the bases.
Dax McLochlin hit a grounder to Chad Garisek at third and Garisek committed an error on his throw to first, allowing both Gillian and Carmo to score from third and second, respectively, for a 2-0 Noblesville lead after one.
Nick Prather started off the top of the 4th lining a single on the ground to left. Pilcher duplicated Prather's hit and went to left for a single for two on and no outs. Duke Schillaci came in to pinch run for Prather. With Garisek up, Schillaci and Pilcher advanced to third and second on a passed ball. Drew Bertram sent a sacrifice fly out to right and into Austin Shirley's glove, but that was enough to get Schillaci home from third, cutting Noblesville's lead down to 2-1.
Aside from a single and double by McLochlin in the 4th and 6th, along with Harris Camp getting hit by a pitch and Shirley walking, the Miller offense went stagnant for the rest of the game.
Highly-touted Virginia recruit Grant Sloan came on to pitch in the bottom of the 6th and completely changed the dynamic of the game. Two strikeouts right away of Connor Christman and Bryce Masterson put the Millers in a crucial situation.
McLochlin lined a double to left to start a possible two-out rally. Camp (HBP) and Shirley (BB) reached to load the bases, but the Millers weren't able to get any insurance runs across, stranding all three aboard.
The Eagles took advantage of their last at-bat in the top of the 7th. Chad Garisek singled on a grounder to Essig at short to start the inning off. Drew Bertram dropped down a sac bunt that moved Garisek over to second with one away. Relief pitcher Grant Sloan then lined a triple to deep center, scoring Garisek to tie it up at 2-2. Riley Bertram bunted a single that would score Sloan's pinch runner Jacob Hurtibise to give Zionsville a 3-2 lead heading into the bottom of the 7th.
The Millers were at the top of their order and looking to win this game and move onto the semifinals, but they knew it wouldn't be easy.
Gillian struck out on a foul tip to lead off. Vince Essig reached on Joey Mushalla's second error at short to put the tying run on with one out. Michael Carmosino was the second out of the inning, also striking out with a foul tip on the third strike.
Down to their final out, Noblesville left it up to junior third baseman Connor Christman to get Essig home for at least a tie ball game. On an 0-1 count, Connor half-check swinged and grounded to Nick Prather at first base, ending the game and the Millers' pursuit of a repeat 4A state tournament run.
The win improved Zionsville to 22-8 and they would then knock off Westfield 6-1, who drew the bye. The host Eagles weren't able to take full advantage of home field in the sectional championship, as they lost to Hamilton Southeastern 2-1, ending their season at 23-9.
Noblesville (19-11) ended their season nothing like their storybook, dream season of 2014. They have nothing to hang their heads on this season. Yes, there were 8 (to my count) of their 11 losses that could have turned into wins, but there are some things that can't be changed. This group needs to stand tall and be proud of who they are!
So many critics out there expected them to do exactly what the 2014 Millers did and that feat is extremely difficult to duplicate and a lot of people just don't understand how tough that is, unless they have actually been in the place of these players.
We say goodbye and best of luck to seven outstanding seniors that have given a tremendous amount of their young lives to this Noblesville baseball program!
The seniors' 2015 totals...
Dax McLochlin - (.263 BA, 20-76, HR, 8 2Bs, 2 3Bs, 13 RBIs, 19 R; 3-0, 1.68 ERA, 25 IP, 20 K/8 BB, .255 OBA, .985 fielding %, 135 PO, 113 Ast.)
Alec Parker - (.286, 22-77, 2B, 3B, 15 RBIs, 11 R; .995 fielding %, 160 PO, 41 Ast.)
Vince Essig - (.204, 10-49, 2 2Bs, 2 3Bs, 4 RBIs, 10 R; .929 fielding %, 23 PO, 29 Ast.)
Connor Adams - (1-1, 3.87 ERA, 1 save, 12.2 IP, 9 K/7 BB, 8 APP)
Justin Buchanan - (3-0, 1.22 ERA, 10 APP, 28.2 IP, 27 K/19 BB, .234 OBA)
Will Plumer - (0-2, 4.34 ERA, 7 APP, 29 IP, 15 K/10 BB, .287 OBA)
L.J. Tilley - (.185, 5-27, 3 RBIs, 6 R, 1.000 fielding %, 7 PO, 7 Assists)
The toughest thing to do in the world of sports, no matter which sport, is to repeat any feat that was accomplished during the previous season.
That was surely the case for this particular group of Millers in 2015. Some of this season's team were a part of last year's state champions and others were there this season for their first season at the varsity level and were going to do whatever it took to achieve the goals that were set in the beginning of the season and even in the fall during Fall Ball.
The more challenging task is to win the Hoosier Crossroads Conference in any season or any sport. This group of Millers had their hearts set on winning the conference title for a second consecutive season, but it would be a tall order with what the rest of the conference schools had coming back.
It all starts with the coaching staff getting the players to fully buy in to what they are trying to accomplish for the better of the team. Justin Keever is in his 11th season at the helm of the Millers and has an outstanding core of assistant coaches in Kevin Fitzgerald, Caleb Small and Jake Wood.
4A Sectional 8 First Round Game - (Thursday, May 28 at Zionsville)
Zionsville 3, Noblesville 2
Eagles 0 0 0 1 0 0 2 - 3 8 4
Millers 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 - 2 3 0
Cory Conway got in a top of the 1st jam, where he allowed two hits and a walk to load the bags, but the junior southpaw managed to find his way out. Jack Pilcher was called for the third out on an offensive interference to end Zionsville's early threat.
Noblesville got started off on the right foot in the bottom of the first inning by simply getting runners aboard and getting them home.
Travis Gillian led off getting hit by a Prather pitch for an early runner on. Michael Carmosino singled to short and was able to leg out an infield single for two on and one out. Bryce Masterson was hit by a pitch, loading the bases.
Dax McLochlin hit a grounder to Chad Garisek at third and Garisek committed an error on his throw to first, allowing both Gillian and Carmo to score from third and second, respectively, for a 2-0 Noblesville lead after one.
Nick Prather started off the top of the 4th lining a single on the ground to left. Pilcher duplicated Prather's hit and went to left for a single for two on and no outs. Duke Schillaci came in to pinch run for Prather. With Garisek up, Schillaci and Pilcher advanced to third and second on a passed ball. Drew Bertram sent a sacrifice fly out to right and into Austin Shirley's glove, but that was enough to get Schillaci home from third, cutting Noblesville's lead down to 2-1.
Aside from a single and double by McLochlin in the 4th and 6th, along with Harris Camp getting hit by a pitch and Shirley walking, the Miller offense went stagnant for the rest of the game.
Highly-touted Virginia recruit Grant Sloan came on to pitch in the bottom of the 6th and completely changed the dynamic of the game. Two strikeouts right away of Connor Christman and Bryce Masterson put the Millers in a crucial situation.
McLochlin lined a double to left to start a possible two-out rally. Camp (HBP) and Shirley (BB) reached to load the bases, but the Millers weren't able to get any insurance runs across, stranding all three aboard.
The Eagles took advantage of their last at-bat in the top of the 7th. Chad Garisek singled on a grounder to Essig at short to start the inning off. Drew Bertram dropped down a sac bunt that moved Garisek over to second with one away. Relief pitcher Grant Sloan then lined a triple to deep center, scoring Garisek to tie it up at 2-2. Riley Bertram bunted a single that would score Sloan's pinch runner Jacob Hurtibise to give Zionsville a 3-2 lead heading into the bottom of the 7th.
The Millers were at the top of their order and looking to win this game and move onto the semifinals, but they knew it wouldn't be easy.
Gillian struck out on a foul tip to lead off. Vince Essig reached on Joey Mushalla's second error at short to put the tying run on with one out. Michael Carmosino was the second out of the inning, also striking out with a foul tip on the third strike.
Down to their final out, Noblesville left it up to junior third baseman Connor Christman to get Essig home for at least a tie ball game. On an 0-1 count, Connor half-check swinged and grounded to Nick Prather at first base, ending the game and the Millers' pursuit of a repeat 4A state tournament run.
The win improved Zionsville to 22-8 and they would then knock off Westfield 6-1, who drew the bye. The host Eagles weren't able to take full advantage of home field in the sectional championship, as they lost to Hamilton Southeastern 2-1, ending their season at 23-9.
Noblesville (19-11) ended their season nothing like their storybook, dream season of 2014. They have nothing to hang their heads on this season. Yes, there were 8 (to my count) of their 11 losses that could have turned into wins, but there are some things that can't be changed. This group needs to stand tall and be proud of who they are!
So many critics out there expected them to do exactly what the 2014 Millers did and that feat is extremely difficult to duplicate and a lot of people just don't understand how tough that is, unless they have actually been in the place of these players.
We say goodbye and best of luck to seven outstanding seniors that have given a tremendous amount of their young lives to this Noblesville baseball program!
The seniors' 2015 totals...
Dax McLochlin - (.263 BA, 20-76, HR, 8 2Bs, 2 3Bs, 13 RBIs, 19 R; 3-0, 1.68 ERA, 25 IP, 20 K/8 BB, .255 OBA, .985 fielding %, 135 PO, 113 Ast.)
Alec Parker - (.286, 22-77, 2B, 3B, 15 RBIs, 11 R; .995 fielding %, 160 PO, 41 Ast.)
Vince Essig - (.204, 10-49, 2 2Bs, 2 3Bs, 4 RBIs, 10 R; .929 fielding %, 23 PO, 29 Ast.)
Connor Adams - (1-1, 3.87 ERA, 1 save, 12.2 IP, 9 K/7 BB, 8 APP)
Justin Buchanan - (3-0, 1.22 ERA, 10 APP, 28.2 IP, 27 K/19 BB, .234 OBA)
Will Plumer - (0-2, 4.34 ERA, 7 APP, 29 IP, 15 K/10 BB, .287 OBA)
L.J. Tilley - (.185, 5-27, 3 RBIs, 6 R, 1.000 fielding %, 7 PO, 7 Assists)
Millers win 2 of 3 from Avon, finish 2nd in HCC standings
After starting out the Hoosier Crossroads Conference season going 1-2 in each of their first two series against Fishers and Westfield, the Noblesville Millers turned their season back to the winning ways that it knows how to do.
The Millers rattled off a 9-3 mark for the remainder of their conference games to finish at 11-7 for a solid 2nd place finish behind Westfield, who won the HCC title outright with a 14-4 record.
At this point, Noblesville's main intent is finishing the regular season on a high note and head into sectionals at Zionsville vs. the host Zionsville Eagles playing great baseball and keeping their stride.
Millers best Orioles in extras, take series opener
Game 1: Noblesville 8, Avon 7 (10 inn.) - (Thurs. May 21 at Avon)
Millers 0 0 1 3 0 3 0 0 0 1 - 8 9 2
Orioles 0 0 4 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 - 7 11 2
Travis Gillian started off the top of the 3rd getting hit by a pitch. Vince Essig grounded to third baseman Johnathan Staab, but committed an error from his spot at the hot corner on his throw to first, giving the Millers two aboard. The error on the throw helped Gillian make it to third and Essig made his way to second.
With Michael Carmosino at the plate, a passed ball gets by Orioles' catcher and Gillian sprinted home for the first Noblesville run.
Avon got motivated to get a little scoring done themselves in the bottom of the 3rd. Kahi'au Quartero tripled to right to lead off the inning. Andrew Griffin came in to courtesy run for him. Austin Natalie grounded out to Dax McLochlin at first for out number one, but that helped get Griffin home to tie it up 1-1.
Tanner Brandt walked and advanced to second on a Matt Moore single to center. Brayton Nyland grounded to third and Connor Christman committed a rare error, allowing Brandt to score from third for a 2-1 Avon lead.
Jarrett Truran dropped a single into center field to score Moore from second for a 3-1 Orioles lead and runners at the corners. Nyland scored soon after on a wild pitch by Noblesville starter Will Plumer and Avon jumped out to a 4-1 score after three full innings.
Noblesville was in prime position to put up a crooked number themselves in their next at-bat with the 3-4-5 hitters due up.
Connor Christman led off the 4th with a double to left. Bryce Masterson was hit by a pitch for two runners on. Dax McLochlin reached on another error by Staab at 3rd to load the bases. Jackson Thurman came in to run for Masterson at second.
Ty Lindstrand hit a grounder (fielder's choice) to Trevor Curran at second base. Curran tossed to the shortstop Navarro for the force out of McLochlin, but that scored Christman to cut Avon's lead down to 4-2. Thurman made his way to third and into scoring position and Lindstrand at first.
Austin Shirley hit a sacrifice fly to center that scored Thurman and it was now 4-3 Orioles. Alec Parker followed suit hitting a single on the fly to right to score Lindstrand and in no time at all, the Millers had tied the game 4-4.
The Millers were back at it in the top of the 6th.
Dax McLochlin led off lining a double to left. Parker was hit by a pitch after Lindstrand and Shirley struck out consecutively. A passed ball allowed Dax to head to third and Harris Camp (running for Parker) found himself to second. Then, a wild pitch with Travis Gillian at the plate gave Dax and Harris time to run home for a 6-4 Noblesville advantage. Gillian lined a single to center and immediately was tripled home by Vince Essig's extra base hit for a 7-4 Miller edge.
With a three run lead heading into the bottom of the 7th, the host Orioles felt the pressure on them.
Joey Miller led off with a walk, Moore singled to right and Nyland walked to load the bags to start the inning. Jarrett Truran walked to send Miller home. Noah Navarro reached on a fielder's choice to Essig. Vince tossed to Carmosino at second for the force out of Truran at second. But, Moore scored to get Avon within one at 7-6. Trevor Curran doubled to left to score Brayton Nyland to tie the game at 7-7, sending the game into extra innings.
With neither scoring in the 8th and 9th, it was up to one of them to get something going in the 10th inning.
Austin Shirley patiently led off the 10th with a walk and moved over to second on Alec Parker's single to left. Leadoff hitter Travis Gillan layed down a perfect sacrifice bunt to move Gillian to third and Parker to second. Shirley was able to score on a wild pitch that would prove to be the game-winning run for an 8-7 win in 10 innings for Noblesville.
Connor Adams tossed shutout baseball over the final four innings of the game, allowing just four hits, walking three and also striking out three to earn the win on the mound.
Orioles edge Millers behind Matt Moore to open doubleheader
Game 2: Avon 3, Noblesville 2 - (Fri. May 22 at The Dunk, Noblesville)
Orioles 0 0 2 0 1 0 0 - 3 10 2
Millers 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 - 2 3 2
Travis Gillian started the Miller offense on the right foot in the bottom of the 1st, singling into center and made his way to second on Vince Essig's fielder's choice. Gillian scored on a Michael Carmosino RBI ground out to third and Bryce Masterson grounded to short for the second out of the inning, sending Essig home for a 2-0 Noblesville lead through one.
Avon was able to get their offense going in the third. Kahi'au Quartero hit a bloop single to left with one out and was doubled over to third by Brayton Nyland for runners at second and third with one down. The DH Jarrett Truran hit a double on the fly to the left field fence to score both Quartero and Nyland to tie the game 2-2.
The Orioles were dialed in on what Noblesville starter Clayton Marowski was throwing and took advantage again in the top of the 5th. Avon started a two-out rally with a Matt Moore single to shallow right center and Johnathan Staab singled to left for two on. Andrew Griffin came in to pinch run for Moore and scored on an RBI single by Austin Natalie that gave the Orioles a 3-2 lead that would turn out to be the final score to even the series at one game apiece.
Noblesville wasn't able to hit the junior Purdue recruit Matt Moore like they hoped they would. Avon roughed Marowski up for a total of nine hits in 6 innings of work on the mound, striking out one and also walking one.
Moore allowed just three hits over his 7 innings. He struck out 8 while walking three. Avon evened the series up at 1-1 with Game 3 to follow.
Buchanan, Conway combo shuts out Avon; Millers take series and regular season finale
Game 3: Noblesville 7, Avon 0 - (Fri. May 22 at The Dunk, Noblesville)
Orioles 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 - 0 5 1
Millers 1 2 3 0 1 0 x - 7 7 1
Michael Carmosino started a short, but run scoring bottom of the first, two out rally. Carmo singled up the middle into center and stole second with Connor Christman up. Christman smacked an RBI-single on the ground, also into center, and the Millers took an early 1-0 lead after one.
Dax McLochlin started off the home half of the second walking. Alec Porter for runners at first and second and no outs. After Alex Cleverly's sacrifice bunt, Dax and Alec moved to 3rd and 2nd, respectively. Austin Shirley then took the first pitch he saw from Joey Miller and drove a two-run double off of the fence in left center to score both McLochlin and Parker for a 3-0 Noblesville score after two.
The Millers kept at it at the plate in the bottom of the third. A lead-off single by Carmosino, followed by a pair of walked to Christman and Masterson and that would be all for Joey Miller on the mound for Avon. Trevor Curran came on for the remainder of the game for the Orioles.
Carmosino scored on a passed ball with McLochlin up. Dax then hit a sacrifice fly to right that would score Christman for 5-0. Parker would also hit a sac fly in foul territory down the right field line to make it 6-0, scoring Masterson.
Noblesville finished off their scoring in the bottom of the 5th. McLochlin would reach on an error by second baseman Joey Miller, then would score on an RBI single by Alex Cleverly to give the Millers a 7-0 lead that they would keep for the rest of the game.
Justin Buchanan pitched a solid 4 innings in his final start of the season. The senior righty struck out 5, walked 4 and allowed just three hits. Cory Conway came in to pitch the final three innings and took off right where Buchanan left off.
Conway gave up just two hits, walked one and also struck out five, which gave him 83 strikeouts on the season.
The Millers finish the regular season with a 19-10 record and 11-7 in the Hoosier Crossroads Conference, while Avon wound up their regular season at 16-13 and 6-12 in the HCC.
The Millers rattled off a 9-3 mark for the remainder of their conference games to finish at 11-7 for a solid 2nd place finish behind Westfield, who won the HCC title outright with a 14-4 record.
At this point, Noblesville's main intent is finishing the regular season on a high note and head into sectionals at Zionsville vs. the host Zionsville Eagles playing great baseball and keeping their stride.
Millers best Orioles in extras, take series opener
Game 1: Noblesville 8, Avon 7 (10 inn.) - (Thurs. May 21 at Avon)
Millers 0 0 1 3 0 3 0 0 0 1 - 8 9 2
Orioles 0 0 4 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 - 7 11 2
Travis Gillian started off the top of the 3rd getting hit by a pitch. Vince Essig grounded to third baseman Johnathan Staab, but committed an error from his spot at the hot corner on his throw to first, giving the Millers two aboard. The error on the throw helped Gillian make it to third and Essig made his way to second.
With Michael Carmosino at the plate, a passed ball gets by Orioles' catcher and Gillian sprinted home for the first Noblesville run.
Avon got motivated to get a little scoring done themselves in the bottom of the 3rd. Kahi'au Quartero tripled to right to lead off the inning. Andrew Griffin came in to courtesy run for him. Austin Natalie grounded out to Dax McLochlin at first for out number one, but that helped get Griffin home to tie it up 1-1.
Tanner Brandt walked and advanced to second on a Matt Moore single to center. Brayton Nyland grounded to third and Connor Christman committed a rare error, allowing Brandt to score from third for a 2-1 Avon lead.
Jarrett Truran dropped a single into center field to score Moore from second for a 3-1 Orioles lead and runners at the corners. Nyland scored soon after on a wild pitch by Noblesville starter Will Plumer and Avon jumped out to a 4-1 score after three full innings.
Noblesville was in prime position to put up a crooked number themselves in their next at-bat with the 3-4-5 hitters due up.
Connor Christman led off the 4th with a double to left. Bryce Masterson was hit by a pitch for two runners on. Dax McLochlin reached on another error by Staab at 3rd to load the bases. Jackson Thurman came in to run for Masterson at second.
Ty Lindstrand hit a grounder (fielder's choice) to Trevor Curran at second base. Curran tossed to the shortstop Navarro for the force out of McLochlin, but that scored Christman to cut Avon's lead down to 4-2. Thurman made his way to third and into scoring position and Lindstrand at first.
Austin Shirley hit a sacrifice fly to center that scored Thurman and it was now 4-3 Orioles. Alec Parker followed suit hitting a single on the fly to right to score Lindstrand and in no time at all, the Millers had tied the game 4-4.
The Millers were back at it in the top of the 6th.
Dax McLochlin led off lining a double to left. Parker was hit by a pitch after Lindstrand and Shirley struck out consecutively. A passed ball allowed Dax to head to third and Harris Camp (running for Parker) found himself to second. Then, a wild pitch with Travis Gillian at the plate gave Dax and Harris time to run home for a 6-4 Noblesville advantage. Gillian lined a single to center and immediately was tripled home by Vince Essig's extra base hit for a 7-4 Miller edge.
With a three run lead heading into the bottom of the 7th, the host Orioles felt the pressure on them.
Joey Miller led off with a walk, Moore singled to right and Nyland walked to load the bags to start the inning. Jarrett Truran walked to send Miller home. Noah Navarro reached on a fielder's choice to Essig. Vince tossed to Carmosino at second for the force out of Truran at second. But, Moore scored to get Avon within one at 7-6. Trevor Curran doubled to left to score Brayton Nyland to tie the game at 7-7, sending the game into extra innings.
With neither scoring in the 8th and 9th, it was up to one of them to get something going in the 10th inning.
Austin Shirley patiently led off the 10th with a walk and moved over to second on Alec Parker's single to left. Leadoff hitter Travis Gillan layed down a perfect sacrifice bunt to move Gillian to third and Parker to second. Shirley was able to score on a wild pitch that would prove to be the game-winning run for an 8-7 win in 10 innings for Noblesville.
Connor Adams tossed shutout baseball over the final four innings of the game, allowing just four hits, walking three and also striking out three to earn the win on the mound.
Orioles edge Millers behind Matt Moore to open doubleheader
Game 2: Avon 3, Noblesville 2 - (Fri. May 22 at The Dunk, Noblesville)
Orioles 0 0 2 0 1 0 0 - 3 10 2
Millers 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 - 2 3 2
Travis Gillian started the Miller offense on the right foot in the bottom of the 1st, singling into center and made his way to second on Vince Essig's fielder's choice. Gillian scored on a Michael Carmosino RBI ground out to third and Bryce Masterson grounded to short for the second out of the inning, sending Essig home for a 2-0 Noblesville lead through one.
Avon was able to get their offense going in the third. Kahi'au Quartero hit a bloop single to left with one out and was doubled over to third by Brayton Nyland for runners at second and third with one down. The DH Jarrett Truran hit a double on the fly to the left field fence to score both Quartero and Nyland to tie the game 2-2.
The Orioles were dialed in on what Noblesville starter Clayton Marowski was throwing and took advantage again in the top of the 5th. Avon started a two-out rally with a Matt Moore single to shallow right center and Johnathan Staab singled to left for two on. Andrew Griffin came in to pinch run for Moore and scored on an RBI single by Austin Natalie that gave the Orioles a 3-2 lead that would turn out to be the final score to even the series at one game apiece.
Noblesville wasn't able to hit the junior Purdue recruit Matt Moore like they hoped they would. Avon roughed Marowski up for a total of nine hits in 6 innings of work on the mound, striking out one and also walking one.
Moore allowed just three hits over his 7 innings. He struck out 8 while walking three. Avon evened the series up at 1-1 with Game 3 to follow.
Buchanan, Conway combo shuts out Avon; Millers take series and regular season finale
Game 3: Noblesville 7, Avon 0 - (Fri. May 22 at The Dunk, Noblesville)
Orioles 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 - 0 5 1
Millers 1 2 3 0 1 0 x - 7 7 1
Michael Carmosino started a short, but run scoring bottom of the first, two out rally. Carmo singled up the middle into center and stole second with Connor Christman up. Christman smacked an RBI-single on the ground, also into center, and the Millers took an early 1-0 lead after one.
Dax McLochlin started off the home half of the second walking. Alec Porter for runners at first and second and no outs. After Alex Cleverly's sacrifice bunt, Dax and Alec moved to 3rd and 2nd, respectively. Austin Shirley then took the first pitch he saw from Joey Miller and drove a two-run double off of the fence in left center to score both McLochlin and Parker for a 3-0 Noblesville score after two.
The Millers kept at it at the plate in the bottom of the third. A lead-off single by Carmosino, followed by a pair of walked to Christman and Masterson and that would be all for Joey Miller on the mound for Avon. Trevor Curran came on for the remainder of the game for the Orioles.
Carmosino scored on a passed ball with McLochlin up. Dax then hit a sacrifice fly to right that would score Christman for 5-0. Parker would also hit a sac fly in foul territory down the right field line to make it 6-0, scoring Masterson.
Noblesville finished off their scoring in the bottom of the 5th. McLochlin would reach on an error by second baseman Joey Miller, then would score on an RBI single by Alex Cleverly to give the Millers a 7-0 lead that they would keep for the rest of the game.
Justin Buchanan pitched a solid 4 innings in his final start of the season. The senior righty struck out 5, walked 4 and allowed just three hits. Cory Conway came in to pitch the final three innings and took off right where Buchanan left off.
Conway gave up just two hits, walked one and also struck out five, which gave him 83 strikeouts on the season.
The Millers finish the regular season with a 19-10 record and 11-7 in the Hoosier Crossroads Conference, while Avon wound up their regular season at 16-13 and 6-12 in the HCC.
Wednesday, May 20, 2015
Noblesville takes final pair, busts big bats out to win Brownsburg series
From the start, it wasn't even close to how Noblesville wanted this 3-game series on the road at Brownsburg boost off. The Millers, coming into the HCC set on a 7-game winning streak, following Tuesday's 6-1 win over Heritage Christian at home, were tied with the Bulldogs for 2nd place in the league, both having 7-5 records coming in.
Having never been to Brownsburg for a Noblesville road game, I was told by Mike McLochlin that it was referred to as the "launching pad" and that seemed to be fitting, but for the home Bulldogs, of course.
Normally, these two HCC powers put forth quite a dogfight to even split the former format of a two-game series. Even with this change to three games played against each opponent, that won't change with the Bulldogs and Millers one single bit.
The Westfield Shamrocks had already locked up the outright HCC championship over the weekend, so it's all up to Noblesville to fend off Brownsburg and Zionsville to secure sole possession of 2nd place.
Bulldog bats batter Miller pitching in series opener
Game 1: Brownsburg 11, Noblesville 4 - (Thurs. May 14 at Brownsburg)
Millers 0 2 1 1 0 0 0 - 4 9 1
Bulldogs 4 2 0 3 0 2 x - 11 11 1
Caleb Sampen got the nod to start on the mound for Brownsburg and was going to do everything he could to help put a halt to Noblesville 7-game winning streak.
He allowed a single in the top of the 1st by Michael Carmosino, but stranded him at second.
Jacson McGowan got things going in the bottom with a one out walk from Cory Conway. Sampen flied out to left for two down, but that didn't really cross the minds of the Bulldogs.
Anthony Travelsted singled and then he and McGowan were driven home on a two-run double by the DH Brooks Birely for a 2-0 lead. First baseman Owen Gilbert walked for two on and Travis Mears loaded the bases reaching on an error by Vince Essig at short.
Ryan Robbins walked to score Birely and Brad Gullinger singled home Gilbert to help Brownsburg grab a 4-0 after one inning.
Cory Conway lasted just 2/3 of an inning, giving up 4 runs on 3 hits, walking 3 and striking out just 1. Those numbers are completely uncharacteristic of the junior southpaw, but it seemed like Thursday night just wasn't his night (for once).
Clayton Marowski came in with 2 outs in the bottom of the 1st and was able to get the final out of the inning.
Dax McLochlin singled past Mears at short for a one out single. Two batters later, Austin Shirley was hit by a pitch. The senior McLochlin and Shirley advance up a base on a passed ball to get into scoring position. Alec Parker singled down the left field line to score both Dax and Austin to cut the Bulldogs' lead in half and Noblesville trailed 4-2 after two at-bats.
McGowan drilled a double to the fence in right center to lead off the home half of the 2nd. Two hitter later with one out, Anthony Travelsted jacked a two-run homer to deep left to extend the Brownsburg lead back to four runs at 6-2 through two.
Noblesville was going to do whatever they could to climb their way back into the game. Vince Essig got on with a one out single to right. Carmosino doubled to get Vince to third and they both were in scoring position with one away and Connor Christman walked to load the bases. Bryce Masterson singled to the outfield to score Essig to cut the deficit to 6-3.
Marowski sent down the Bulldogs in order in the 3rd and that gave the Millers another chance in the top of 4.
Parker got his second hit of the night into left again. Essig was within inches of his first home run of the season, but settled for a ground-rule double that would score courtesy runner Harris Camp to close the gap back to two runs at 6-4.
Andrew Dishinger walked and was forced out at second on a fielder's choice by Jacson McGowan. Caleb Sampen reached on an infield single and Travelsted walked to load up the bags with one out. Then with two outs, Owen Gilbert trailed a three-run double to the fence in right over the head of Shirley to bust the game open at 9-4 Brownsburg after four.
Patrick Coleman pitched his first full inning of varsity work out of the bullpen, forcing a groundout and a pair of fly outs. The sophomore Coleman pitched the final 1/3 inning Tuesday at home against Heritage Christian to get his feet wet.
Connor Adams got the call from the bullpen to throw in the bottom of the 6th with a five run deficit. Cameron Martin pinch hit for McGowan and led off with a single right up the middle into center. Ryan Schutte also pinch hit for Sampen, dropping a single into shallow right for two on. Travelsted was at it again, this time bunting a single in the infield to score Martin.
Triston Polley pinch hit and reached on a fielder's choice, which forced Travelsted out at 2nd, and also scored Schutte for the final score of 11-4.
Millers win "longest Senior Night ever" in comeback fashion
Game 2: Noblesville 5, Brownsburg 4 (8 inn.) - (Fri. at The Dunk/Sat. at Brownsburg)
Bulldogs 1 2 0 1 0 0 0 0 - 4 10 1
Millers 0 0 0 2 0 2 0 1 - 5 5 2
Friday night was Senior Night at The Dunk to honor student trainer Casey Ferguson, the 7 senior players and Avrey Rose.
The weather was starting to turn as the game started and we were just hoping to get some baseball in. That's exactly what happened.
Andrew Dishinger led off the game with a walk by senior left-handed hurler Will Plumer. Jacson McGowan singled up the middle and Caleb Sampen bunted for a single to load the bases with no outs. Anthony Travelsted hit a sacrifice fly to center, scoring Dishinger for a 1-0 Brownsburg lead.
Travis Mears was throwing pretty well for the Bulldogs, allowing one hit over the first three innings, including fanning 5 of 6 in the 2nd and 3rd.
Brownsburg added to their lead in the 2nd. Mears led off with a single by the second base bag and into center. After a ground out by Ryan Robbins, Brad Gullinger dropped a single into right center to score courtesy runner Cameron Martin for the second Bulldog run. Three batters later with two outs, Sampen lined a single into left to score Gullinger and Brownsburg had a 3-0 lead through two at-bats.
The Bulldogs weren't done yet. Robbins singled to lead off the top of the 4th, but was forced out at 2nd on a grounder to Michael Carmosino, getting Gullinger to first on a fielder's choice. Gullinger would score on a sacrifice fly to make it 4-0 off of the bat of Sampen.
The Millers knew they had to get their offense going. Vince Essig legged out an infield single and reached second on a passed ball. Connor Christman took advantage of having Vince in scoring position and drove an RBI single to left to plate Essig to get Noblesville on the board, but still trailed 4-1.
Triston Polley came out of the Bulldog pen and immediately walked Bryce Masterson and Dax McLochlin reached on an E5 by McGowan at third. L.J. Tilley walked to score Christman from 3rd to cut the Brownsburg lead to 4-2.
Will Plumer was back on the mound in the top of the 5th and the weather wasn't looking promising to get the game in .
He got Ryan Schutte to line out Gillian in center. Owen Gilbert singled into shallow left center and no sooner that the ball was thrown back in to the infield, there was a lightning strike off in the distance close enough to throw the game into a delay.
After a delay of close to 45 minutes, the two head coaches, the pair of umpires and Noblesville assistant athletic director Tony Oilar decided that with the weather not going to be any better for the rest of the night, that Game 2 would be suspended until Saturday at Brownsburg. Along with the continuation, Game 3 would also be slated for Saturday to follow.
Continuation of Game 2, "the longest Senior Night ever..."
Justin Buchanan had been warming up in the bullpen Friday night at The Dunk to relieve Plumer, so it worked out that he would resume a bullpen warm-up upon the Millers' arrival in Brownsburg Saturday.
Resetting the situation, the Bulldogs were up to bat with one out and the runner aboard was Owen Gilbert. Buchanan's first hitter he faced was pinch hitter Chase Haynes, who flied out to center for the second out. With Robbins up, Pinch runner (for Gilbert) #23 (not listed) was picked off as he tried to steal second. Buchanan to Dax to Essig for the third out of the inning, igniting the Miller fans that made the road trip to Brownsburg!
Jacson McGowan came to the mound the start the 5th, giving both teams fresh arms to start the day. He mowed right through the 9-1-2 hitters of the Millers, striking out Parker and Gillian looking and forcing Essig into a pop out to Gullinger at 2nd.
After Buchanan struck out two of the hitters he faced in the 6th, the Millers were ready for McGowan in the bottom.
Michael Carmosino walked and Connor Christman singled to center to get Carmo to third with no outs. Bryce Masterson grounded out to Gilbert at first (unassisted) for the first out. Carmosino scored on a passed ball with Dax up and it was 4-3 Brownsburg.
Christman stole home when a ball got away from Bulldogs catcher Brandon Reid and the Millers tied the game at 4-4.
Neither could get anything going in the 7th, which took the game into extra innings.
Buchanan was able to get two quick outs to start the 8th, but a single from Dishinger and walk to McGowan brought an end to his day. Sophomore Patrick Coleman was on to face Caleb Sampen. On a 2-1 count, Coleman forced Sampen to ground out to McLochlin at first to end any threat with those two runners on.
Matt Rollyson had pitched the 7th, but head coach Eric Mattingly brought Michael Klayer in after Rollyson had already walked Christman and Masterson to start the inning. Neil Brown came in to pinch run for Christman. A passed ball with McLochlin up helped Brown to third and Masterson to second with no outs. Then, on a 3-1 count, Dax McLochlin launched a game-winning RBI walk-off single to deep right center on the fly to the fence, scoring Brown for the win, 5-4 in 8 innings!
The Millers tied the series up at 1-1 and Patrick Coleman had just earned his first varsity win on the mound.
Two 4-run innings fuel Millers to series win; Christman, Masterson go back-to-back
Game 3: Noblesville 9, Brownsburg 3 - (Mon. 5/18 at Brownsburg)
Millers 0 4 0 4 1 0 0 - 9 7 0
Bulldogs 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 - 3 4 4
With as much of this series that has been played at Brownsburg (all but 4.1 innings), it seemed like all three games were on the road
Caleb Sampen reached first on a dropped third strike with one out, but he wasn't on base for long, as he was picked off by Cory Conway. But, before that, Anthony Travelsted hit a solo home run to center to give Brownsburg the early 1-0 lead.
Noblesville answered that call in the top of the 2nd and put their first crooked number up.
Bryce Masterson grounded a single to right. Dax McLochlin lined a single of his own to left, moving Masterson to 2nd. L.J. Tilley reached on an error at first by Owen Gilbert to load the bases for the Millers.
Austin Shirley walked to bring home Masterson to tie the game 1-1. Alec Parker drove in two runs with a single to left on a liner, scoring Dax and L.J. on the play. Vince Essig grounded to short for the second out of the inning, but that allowed Shirley to sprint home and just like that, Noblesville had put a four-spot on the scoreboard to lead 4-1 heading into the bottom of the second.
Travis Mears led off with a walk. Brooks Birely singled to right, advancing Mears to 2nd and was able to score on the play to pull the Bulldogs within two at 4-2 through two.
The Millers were back at it strongly in the top of the 4th after yes, a "thunder delay" in the Brownsburg area in Hendricks county.
Travis Gillian reached on an error at shortstop by Sampen and he possibly would have had it legged out anyway. Michael Carmosino singled on the ground to right, scoring Gillian from first for 5-2.
Next up, Connor Christman took advantage and drove his first career varsity home run over the left center fence to give the Millers a 7-2 lead. The junior 3rd baseman was LONG overdue for his first longball and it couldn't have come during a better opportunity.
Noblesville wasn't done in the inning. Bryce Masterson decided that it had been WAY too long since he took a baseball over the fence. It was the Friday night of the HCC series opening games on April 10th, when Thursday's game was pair with Friday's for a doubleheader. The sophomore DH belted two home runs that day, one in each game.
This time, Masterson must have taken a page right out of first base coach and former Miller ('09) Jake Wood's book and took a pitch opposite field for a solo shot to left to lengthen the score to 8-2.
Before Brownsburg could even think about getting their bearings, the Millers were up in the top of the 5th to do some more damage.
Austin Shirley doubled to deep right center on one hop to the fence. Gillian reach again on an error by Sampen at short, which made it possible to get Shirley home from second for a 9-2 margin.
Brownsburg's last-ditch effort to come back was in the bottom of the 6th. Jacson McGowan led off with a single to right. Anthony Travelsted singled to center, getting McGowan to third. Owen Gilbert grounded to Essig, Vince stepped on the second base bag and gunned to first to get the double play. McGowan scored on the play for what would be the final score of 9-3.
Cory Conway pitched six solid innings before he was pulled for Clayton Marowski out of the bullpen to finish the game. The junior southpaw notched his HCC-leading 7th win on the mound and is now 7-2 this season. He also has 78 strikeouts and 22 walks in 53.1 innings pitched so far.
Brownsburg drops to 13-10 overall and 8-7 in Hoosier Crossroads Conference play. The Bulldogs conclude league play and their regular season in a series with Hamilton Southeastern starting at the Royals on Thursday at 6.
Noblesville improves to 17-9 on the season and is 9-6 in the HCC. The Millers will wrap up their conference slate and regular season with the Avon Orioles starting on the road Thursday night at 6. Friday night will be a doubleheader at The Dunk in Noblesville. Game 1 on Friday will be at 6 p.m. with the second game around 35 minutes after the conclusion.
Having never been to Brownsburg for a Noblesville road game, I was told by Mike McLochlin that it was referred to as the "launching pad" and that seemed to be fitting, but for the home Bulldogs, of course.
Normally, these two HCC powers put forth quite a dogfight to even split the former format of a two-game series. Even with this change to three games played against each opponent, that won't change with the Bulldogs and Millers one single bit.
The Westfield Shamrocks had already locked up the outright HCC championship over the weekend, so it's all up to Noblesville to fend off Brownsburg and Zionsville to secure sole possession of 2nd place.
Bulldog bats batter Miller pitching in series opener
Game 1: Brownsburg 11, Noblesville 4 - (Thurs. May 14 at Brownsburg)
Millers 0 2 1 1 0 0 0 - 4 9 1
Bulldogs 4 2 0 3 0 2 x - 11 11 1
Caleb Sampen got the nod to start on the mound for Brownsburg and was going to do everything he could to help put a halt to Noblesville 7-game winning streak.
He allowed a single in the top of the 1st by Michael Carmosino, but stranded him at second.
Jacson McGowan got things going in the bottom with a one out walk from Cory Conway. Sampen flied out to left for two down, but that didn't really cross the minds of the Bulldogs.
Anthony Travelsted singled and then he and McGowan were driven home on a two-run double by the DH Brooks Birely for a 2-0 lead. First baseman Owen Gilbert walked for two on and Travis Mears loaded the bases reaching on an error by Vince Essig at short.
Ryan Robbins walked to score Birely and Brad Gullinger singled home Gilbert to help Brownsburg grab a 4-0 after one inning.
Cory Conway lasted just 2/3 of an inning, giving up 4 runs on 3 hits, walking 3 and striking out just 1. Those numbers are completely uncharacteristic of the junior southpaw, but it seemed like Thursday night just wasn't his night (for once).
Clayton Marowski came in with 2 outs in the bottom of the 1st and was able to get the final out of the inning.
Dax McLochlin singled past Mears at short for a one out single. Two batters later, Austin Shirley was hit by a pitch. The senior McLochlin and Shirley advance up a base on a passed ball to get into scoring position. Alec Parker singled down the left field line to score both Dax and Austin to cut the Bulldogs' lead in half and Noblesville trailed 4-2 after two at-bats.
McGowan drilled a double to the fence in right center to lead off the home half of the 2nd. Two hitter later with one out, Anthony Travelsted jacked a two-run homer to deep left to extend the Brownsburg lead back to four runs at 6-2 through two.
Noblesville was going to do whatever they could to climb their way back into the game. Vince Essig got on with a one out single to right. Carmosino doubled to get Vince to third and they both were in scoring position with one away and Connor Christman walked to load the bases. Bryce Masterson singled to the outfield to score Essig to cut the deficit to 6-3.
Marowski sent down the Bulldogs in order in the 3rd and that gave the Millers another chance in the top of 4.
Parker got his second hit of the night into left again. Essig was within inches of his first home run of the season, but settled for a ground-rule double that would score courtesy runner Harris Camp to close the gap back to two runs at 6-4.
Andrew Dishinger walked and was forced out at second on a fielder's choice by Jacson McGowan. Caleb Sampen reached on an infield single and Travelsted walked to load up the bags with one out. Then with two outs, Owen Gilbert trailed a three-run double to the fence in right over the head of Shirley to bust the game open at 9-4 Brownsburg after four.
Patrick Coleman pitched his first full inning of varsity work out of the bullpen, forcing a groundout and a pair of fly outs. The sophomore Coleman pitched the final 1/3 inning Tuesday at home against Heritage Christian to get his feet wet.
Connor Adams got the call from the bullpen to throw in the bottom of the 6th with a five run deficit. Cameron Martin pinch hit for McGowan and led off with a single right up the middle into center. Ryan Schutte also pinch hit for Sampen, dropping a single into shallow right for two on. Travelsted was at it again, this time bunting a single in the infield to score Martin.
Triston Polley pinch hit and reached on a fielder's choice, which forced Travelsted out at 2nd, and also scored Schutte for the final score of 11-4.
Millers win "longest Senior Night ever" in comeback fashion
Game 2: Noblesville 5, Brownsburg 4 (8 inn.) - (Fri. at The Dunk/Sat. at Brownsburg)
Bulldogs 1 2 0 1 0 0 0 0 - 4 10 1
Millers 0 0 0 2 0 2 0 1 - 5 5 2
Friday night was Senior Night at The Dunk to honor student trainer Casey Ferguson, the 7 senior players and Avrey Rose.
The weather was starting to turn as the game started and we were just hoping to get some baseball in. That's exactly what happened.
Andrew Dishinger led off the game with a walk by senior left-handed hurler Will Plumer. Jacson McGowan singled up the middle and Caleb Sampen bunted for a single to load the bases with no outs. Anthony Travelsted hit a sacrifice fly to center, scoring Dishinger for a 1-0 Brownsburg lead.
Travis Mears was throwing pretty well for the Bulldogs, allowing one hit over the first three innings, including fanning 5 of 6 in the 2nd and 3rd.
Brownsburg added to their lead in the 2nd. Mears led off with a single by the second base bag and into center. After a ground out by Ryan Robbins, Brad Gullinger dropped a single into right center to score courtesy runner Cameron Martin for the second Bulldog run. Three batters later with two outs, Sampen lined a single into left to score Gullinger and Brownsburg had a 3-0 lead through two at-bats.
The Bulldogs weren't done yet. Robbins singled to lead off the top of the 4th, but was forced out at 2nd on a grounder to Michael Carmosino, getting Gullinger to first on a fielder's choice. Gullinger would score on a sacrifice fly to make it 4-0 off of the bat of Sampen.
The Millers knew they had to get their offense going. Vince Essig legged out an infield single and reached second on a passed ball. Connor Christman took advantage of having Vince in scoring position and drove an RBI single to left to plate Essig to get Noblesville on the board, but still trailed 4-1.
Triston Polley came out of the Bulldog pen and immediately walked Bryce Masterson and Dax McLochlin reached on an E5 by McGowan at third. L.J. Tilley walked to score Christman from 3rd to cut the Brownsburg lead to 4-2.
Will Plumer was back on the mound in the top of the 5th and the weather wasn't looking promising to get the game in .
He got Ryan Schutte to line out Gillian in center. Owen Gilbert singled into shallow left center and no sooner that the ball was thrown back in to the infield, there was a lightning strike off in the distance close enough to throw the game into a delay.
After a delay of close to 45 minutes, the two head coaches, the pair of umpires and Noblesville assistant athletic director Tony Oilar decided that with the weather not going to be any better for the rest of the night, that Game 2 would be suspended until Saturday at Brownsburg. Along with the continuation, Game 3 would also be slated for Saturday to follow.
Continuation of Game 2, "the longest Senior Night ever..."
Justin Buchanan had been warming up in the bullpen Friday night at The Dunk to relieve Plumer, so it worked out that he would resume a bullpen warm-up upon the Millers' arrival in Brownsburg Saturday.
Resetting the situation, the Bulldogs were up to bat with one out and the runner aboard was Owen Gilbert. Buchanan's first hitter he faced was pinch hitter Chase Haynes, who flied out to center for the second out. With Robbins up, Pinch runner (for Gilbert) #23 (not listed) was picked off as he tried to steal second. Buchanan to Dax to Essig for the third out of the inning, igniting the Miller fans that made the road trip to Brownsburg!
Jacson McGowan came to the mound the start the 5th, giving both teams fresh arms to start the day. He mowed right through the 9-1-2 hitters of the Millers, striking out Parker and Gillian looking and forcing Essig into a pop out to Gullinger at 2nd.
After Buchanan struck out two of the hitters he faced in the 6th, the Millers were ready for McGowan in the bottom.
Michael Carmosino walked and Connor Christman singled to center to get Carmo to third with no outs. Bryce Masterson grounded out to Gilbert at first (unassisted) for the first out. Carmosino scored on a passed ball with Dax up and it was 4-3 Brownsburg.
Christman stole home when a ball got away from Bulldogs catcher Brandon Reid and the Millers tied the game at 4-4.
Neither could get anything going in the 7th, which took the game into extra innings.
Buchanan was able to get two quick outs to start the 8th, but a single from Dishinger and walk to McGowan brought an end to his day. Sophomore Patrick Coleman was on to face Caleb Sampen. On a 2-1 count, Coleman forced Sampen to ground out to McLochlin at first to end any threat with those two runners on.
Matt Rollyson had pitched the 7th, but head coach Eric Mattingly brought Michael Klayer in after Rollyson had already walked Christman and Masterson to start the inning. Neil Brown came in to pinch run for Christman. A passed ball with McLochlin up helped Brown to third and Masterson to second with no outs. Then, on a 3-1 count, Dax McLochlin launched a game-winning RBI walk-off single to deep right center on the fly to the fence, scoring Brown for the win, 5-4 in 8 innings!
The Millers tied the series up at 1-1 and Patrick Coleman had just earned his first varsity win on the mound.
Two 4-run innings fuel Millers to series win; Christman, Masterson go back-to-back
Game 3: Noblesville 9, Brownsburg 3 - (Mon. 5/18 at Brownsburg)
Millers 0 4 0 4 1 0 0 - 9 7 0
Bulldogs 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 - 3 4 4
With as much of this series that has been played at Brownsburg (all but 4.1 innings), it seemed like all three games were on the road
Caleb Sampen reached first on a dropped third strike with one out, but he wasn't on base for long, as he was picked off by Cory Conway. But, before that, Anthony Travelsted hit a solo home run to center to give Brownsburg the early 1-0 lead.
Noblesville answered that call in the top of the 2nd and put their first crooked number up.
Bryce Masterson grounded a single to right. Dax McLochlin lined a single of his own to left, moving Masterson to 2nd. L.J. Tilley reached on an error at first by Owen Gilbert to load the bases for the Millers.
Austin Shirley walked to bring home Masterson to tie the game 1-1. Alec Parker drove in two runs with a single to left on a liner, scoring Dax and L.J. on the play. Vince Essig grounded to short for the second out of the inning, but that allowed Shirley to sprint home and just like that, Noblesville had put a four-spot on the scoreboard to lead 4-1 heading into the bottom of the second.
Travis Mears led off with a walk. Brooks Birely singled to right, advancing Mears to 2nd and was able to score on the play to pull the Bulldogs within two at 4-2 through two.
The Millers were back at it strongly in the top of the 4th after yes, a "thunder delay" in the Brownsburg area in Hendricks county.
Travis Gillian reached on an error at shortstop by Sampen and he possibly would have had it legged out anyway. Michael Carmosino singled on the ground to right, scoring Gillian from first for 5-2.
Next up, Connor Christman took advantage and drove his first career varsity home run over the left center fence to give the Millers a 7-2 lead. The junior 3rd baseman was LONG overdue for his first longball and it couldn't have come during a better opportunity.
Noblesville wasn't done in the inning. Bryce Masterson decided that it had been WAY too long since he took a baseball over the fence. It was the Friday night of the HCC series opening games on April 10th, when Thursday's game was pair with Friday's for a doubleheader. The sophomore DH belted two home runs that day, one in each game.
This time, Masterson must have taken a page right out of first base coach and former Miller ('09) Jake Wood's book and took a pitch opposite field for a solo shot to left to lengthen the score to 8-2.
Before Brownsburg could even think about getting their bearings, the Millers were up in the top of the 5th to do some more damage.
Austin Shirley doubled to deep right center on one hop to the fence. Gillian reach again on an error by Sampen at short, which made it possible to get Shirley home from second for a 9-2 margin.
Brownsburg's last-ditch effort to come back was in the bottom of the 6th. Jacson McGowan led off with a single to right. Anthony Travelsted singled to center, getting McGowan to third. Owen Gilbert grounded to Essig, Vince stepped on the second base bag and gunned to first to get the double play. McGowan scored on the play for what would be the final score of 9-3.
Cory Conway pitched six solid innings before he was pulled for Clayton Marowski out of the bullpen to finish the game. The junior southpaw notched his HCC-leading 7th win on the mound and is now 7-2 this season. He also has 78 strikeouts and 22 walks in 53.1 innings pitched so far.
Brownsburg drops to 13-10 overall and 8-7 in Hoosier Crossroads Conference play. The Bulldogs conclude league play and their regular season in a series with Hamilton Southeastern starting at the Royals on Thursday at 6.
Noblesville improves to 17-9 on the season and is 9-6 in the HCC. The Millers will wrap up their conference slate and regular season with the Avon Orioles starting on the road Thursday night at 6. Friday night will be a doubleheader at The Dunk in Noblesville. Game 1 on Friday will be at 6 p.m. with the second game around 35 minutes after the conclusion.
Thursday, May 14, 2015
Noblesville takes down Heritage Christian, stays focused
Taking a look at the schedule on www.millerball.com, the Millers were originally slated to head to Kokomo to battle the Wildkats on Tuesday, May 12. It turned out that Kokomo was in the North Central Conference tournament and was unable to play Noblesville this week.
That sent Millers' head coach Justin Keever on a search early Tuesday morning for an opponent that night. There was the slight possibility of heading to Covenant Christian in Zionsville, but that idea was just a flash in the pan. By mid morning, it was solidified that Heritage Christian would be coming north to play Noblesville at The Dunk.
In its short athletics history, the Heritage Christian Eagles have created a rich tradition that will last for quite a while. Whether it's the girls volleyball, girls basketball or football state championship and state finals appearances that have raised the standards at their 75th and Binford Rd. campus or not, their baseball program has some accolades of their own.
Head Coach Dan Ambrose led the Heritage Christian baseball program to back-to-back 2A baseball State Championships recently. In 2009, the Eagles (25-6) beat Lewis Cass 11-3 for the school's first baseball crown. It's never easy, but they repeated in 2010 (27-10) by defeating Delphi 5-1.
What better way to prepare his Eagles for the 2A state tournament that's coming up than to play the defending 4A state champions? Exactly.
The sectional draw will take place this next Tuesday, May 19th to determine the sectional pairings for the 2015 IHSAA state baseball tournament that will start on Wednesday, May 27.
Noblesville 6, Heritage Christian 1 - (Tuesday, May 12 - at The Dunk, Noblesville)
Eagles 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 - 1 5 5
Millers 1 1 3 1 0 0 x - 6 7 0
It was obvious that the Eagles weren't afraid to come play the Millers and they showed it in the 1st inning.
Two pitches by Justin Buchanan and two quick fly outs to center by Lake Webb and Ronnie Timmerman put the pressure on Heritage Christian right away, but they didn't fold.
Andy Hunt walked and then quickly stole second base. Jordan Brehm got his night started off right with a double down the right field line that scored Brehm from 2nd and Heritage Christian took an early 1-0 lead.
That wouldn't last long at all.
Travis Gillian made Eagles starter Ronnie Timmerman work hard, throwing 8 pitches to the Miller CF to only walk him. Gillian stole second base with Vince Essig up to bat. Gillian advanced to third on Michael Carmosino's ground out to third and would soon score on an error by 1B Reilly Schlosser to tie it up 1-1.
From striking out the final batter of the 1st inning, Buchanan was focused and faced just the minimum of three in the 2nd through 4th innings, striking out five in that span.
The Millers added another run in the home half of the 2nd. Dax McLochlin tripled to deep center on a very short hop to the fence. The senior rapidly rounded the bags and was able to make his way home to score on the play for a 2-1 Noblesville lead that they wouldn't give back.
Back to the top of the order in the 4th, Gillian would leg out an infield single off of reliever Sam Lyons to get it going. Essig walked for two on. Two batters later with two outs now, Bryce Masterson belted a stand-up double into the right field corner that scored Gillian and Essig for a 4-1 lead. Jackson Thurman came in to run for the sophomore DH and scored on L.J. Tilley's single to left for a 5-1 Noblesville lead after 3 innings.
Brock Grinstead was in to pitch the 4th and 5th innings and for the most part he was the better answer in relief for the Eagles.
Gillian singled with one out in the 4th and would score when Carmo reached on an error by second baseman Ronnie Timmerman for the final score of 6-1.
Connor Adams came in during the top of the 6th after Buchanan gave up a pair of singles to Timmerman and Hunt.
Adams struck out the Jordan Brehm to raise his confidence coming out of the bullpen. Sam Lyons hit into a fielder's choice that was hit to Essig and he quickly threw to third to get the lead runner out for the second out of the inning. The inning would end fast as Adams stepped off and threw to Essig at second when Andy Hunt tried steal second, Vince applying the tag for the third out.
The senior lefty got the first couple outs and then Keever went to Patrick Coleman out of the bullpen. Coleman threw just three pitches, getting M.J. Furnish to pop out to Alec Parker in foul territory behind home plate to end the game with the Millers securing a 6-1 victory.
The loss dropped a good Heritage Christian team to 14-5 on the year and Noblesville improved to 15-8, continuing their winning streak to 7 games.
Justin Buchanan improved to 2-0 on the season, throwing 5 innings, whiffing 6 Eagles and walking just two in 5-plus innings.
Masterson led the Millers with two RBIs on his 2-run double in the third and Gillian scored three of the Noblesville runs on his two singles and walk.
Noblesville hits the road today (Thursday) to start a huge Hoosier Crossroads Conference series with the Brownsburg Bulldogs (12-8, 7-5 HCC). The Millers are 15-8 overall with a 7-5 mark in league play, tying them with Brownsburg heading into the 3-game series.
Brownsburg is 5-6 in their last 11 games. They lost the Hendricks County tournament championship to Avon at Plainfield 5-4 on April 18. The Bulldogs made a clean sweep of Fishers to end April and start May. They next were swept by Westfield in three games and took 2 of 3 over Zionsville last week. Monday night, the Bulldogs got a big road win 5-1 over 4A #9 Center Grove.
Game 1 is tonight at Brownsburg and 6pm. Game 2 will be Friday night at The Dunk at 6pm with Game 3 concluding the series back at Brownsburg on Saturday morning at 11 a.m.
That sent Millers' head coach Justin Keever on a search early Tuesday morning for an opponent that night. There was the slight possibility of heading to Covenant Christian in Zionsville, but that idea was just a flash in the pan. By mid morning, it was solidified that Heritage Christian would be coming north to play Noblesville at The Dunk.
In its short athletics history, the Heritage Christian Eagles have created a rich tradition that will last for quite a while. Whether it's the girls volleyball, girls basketball or football state championship and state finals appearances that have raised the standards at their 75th and Binford Rd. campus or not, their baseball program has some accolades of their own.
Head Coach Dan Ambrose led the Heritage Christian baseball program to back-to-back 2A baseball State Championships recently. In 2009, the Eagles (25-6) beat Lewis Cass 11-3 for the school's first baseball crown. It's never easy, but they repeated in 2010 (27-10) by defeating Delphi 5-1.
What better way to prepare his Eagles for the 2A state tournament that's coming up than to play the defending 4A state champions? Exactly.
The sectional draw will take place this next Tuesday, May 19th to determine the sectional pairings for the 2015 IHSAA state baseball tournament that will start on Wednesday, May 27.
Noblesville 6, Heritage Christian 1 - (Tuesday, May 12 - at The Dunk, Noblesville)
Eagles 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 - 1 5 5
Millers 1 1 3 1 0 0 x - 6 7 0
It was obvious that the Eagles weren't afraid to come play the Millers and they showed it in the 1st inning.
Two pitches by Justin Buchanan and two quick fly outs to center by Lake Webb and Ronnie Timmerman put the pressure on Heritage Christian right away, but they didn't fold.
Andy Hunt walked and then quickly stole second base. Jordan Brehm got his night started off right with a double down the right field line that scored Brehm from 2nd and Heritage Christian took an early 1-0 lead.
That wouldn't last long at all.
Travis Gillian made Eagles starter Ronnie Timmerman work hard, throwing 8 pitches to the Miller CF to only walk him. Gillian stole second base with Vince Essig up to bat. Gillian advanced to third on Michael Carmosino's ground out to third and would soon score on an error by 1B Reilly Schlosser to tie it up 1-1.
From striking out the final batter of the 1st inning, Buchanan was focused and faced just the minimum of three in the 2nd through 4th innings, striking out five in that span.
The Millers added another run in the home half of the 2nd. Dax McLochlin tripled to deep center on a very short hop to the fence. The senior rapidly rounded the bags and was able to make his way home to score on the play for a 2-1 Noblesville lead that they wouldn't give back.
Back to the top of the order in the 4th, Gillian would leg out an infield single off of reliever Sam Lyons to get it going. Essig walked for two on. Two batters later with two outs now, Bryce Masterson belted a stand-up double into the right field corner that scored Gillian and Essig for a 4-1 lead. Jackson Thurman came in to run for the sophomore DH and scored on L.J. Tilley's single to left for a 5-1 Noblesville lead after 3 innings.
Brock Grinstead was in to pitch the 4th and 5th innings and for the most part he was the better answer in relief for the Eagles.
Gillian singled with one out in the 4th and would score when Carmo reached on an error by second baseman Ronnie Timmerman for the final score of 6-1.
Connor Adams came in during the top of the 6th after Buchanan gave up a pair of singles to Timmerman and Hunt.
Adams struck out the Jordan Brehm to raise his confidence coming out of the bullpen. Sam Lyons hit into a fielder's choice that was hit to Essig and he quickly threw to third to get the lead runner out for the second out of the inning. The inning would end fast as Adams stepped off and threw to Essig at second when Andy Hunt tried steal second, Vince applying the tag for the third out.
The senior lefty got the first couple outs and then Keever went to Patrick Coleman out of the bullpen. Coleman threw just three pitches, getting M.J. Furnish to pop out to Alec Parker in foul territory behind home plate to end the game with the Millers securing a 6-1 victory.
The loss dropped a good Heritage Christian team to 14-5 on the year and Noblesville improved to 15-8, continuing their winning streak to 7 games.
Justin Buchanan improved to 2-0 on the season, throwing 5 innings, whiffing 6 Eagles and walking just two in 5-plus innings.
Masterson led the Millers with two RBIs on his 2-run double in the third and Gillian scored three of the Noblesville runs on his two singles and walk.
Noblesville hits the road today (Thursday) to start a huge Hoosier Crossroads Conference series with the Brownsburg Bulldogs (12-8, 7-5 HCC). The Millers are 15-8 overall with a 7-5 mark in league play, tying them with Brownsburg heading into the 3-game series.
Brownsburg is 5-6 in their last 11 games. They lost the Hendricks County tournament championship to Avon at Plainfield 5-4 on April 18. The Bulldogs made a clean sweep of Fishers to end April and start May. They next were swept by Westfield in three games and took 2 of 3 over Zionsville last week. Monday night, the Bulldogs got a big road win 5-1 over 4A #9 Center Grove.
Game 1 is tonight at Brownsburg and 6pm. Game 2 will be Friday night at The Dunk at 6pm with Game 3 concluding the series back at Brownsburg on Saturday morning at 11 a.m.
Wednesday, May 13, 2015
Upswing Millers sweep Hamilton SE in HCC series
Hamilton Southeastern started off the year with some pretty solid wins. Their season opened on April 1st and it wasn't an April Fool's joke that they a 13-4 victory over Brebeuf Jesuit. They next took 2 of 3 over Avon to take an early edge in the conference standings.
Playing in a tournament in Louisville over their spring break, the Royals went 2-1. They lost their first game to Nitro (WV) 6-5 in 8 innings, but was able to grab wins from Benjamin Logan (OH) 5-0 and McHenry (IL) 4-1.
Coming back, they took down Carmel 6-1 to improve to 6-2 overall. Following that defeat of the Greyhounds, it seems like the Royals have gone just about completely flat. Taking two of three from their neighbors in the Fishers Tigers, it looked like they might be heading in the right direction at 8-3 overall and 4-2 in HCC play. Then, the slide hit them.
Two losses to Westfield to start that conference series spelled three losses in a row. Sandwich a win in the final game of the series between a 10-3 loss at home to potential Sectional 8 opponent North Central and the slide continued. Zionsville would take the first two in the next HCC series to drop Southeastern to 9-8 (5-6) before salvaging Game 3 to grab their 10th win of the year.
Enter the streaking Noblesville Millers...
The last team that the Royals wanted to see at this point in the season was Noblesville. The Millers suffered two consecutive one-run setbacks at Carmel (7-6) and to McCutcheon 6-5, but now have strung together 3 straight wins over North Central (7-6, 8 inn.) and Jeffersonville (8-0) to win the Miller Classic and 12-0 over 2A #5 Wapahani.
This was their longest streak of the season and that happened in the final three games of the DeMarini Diamond Classic in Knoxville, where Noblesville grabbed wins over Knoxville West (5-2), Grace Christian Academy (10-8, 8 inn.) and Brentwood (7-0) to come home 4-1 before conference play.
The only bad streak the Millers have had this year is when they lost the finale of the Fishers series on the road (3-2) and dropped the first two games of the Westfield series, 2-1 and 9-6.
Other than that, Noblesville is playing some pretty good baseball from that point and they look to continue streaking for as long as they possibly can.
Three 3-run frames propel Millers in series opener
Game 1: Noblesville 9, Hamilton SE 5 - (Thurs. May 7 at The Dunk, Noblesville)
Royals 1 0 0 0 0 1 3 - 5 10 2
Millers 3 0 3 0 3 0 x - 9 9 0
Will Plumer got slightly ahead of lead-off hitter and Indiana-commit Matt Gorski with a 2-1 count, but that really didn't matter. Gorski took a fastball on the fourth pitch, that was out over the plate, belting a lead-off solo home run to left to give Hamilton Southeastern an early 1-0 edge.
On the first pitch he saw, Travis Gillian drove a double deep to the gap in left center. Vince Essig next hit a tailing triple just right of the fence in center to easily plate Gillian to tie it up 1-1 in no time flat.
Michael Carmosino reached on an error by catcher Spencer Irick that helped Essig score from third and Carmo managed to get down to second. Three batters later, Dax McLochlin singled to score Carmosino from second and just like that, the Millers had already gained the lead 3-1 after one.
The Millers were back at it to put some more runs on the scoreboard against one of their bigger Hoosier Crossroads Conference rivals.
We were at the top of the order again with Gillian up, but that didn't last long as he was hit by the first pitch that David Blanco threw to (at) him. He would reach second quickly on a passed ball and with Essig walking, Noblesville had a pair of runners aboard.
Carmosino was able to get his bat on a 1-2 pitch and send it into the left field corner to drive Gillian home for a 4-1 score. Connor Christman hit a sacrifice fly to center that would score Vince for 5-1. Bryce Masterson smacked a nice sac fly to center that sent Carmosino home and the Millers had sent three across home plate in both the 1st and 3rd and now led 6-1.
Noblesville decided that they would make it a theme to score three runs in the odd innings to be able to stretch their lead out even more to frustrate the Hamilton Southeastern Royals.
Not kidding. They were at it again in the home half of the 5th.
Gillian led off with a walk from junior relief pitcher Carter Poiry, who came in to pitch the 4th, but was pulled for freshman Carter Lohman after the walk of Gillian.
Essig singled again for his second hit of the night, moving Gillian to 2nd. Carmosino bunted Gillian and Essig over to 3rd and 2nd, respectively and into scoring position. Connor Christman drilled a two-run single into left center and scored both Travis and Vince to make it 8-1. Bryce Masterson knocked in his second run of the game by doubling to the fence in right center to score Christman and the Millers headed to the 6th with a commanding 9-1 lead.
Aaron McGee led off the top of the 6th with double over Gillian's head in center to pump up the visitor's dugout. With Owen Callaghan flying out to right for the first out of the inning, McGee was able to tag up and head to 3rd and into scoring position. Nick Kiehl hit a grounder to short. Essig threw to first, allowing the McGee to score to get the second out and Hamilton Southeastern plated their second run of the game and their first since the 1st, trailing now 9-2.
The Royals had one more crack at it in the top of the 7th. Cole Jacobs singled to shallow left to get things started. Two hitters later, Gorski belted another home run over the left field fence. This time, his two-run shot ended up on SR 32 and into the back of a pickup truck. That guy got a free baseball and didn't even know it until he got home!
Plumer allowed a single to the next batter J.B. Washburn and head coach Justin Keever went to his bullpen to senior lefty Connor Adams.
Adams gave up a single to Aaron McGee on the second pitch he threw and then two consecutive walks to Callaghan and Kiehl to load the bases, ending Adams' appearance after 11 pitches.
Senior right-hander Justin Buchanan came on with one out in relief of Adams. He only needed to face one Royals hitter though. Jon McGee had a 2-2 count and hit a ground ball to Carmosino at second. He quickly tossed to second to force Kiehl's pinch-runner Jackson Howard out and then on to first to get McGee out to end the game, recording the save for Buchanan, his first of the season.
Noblesville staves off the Royals' comeback bid for a 9-5 win to open the series.
Congratulations to Miller head coach Justin Keever...
Thursday's series-opening victory at home over Hamilton Southeastern was Noblesville head coach Justin Keever's 200th career victory. A big congratulations to Coach Keever for achieving that milestone in his 11th season at the helm of the Noblesville Millers.
Millers hold off Royals for 7-5 road win to take series
Game 2: Noblesville 7, Hamilton SE 5 - (Fri. May 8 at Hamilton SE, Fishers)
Millers 3 0 0 4 0 0 0 - 7 6 1
Royals 0 1 2 1 0 0 1 - 5 10 2
The Millers kept it going in the odd innings in Game 2 at Hamilton Southeastern on Friday night.
With one out, Essig walked on five pitches and reached 2nd on a walk to Carmosino. Christman was at the plate and Tanner Sizemore threw a wild pitch, moving up both Essig and Carmo to 3rd and 2nd, respectively. Christman would walk and ball four was a passed ball that allowed Vince to head home from 3rd for the first run of the game.
Bryce Masterson reached on an error by Matt Gorski at second base, scoring Carmosino and getting Christman to second with one out. Ty Lindstrand reached on a passed ball on a dropped strike three and scored Connor for a 3-0 Miller lead early.
Noblesville ace southpaw Cory Conway was on the hill looking to pitch his Millers to a victory, but he knew it wouldn't be easy by any means.
Conway faced slugger Matt Gorski to lead off and was hoping that he wouldn't repeat either of the two HRs he belted off of fellow lefty Will Plumer the night before.
Gorski singled, but was forced out at 2nd on a throw by Dax McLochlin when Aaron McGee grounded to first. J.B. Washburn would single, but he and McGee would both be stranded and second and third to end the inning.
Sizemore was able to keep the Millers' offense silent in the 2nd and 3rd, giving his offense a chance to cut into the three run deficit.
Jon McGee led off the home half of the 2nd with single down the left field line. He would eventually score in the inning to cut the Miller lead to 3-1 after two.
The Royals were able to make some more noise offensively in the bottom of the 3rd with a lead-off walk. Washburn singled McGee to second to put two aboard. A sacrifice bunt by Callaghan moved the runners up a base to second and third and in scoring position with two outs. Nick Kiehl reached on an error by Essig behind the second base bag, scoring both McGee and Washburn to tie the game at 3-3.
The Millers weren't the happiest that their lead vanished, so they were gonna do something about it in the 4th.
Lindstrand led off the 4th being hit by a pitch. Austin Shirley singled up the middle to advance Ty to third on a throwing error by Cole Jacobs in center. Shirley tried stretching the hit into a double, but Jacobs' throw back in to Washburn was in good timing and he tossed to Gorski at second to tag out Shirley for the first out of the inning.
Alec Parker walked for runners at the corners and Harris Camp would come in to courtesy run for the catcher. Travis Gillian singled right after to left field, scoring Ty for a 4-3 score to put the Millers back in front. Gillian was the last batter that Sizemore would face.
Michael Pachmeyer came on in relief and got off to a shaky start, walking Essig and hitting Carmosino with a pitch to load the bases for Christman. Camp would score on a passed ball, advancing Gillian to second. Connor would hit a sacrifice fly to center, scoring Gillian from third for a 6-3 count. Masterson singled to left and scored Essig on the play to give Noblesville a 7-3 lead after four innings at the plate.
Hamilton Southeastern would get one of those runs back in the bottom of the inning. The catcher Spencer Irick walked with one out and his courtesy runner Tristan Gold would make his way home on an Aaron McGee single past Essig at short to trim the Miller lead to three, 7-4 after four.
After Conway pitched another solid game, Justin Buchanan was on in the bottom of the 7th to try and pick up the save for the second straight night.
Aaron McGee singled to lead off the inning, which led to Conway's exit. Buchanan's fourth pitch in this appearance resulted in a ground out from Washburn to J.B. at the mound that he would take himself to the first base bag for out number one.
Walking Callaghan and giving up a single to Kiehl, it looked like the Royals were truly going to threaten the Miller lead.
But fear not, Buchanan forced Jon McGee to fly out to left and struck out pinch hitter Carter Poiry for the final out, saving the ball game for the second night in a row.
It was another great night on the mound, despite giving up more offense than normal. Conway struck out 9 Royals in 6+ innings, while walked two and scattering 9 hits. The nine punch-outs gives Conway an HCC-leading 59 strikeouts in 41.2 innings and improved his record to 5-1, a win total that he achieved last season as a sophomore by earning the win in the Class 4A state championship.
Bryce Masterson was the Player of the Game on Hamilton County TV's broadcast, going 2-for-4 with an RBI, reaching base in three of his four at-bats.
Last Friday night's game at Hamilton Southeastern can be seen archived at wwww.hctvsports.com!
Christman's walk-off single helps Millers sweep Royals
Game 3: Noblesville 4, Hamilton SE 3 - (Sat. May 9 at The Dunk, Noblesville)
Royals 0 0 0 0 2 0 1 - 3 8 0
Millers 0 2 0 0 0 0 2 - 4 9 1
Clayton Marowski got the start for Noblesville and picked up right where he left off from his 3-hit, 12-0 shutout of Wapahani on Tuesday.
The right-handed junior didn't allow base runners in the first two innings and gave up just two hits, one each in the 3rd and 4th, while striking out two.
Noblesville got their bats going in the last of the 2nd. Bryce Masterson led off with a single. In the seven slot two hitters later, L.J. Tilley singled up the middle into center. Austin Shirley then doubled to left scoring Masterson and Tilley was also able to sprint home from second for a 2-0 Miller lead.
Hamilton Southeastern figured out a way to tie the game in the top of the 5th, but that didn't rattle Marowski really.
Jon McGee singled to right and made his way home on Carter Poiry's double to deep center to cut the deficit to a 2-1 Miller lead.
Gorski would ground out to Carmosino at second for the second out, but Poiry would jog home to tie the game up 2-2.
Andrew Bohm kept Noblesville's bats in-check in the 5th and 6th with the game still tied heading into the top of the 7th.
Matt Gorski clubbed a two-out, solo HR to left to give the Royals a 3-2 lead, but that's all they would get before the Millers came to bat in the bottom.
Tilley led off beating out an infield single and moved over to second to batters later when Alec Parker walked. Neil Brown would come in to courtesy run for Parker.
Travis Gillian hit an RBI single to score Tilley from second to tie the game again at 3-3 with one out. Vince Essig was intentionally walked to load the bases. Michael Carmosino struck out for the second time in the game for two outs and the pressure was on.
Next, on a 1-0 count, Connor Christman floated a game-winning single to left, scoring Brown for the game-winning run and a 4-3 win!
Marowski pitched a complete game, improving his record on the mound to 3-1.
L.J. Tilley went 2-for-3 with two runs scored. Travis Gillian had a double, single and an RBI, Austin Shirley had a 2-run double and Connor Christman had a pair of hits, including the game-winner to lead the Millers at the plate on the day.
The win gives Noblesville a 3-game series sweep of Hamilton Southeastern and their first sweep in conference play with the switch to the series format this season. It also ups the Millers record in HCC play to 7-5, tied with Brownsburg for 2nd and just one out in the loss column of Westfield.
The series sweep also helps the Millers improve overall to 14-8 and extend their winning streak to 6 games prior to Tuesday's match-up with 2A Heritage Christian.
Playing in a tournament in Louisville over their spring break, the Royals went 2-1. They lost their first game to Nitro (WV) 6-5 in 8 innings, but was able to grab wins from Benjamin Logan (OH) 5-0 and McHenry (IL) 4-1.
Coming back, they took down Carmel 6-1 to improve to 6-2 overall. Following that defeat of the Greyhounds, it seems like the Royals have gone just about completely flat. Taking two of three from their neighbors in the Fishers Tigers, it looked like they might be heading in the right direction at 8-3 overall and 4-2 in HCC play. Then, the slide hit them.
Two losses to Westfield to start that conference series spelled three losses in a row. Sandwich a win in the final game of the series between a 10-3 loss at home to potential Sectional 8 opponent North Central and the slide continued. Zionsville would take the first two in the next HCC series to drop Southeastern to 9-8 (5-6) before salvaging Game 3 to grab their 10th win of the year.
Enter the streaking Noblesville Millers...
The last team that the Royals wanted to see at this point in the season was Noblesville. The Millers suffered two consecutive one-run setbacks at Carmel (7-6) and to McCutcheon 6-5, but now have strung together 3 straight wins over North Central (7-6, 8 inn.) and Jeffersonville (8-0) to win the Miller Classic and 12-0 over 2A #5 Wapahani.
This was their longest streak of the season and that happened in the final three games of the DeMarini Diamond Classic in Knoxville, where Noblesville grabbed wins over Knoxville West (5-2), Grace Christian Academy (10-8, 8 inn.) and Brentwood (7-0) to come home 4-1 before conference play.
The only bad streak the Millers have had this year is when they lost the finale of the Fishers series on the road (3-2) and dropped the first two games of the Westfield series, 2-1 and 9-6.
Other than that, Noblesville is playing some pretty good baseball from that point and they look to continue streaking for as long as they possibly can.
Three 3-run frames propel Millers in series opener
Game 1: Noblesville 9, Hamilton SE 5 - (Thurs. May 7 at The Dunk, Noblesville)
Royals 1 0 0 0 0 1 3 - 5 10 2
Millers 3 0 3 0 3 0 x - 9 9 0
Will Plumer got slightly ahead of lead-off hitter and Indiana-commit Matt Gorski with a 2-1 count, but that really didn't matter. Gorski took a fastball on the fourth pitch, that was out over the plate, belting a lead-off solo home run to left to give Hamilton Southeastern an early 1-0 edge.
On the first pitch he saw, Travis Gillian drove a double deep to the gap in left center. Vince Essig next hit a tailing triple just right of the fence in center to easily plate Gillian to tie it up 1-1 in no time flat.
Michael Carmosino reached on an error by catcher Spencer Irick that helped Essig score from third and Carmo managed to get down to second. Three batters later, Dax McLochlin singled to score Carmosino from second and just like that, the Millers had already gained the lead 3-1 after one.
The Millers were back at it to put some more runs on the scoreboard against one of their bigger Hoosier Crossroads Conference rivals.
We were at the top of the order again with Gillian up, but that didn't last long as he was hit by the first pitch that David Blanco threw to (at) him. He would reach second quickly on a passed ball and with Essig walking, Noblesville had a pair of runners aboard.
Carmosino was able to get his bat on a 1-2 pitch and send it into the left field corner to drive Gillian home for a 4-1 score. Connor Christman hit a sacrifice fly to center that would score Vince for 5-1. Bryce Masterson smacked a nice sac fly to center that sent Carmosino home and the Millers had sent three across home plate in both the 1st and 3rd and now led 6-1.
Noblesville decided that they would make it a theme to score three runs in the odd innings to be able to stretch their lead out even more to frustrate the Hamilton Southeastern Royals.
Not kidding. They were at it again in the home half of the 5th.
Gillian led off with a walk from junior relief pitcher Carter Poiry, who came in to pitch the 4th, but was pulled for freshman Carter Lohman after the walk of Gillian.
Essig singled again for his second hit of the night, moving Gillian to 2nd. Carmosino bunted Gillian and Essig over to 3rd and 2nd, respectively and into scoring position. Connor Christman drilled a two-run single into left center and scored both Travis and Vince to make it 8-1. Bryce Masterson knocked in his second run of the game by doubling to the fence in right center to score Christman and the Millers headed to the 6th with a commanding 9-1 lead.
Aaron McGee led off the top of the 6th with double over Gillian's head in center to pump up the visitor's dugout. With Owen Callaghan flying out to right for the first out of the inning, McGee was able to tag up and head to 3rd and into scoring position. Nick Kiehl hit a grounder to short. Essig threw to first, allowing the McGee to score to get the second out and Hamilton Southeastern plated their second run of the game and their first since the 1st, trailing now 9-2.
The Royals had one more crack at it in the top of the 7th. Cole Jacobs singled to shallow left to get things started. Two hitters later, Gorski belted another home run over the left field fence. This time, his two-run shot ended up on SR 32 and into the back of a pickup truck. That guy got a free baseball and didn't even know it until he got home!
Plumer allowed a single to the next batter J.B. Washburn and head coach Justin Keever went to his bullpen to senior lefty Connor Adams.
Adams gave up a single to Aaron McGee on the second pitch he threw and then two consecutive walks to Callaghan and Kiehl to load the bases, ending Adams' appearance after 11 pitches.
Senior right-hander Justin Buchanan came on with one out in relief of Adams. He only needed to face one Royals hitter though. Jon McGee had a 2-2 count and hit a ground ball to Carmosino at second. He quickly tossed to second to force Kiehl's pinch-runner Jackson Howard out and then on to first to get McGee out to end the game, recording the save for Buchanan, his first of the season.
Noblesville staves off the Royals' comeback bid for a 9-5 win to open the series.
Congratulations to Miller head coach Justin Keever...
Thursday's series-opening victory at home over Hamilton Southeastern was Noblesville head coach Justin Keever's 200th career victory. A big congratulations to Coach Keever for achieving that milestone in his 11th season at the helm of the Noblesville Millers.
Millers hold off Royals for 7-5 road win to take series
Game 2: Noblesville 7, Hamilton SE 5 - (Fri. May 8 at Hamilton SE, Fishers)
Millers 3 0 0 4 0 0 0 - 7 6 1
Royals 0 1 2 1 0 0 1 - 5 10 2
The Millers kept it going in the odd innings in Game 2 at Hamilton Southeastern on Friday night.
With one out, Essig walked on five pitches and reached 2nd on a walk to Carmosino. Christman was at the plate and Tanner Sizemore threw a wild pitch, moving up both Essig and Carmo to 3rd and 2nd, respectively. Christman would walk and ball four was a passed ball that allowed Vince to head home from 3rd for the first run of the game.
Bryce Masterson reached on an error by Matt Gorski at second base, scoring Carmosino and getting Christman to second with one out. Ty Lindstrand reached on a passed ball on a dropped strike three and scored Connor for a 3-0 Miller lead early.
Noblesville ace southpaw Cory Conway was on the hill looking to pitch his Millers to a victory, but he knew it wouldn't be easy by any means.
Conway faced slugger Matt Gorski to lead off and was hoping that he wouldn't repeat either of the two HRs he belted off of fellow lefty Will Plumer the night before.
Gorski singled, but was forced out at 2nd on a throw by Dax McLochlin when Aaron McGee grounded to first. J.B. Washburn would single, but he and McGee would both be stranded and second and third to end the inning.
Sizemore was able to keep the Millers' offense silent in the 2nd and 3rd, giving his offense a chance to cut into the three run deficit.
Jon McGee led off the home half of the 2nd with single down the left field line. He would eventually score in the inning to cut the Miller lead to 3-1 after two.
The Royals were able to make some more noise offensively in the bottom of the 3rd with a lead-off walk. Washburn singled McGee to second to put two aboard. A sacrifice bunt by Callaghan moved the runners up a base to second and third and in scoring position with two outs. Nick Kiehl reached on an error by Essig behind the second base bag, scoring both McGee and Washburn to tie the game at 3-3.
The Millers weren't the happiest that their lead vanished, so they were gonna do something about it in the 4th.
Lindstrand led off the 4th being hit by a pitch. Austin Shirley singled up the middle to advance Ty to third on a throwing error by Cole Jacobs in center. Shirley tried stretching the hit into a double, but Jacobs' throw back in to Washburn was in good timing and he tossed to Gorski at second to tag out Shirley for the first out of the inning.
Alec Parker walked for runners at the corners and Harris Camp would come in to courtesy run for the catcher. Travis Gillian singled right after to left field, scoring Ty for a 4-3 score to put the Millers back in front. Gillian was the last batter that Sizemore would face.
Michael Pachmeyer came on in relief and got off to a shaky start, walking Essig and hitting Carmosino with a pitch to load the bases for Christman. Camp would score on a passed ball, advancing Gillian to second. Connor would hit a sacrifice fly to center, scoring Gillian from third for a 6-3 count. Masterson singled to left and scored Essig on the play to give Noblesville a 7-3 lead after four innings at the plate.
Hamilton Southeastern would get one of those runs back in the bottom of the inning. The catcher Spencer Irick walked with one out and his courtesy runner Tristan Gold would make his way home on an Aaron McGee single past Essig at short to trim the Miller lead to three, 7-4 after four.
After Conway pitched another solid game, Justin Buchanan was on in the bottom of the 7th to try and pick up the save for the second straight night.
Aaron McGee singled to lead off the inning, which led to Conway's exit. Buchanan's fourth pitch in this appearance resulted in a ground out from Washburn to J.B. at the mound that he would take himself to the first base bag for out number one.
Walking Callaghan and giving up a single to Kiehl, it looked like the Royals were truly going to threaten the Miller lead.
But fear not, Buchanan forced Jon McGee to fly out to left and struck out pinch hitter Carter Poiry for the final out, saving the ball game for the second night in a row.
It was another great night on the mound, despite giving up more offense than normal. Conway struck out 9 Royals in 6+ innings, while walked two and scattering 9 hits. The nine punch-outs gives Conway an HCC-leading 59 strikeouts in 41.2 innings and improved his record to 5-1, a win total that he achieved last season as a sophomore by earning the win in the Class 4A state championship.
Bryce Masterson was the Player of the Game on Hamilton County TV's broadcast, going 2-for-4 with an RBI, reaching base in three of his four at-bats.
Last Friday night's game at Hamilton Southeastern can be seen archived at wwww.hctvsports.com!
Christman's walk-off single helps Millers sweep Royals
Game 3: Noblesville 4, Hamilton SE 3 - (Sat. May 9 at The Dunk, Noblesville)
Royals 0 0 0 0 2 0 1 - 3 8 0
Millers 0 2 0 0 0 0 2 - 4 9 1
Clayton Marowski got the start for Noblesville and picked up right where he left off from his 3-hit, 12-0 shutout of Wapahani on Tuesday.
The right-handed junior didn't allow base runners in the first two innings and gave up just two hits, one each in the 3rd and 4th, while striking out two.
Noblesville got their bats going in the last of the 2nd. Bryce Masterson led off with a single. In the seven slot two hitters later, L.J. Tilley singled up the middle into center. Austin Shirley then doubled to left scoring Masterson and Tilley was also able to sprint home from second for a 2-0 Miller lead.
Hamilton Southeastern figured out a way to tie the game in the top of the 5th, but that didn't rattle Marowski really.
Jon McGee singled to right and made his way home on Carter Poiry's double to deep center to cut the deficit to a 2-1 Miller lead.
Gorski would ground out to Carmosino at second for the second out, but Poiry would jog home to tie the game up 2-2.
Andrew Bohm kept Noblesville's bats in-check in the 5th and 6th with the game still tied heading into the top of the 7th.
Matt Gorski clubbed a two-out, solo HR to left to give the Royals a 3-2 lead, but that's all they would get before the Millers came to bat in the bottom.
Tilley led off beating out an infield single and moved over to second to batters later when Alec Parker walked. Neil Brown would come in to courtesy run for Parker.
Travis Gillian hit an RBI single to score Tilley from second to tie the game again at 3-3 with one out. Vince Essig was intentionally walked to load the bases. Michael Carmosino struck out for the second time in the game for two outs and the pressure was on.
Next, on a 1-0 count, Connor Christman floated a game-winning single to left, scoring Brown for the game-winning run and a 4-3 win!
Marowski pitched a complete game, improving his record on the mound to 3-1.
L.J. Tilley went 2-for-3 with two runs scored. Travis Gillian had a double, single and an RBI, Austin Shirley had a 2-run double and Connor Christman had a pair of hits, including the game-winner to lead the Millers at the plate on the day.
The win gives Noblesville a 3-game series sweep of Hamilton Southeastern and their first sweep in conference play with the switch to the series format this season. It also ups the Millers record in HCC play to 7-5, tied with Brownsburg for 2nd and just one out in the loss column of Westfield.
The series sweep also helps the Millers improve overall to 14-8 and extend their winning streak to 6 games prior to Tuesday's match-up with 2A Heritage Christian.
Noblesville whips 2A #5 Wapahani, Marowski tosses 3-hitter
The Wapahani Raiders came into the 2015 season as the pre-season ranked #1 team in Class 2A. They seem to have come across some bumps in the road along the way and there are reasons why Noblesville and Wapahani have scheduled this meeting.
Noblesville is the defending Class 4A state champion, winning last June 20th vs. Terre Haute North, 2-1, in front of a record crowd of 4,961 for a high school game at Victory Field.
Wapahani comes into 2015 as the 2014 Class 2A state champion with a 2-0 win over Evansville Mater Dei on June 21st. The Raiders were also the 2A state runners-up in 2004, dropping a 2-0 decision to Hammond Bishop Noll.
Plus, who wouldn't want to see a match-up of two of last year's four state champions when we're 2/3 of the way through the season?
Noblesville 12, 2A #5 Wapahani 0 - (5 innings) (Tues. 5/5 at The Dunk, Noblesville)
Raiders 0 0 0 0 0 - 0 3 0
Millers 3 3 1 5 x - 12 11 0
Junior right-hander Clayton Marowski took to the mound and was looking to fix the pitching woes that he faced recently. His last appearance was in the series clincher at Zionsville on Thursday, April 23, so it seemed obvious that Marowski was anxious to get back out there and pitch.
Completely focused throughout the 5 inning game, Marowski was dialed in and forced two fly outs and a ground out to quickly close out the 1st.
The Millers figured they would break out their sticks right away in this one.
Vince Essig walked with one out, followed by two more by Michael Carmosino and Connor Christman to load the bags in a hurry. Bryce Masterson then smacked a two-run double on one hop off of the fence in right, plating Essig and Carmo for a 2-0 lead.
With Christman at third, Ty Lindstrand hit a sacrifice fly to center, scoring Connor for a 3-0 score for the Millers after one.
Marowski faced five hitters in the 2nd, but only threw 7 pitches, allowing two singles and a fielder's choice, stranding both Wapahani runners on base.
After Alex Cleverly lined out to third to begin the inning, Alec Parker, Travis Gillian and Vince Essig all three singled to load the bases for the second consecutive inning. Carmosino lined a single to left down the line, scoring Parker and Gillian to make it 5-0. Christman then hit a sacrifice fly to center to score Essig and it was a 6-0 Noblesville advantage after two.
Chandler Wise led off the 3rd with a single. Hayden Castor flied out to center for the first out. Hunter Stanley lined out to Carmo at 2nd and stepped on second base for the unassisted double play to end the inning and any sort of threat by the 2A #5 Raiders.
A two-out walk from Parker started a rally. The Miller 1B stole second and was driven in by Gillian's long single to right center to put the Millers up 7-0 through 3 innings.
Essig led off the bottom of the 4th with a triple to deep left center to help pump up his teammates. Carmosino grounded up the middle for an RBI single to score Vince to make it 8-0.
Christman singled in the hole between short and third and that would be all for starting pitcher Cody Smith. Chandler Wise came in to relieve Smith and that's when the Millers opened the flood gates that would let them end this game early.
L.J. Tilley came on to pinch hit for Lindstrand. Tilley was clutch with a one-out, 2-run single to left, which scored Carmo and Christman for a 10-0 score. Austin Shirley hit an RBI double to left center to get Tilley home with ease for 11-0. The final run would come across the plate when Wise balked on the mound, allowing Parker second base, following a walk and Shirley an easy walk home for the final score of 12-0.
Over his final two innings on the mound, Marowski didn't allow the ball out of the infield, forcing three ground outs, a line out and striking out two. He tossed a 3-hitter over 5 innings, throwing just 45 pitches (32 strikes) to move his record to 2-1 on the season.
Noblesville is the defending Class 4A state champion, winning last June 20th vs. Terre Haute North, 2-1, in front of a record crowd of 4,961 for a high school game at Victory Field.
Wapahani comes into 2015 as the 2014 Class 2A state champion with a 2-0 win over Evansville Mater Dei on June 21st. The Raiders were also the 2A state runners-up in 2004, dropping a 2-0 decision to Hammond Bishop Noll.
Plus, who wouldn't want to see a match-up of two of last year's four state champions when we're 2/3 of the way through the season?
Noblesville 12, 2A #5 Wapahani 0 - (5 innings) (Tues. 5/5 at The Dunk, Noblesville)
Raiders 0 0 0 0 0 - 0 3 0
Millers 3 3 1 5 x - 12 11 0
Junior right-hander Clayton Marowski took to the mound and was looking to fix the pitching woes that he faced recently. His last appearance was in the series clincher at Zionsville on Thursday, April 23, so it seemed obvious that Marowski was anxious to get back out there and pitch.
Completely focused throughout the 5 inning game, Marowski was dialed in and forced two fly outs and a ground out to quickly close out the 1st.
The Millers figured they would break out their sticks right away in this one.
Vince Essig walked with one out, followed by two more by Michael Carmosino and Connor Christman to load the bags in a hurry. Bryce Masterson then smacked a two-run double on one hop off of the fence in right, plating Essig and Carmo for a 2-0 lead.
With Christman at third, Ty Lindstrand hit a sacrifice fly to center, scoring Connor for a 3-0 score for the Millers after one.
Marowski faced five hitters in the 2nd, but only threw 7 pitches, allowing two singles and a fielder's choice, stranding both Wapahani runners on base.
After Alex Cleverly lined out to third to begin the inning, Alec Parker, Travis Gillian and Vince Essig all three singled to load the bases for the second consecutive inning. Carmosino lined a single to left down the line, scoring Parker and Gillian to make it 5-0. Christman then hit a sacrifice fly to center to score Essig and it was a 6-0 Noblesville advantage after two.
Chandler Wise led off the 3rd with a single. Hayden Castor flied out to center for the first out. Hunter Stanley lined out to Carmo at 2nd and stepped on second base for the unassisted double play to end the inning and any sort of threat by the 2A #5 Raiders.
A two-out walk from Parker started a rally. The Miller 1B stole second and was driven in by Gillian's long single to right center to put the Millers up 7-0 through 3 innings.
Essig led off the bottom of the 4th with a triple to deep left center to help pump up his teammates. Carmosino grounded up the middle for an RBI single to score Vince to make it 8-0.
Christman singled in the hole between short and third and that would be all for starting pitcher Cody Smith. Chandler Wise came in to relieve Smith and that's when the Millers opened the flood gates that would let them end this game early.
L.J. Tilley came on to pinch hit for Lindstrand. Tilley was clutch with a one-out, 2-run single to left, which scored Carmo and Christman for a 10-0 score. Austin Shirley hit an RBI double to left center to get Tilley home with ease for 11-0. The final run would come across the plate when Wise balked on the mound, allowing Parker second base, following a walk and Shirley an easy walk home for the final score of 12-0.
Over his final two innings on the mound, Marowski didn't allow the ball out of the infield, forcing three ground outs, a line out and striking out two. He tossed a 3-hitter over 5 innings, throwing just 45 pitches (32 strikes) to move his record to 2-1 on the season.
Thursday, May 7, 2015
Millers outlast North Central in extras, blank Jeffersonville to win Miller Classic
Normally each season for the past few years, Noblesville has hosted both the Miller Classic and the Noblesville Classic, spaced out toward the beginning and near the last few weeks of the regular season. Instead of being able to host two different 4-team events this season, Noblesville narrowed it down to hosting just the Miller Classic and making sure the field was top notch.
Noblesville opened up with the Central Panthers, a team the Millers are familiar with in north central Indiana, who also is in the 4A Sectional 8 field. Crown Point is a returnee in the lineup and matched up with newcomer Jeffersonville in the second game of the day. The consolation was the third game of the day, followed by the championship.
Game 1: Noblesville 7, North Central 6 - (10 innings)
Panthers 0 0 3 0 0 1 1 1 0 0 - 6 8 1
Millers 0 0 0 1 0 0 4 1 0 1 - 7 9 3
Will Plumer got the start for the Millers. His last outing didn't end well at all, with Carmel hitting a walk-off HR on Monday night.
The Panthers jumped out to a solid 3-0 lead in the top of the 3rd inning. Josh Wooten walked to lead off. Two hitters later with two down, Roy Thurman singled to drive the courtesy runner AJ Williams home to open the scoring 1-0. Alan Lozer singled to left for two runners aboard. Robert Young fully broke open the inning with a 2-run double to score both Thurman and Lozer for a 3-0 North Central lead through 2 1/2 innings.
Noblesville wasn't able to really get their bats going until the bottom of the 4th inning. Freshman Panther lefty Sam Behrmann was in control for the first few frames, sending the Millers down in order.
Travis Gillian singled down the line in left to lead off the home half of the 4th. He tried swiping second, but was gunned down by catcher Josh Wooten. Connor Christman also singled to left with Michael Carmosino walking after him. Vince Essig grounded to short, forcing out Carmo at second and Essig reaching 1st on a fielder's choice for runners at the corners with two outs. Bryce Masterson and Ty Lindstrand both walked consecutively to get the Millers on the board, trailing 3-1.
North Central got their bats going again in the top of the 6th. Robert Young tripled to lead off and was driven home by Allbry Major's RBI single to left for a 4-1 NC advantage. They Panthers would strand a pair of runner to end any more of a threat.
They added another onto their total in the top of the 7th when AJ Williams darted home on a passed ball for a 5-1 score and the Millers would be in panic mode in the bottom.
Jackson Thurman came in to pinch hit for Alex Cleverly to start off the bottom of 7, Harris Camp's ground out to short moved Thurman to second. Alec Parker and Gillian both walked to load the bags. Christman and Carmo singled consecutively, scoring Thurman and Parker to cut the gap to 5-3.
Vince Essig sac flied to left, scoring Gillian to narrow it to 5-4. Ty Lindstrand helped finish off the inning to tie it up with an RBI single to score Connor Christman, sending the game to extra innings.
North Central would add a run in the top of the 8th with AJ Williams scoring on a wild pitch for a 6-5 Panthers edge.
Noblesville would tie it up again in the last of the 8th when Gillian hit a sacrifice fly to left, scoring Harris Camp for a 6-6 score, heading to the 9th.
Neither would get anything done in the 9th, sending us to the 10th.
Gillian (at right without helmet) would come through in the clutch once again in the bottom of the 10th.
Cleverly walked to start off the inning. Camp flied out to center for the first out. Alec Parker would reach on an error by the shortstop Seth Fleming for two on. Gillian took a 1-1 pitch for a game-winning RBI double to the gap in left center, giving the Millers a big-time comeback win to start off the Miller Classic, 7-6 over North Central in 10 innings.
Game 2: Jeffersonville 9, Crown Point 4
Red Devils 3 0 0 2 1 0 2 - 9 13 1
Bulldogs 0 1 0 3 0 0 0 - 4 7 2
Jeffersonville got started right away with 3 runs in the 1st. Drew Campbell got it going with the first of his four hits. Then, in the middle of the Red Devils lineup in the 1st, Nolan Fertig doubled home Campbell, Casey Gibson singled home Fertig and Bailey Falkenstein drove Gibson home with another single for a 3-0 Jeffersonville lead.
Crown Point would have a similar inning in the bottom of the 3rd. The Bulldogs scored three runs of their own. Corey Brown led off the 3rd getting on by an error by 1B Joe Burke. Austin Thomas singled into center to move Brown over. Two batters later, the pitcher Mike Wathier singled to right center to send Brown home to cut Jeffersonville's lead to 5-2.
Back to the top of the order. Andrew Atchison singled into left to score both Thomas and Wathier, narrowing the Red Devil lead to 5-4.
Jacob Cochrum's solo HR in the top of the 5th and Campbell's 2-run single in the 7th helped the Red Devils distance themselves from Crown Point and hold on for a 9-4 Game 2 win for a berth in the championship game with Noblesville.
Consolation Game: Crown Point 8, North Central 2
Bulldogs 1 1 0 3 2 0 1 - 8 9 0
Panthers 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 - 2 9 2
Crown Point started the Consolation game off with a small storm at the plate. Andrew Atchison took the second pitch he saw from Ty Finchum for a double in the right center gap. Geoff Kozlowski singled to left to score Atchison for an early 1-0 Bulldog lead.
They added another on in the 2nd when Thayne Bukowski and Mike Wathier led off with singles and Bukowski was able to score on a sacrifice fly to right for a 2-0 score.
Alan Lozer had a two out single in the bottom of the 3rd to get North Central's first run on the board when he was doubled home by Roy Thurman.
The red clad Bulldogs broke the game open a little bit in the top of the 4th. Corey Brown was hit by a pitch to lead off the inning. Austin Thomas singled him over to second and Wathier walked. Next, Alex Ruiz drilled a 3-run triple to the fence in center to give Crown Point a 5-1 cushion.
Adding a couple more runs in the top of the 5th, they Crown Point Bulldogs did it for the second inning in a row with two outs. Thomas walked and Bukowski doubled him over to third. Thomas would score on the play on a throwing error by Thurman in right. Wathier got on base by an error from the LF AJ Williams, allowing Bukowski to score to make it 7-1.
The Panthers would score just one more and it came in the bottom of the 5th and it came on an RBI single by Robert Young to score Alex Snider for a 7-2 deficit.
The Bulldogs added one more in the top of the 7th when Austin Thomas singled to lead off and would eventually score for the final score of 8-2.
Championship Game: Noblesville 8, Jeffersonville 0
Red Devils 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 - 0 4 5
Millers 1 0 6 1 0 0 x - 8 4 0
Noblesville's ace was on the mound for the Miller Classic Championship and he would surely be dialed in from the get-go to take down the Jeffersonville Red Devils.
Cory Conway had a slightly shaky start, but then he was able to settle himself down in no time at all. After two groundouts to start the game, Joe Burke singled, Nolan Fertig walked and it looked like the Red Devils would strike first.
Two pitches later, Casey Gibson grounded to Connor Christman at third and he quickly stepped on the bag for the third out, ending a possible scoring threat by Jeffersonville, leaving a pair of runners aboard.
Travis Gillian was hit by the first pitch that Dawson Willis throw to (at) him. Vince Essig double Gillian over to third and just like that, the Millers had runners at 2nd and 3rd with no outs. Two batters later, Christman would hit a sacrifice fly to left, scoring Gillian for a 1-0 Miller lead after one.
Conway must have gotten back to his old self mentally in the second inning. He struck out the side, sending Bailey Falkenstein, Jacob Cochrum and Trey Dempsey all down on strikes.
The Millers really busted the game open in the bottom of the 3rd. Alec Parker led off with a walk. Gillian reached on an error for runners at first and second. Then, they both advanced on a passed ball to get to second and third.
Essig grounded out to third, scoring Parker for 2-0. Michael Carmosino was hit by a pitch for what seems like the 12th time this season already for runners at the corners. Christman hit a roller in the infield, scoring Gillian. Connor was safe at first on a fielder's choice, but Carmo was also safe at second, as he beat the throw to the base. Two pitches later, Bryce Masterson hit a 2-run single that plated Carmosino and Christman and it was now 4-0.
Ty Lindstrand singled to move Masterson over to second. Masterson and Lindstrand would eventually score and the Millers had taken a commanding 6-0 lead through three innings.
Through his final 4 innings on the hill, Conway allowed just two hits and two walks. Keeping the Red Devils' hitters at a minimum, it was up to Noblesville's offense to keep that part of the bargain going.
Essig would single and wind up scoring in the home half of the 4th for what would be the final count of 8-0.
Conway had another stellar outing, fanning 8 Jeffersonville hitters and walking just three.
Miller Classic All-Tournament Team:
P - Cory Conway (Noblesville) 7 IP, 4 H, 3 BB, 8 K's; WP in Championship
P - Gabe Bierman (Jeffersonville) 6 IP, 7 H, 4 BB, 8 K's; WP in Game 2
P - Austin Thomas (Crown Point) 5 IP, 7 H, BB, 2 K's; WP in Consolation
C - Andrew Atchison (Crown Point) 3-7, 2B, 2 RBIs, 2 1Bs
1B - Allbry Major (North Central) 2-8, 2B, RBI
2B - Michael Carmosino (Noblesville) 1-6, R, RBI
3B - Connor Christman (Noblesville) 2-8, 3 R, 3 RBIs
SS - Vince Essig (Noblesville) 3-9, 2B, R, 2 RBIs
OF - Travis Gillian (Noblesville) 2-6, 2B, 3 R, 2 RBIs
OF - Drew Campbell (Jeffersonville) 5-8, 3B, 4 1Bs, 2 RBIs, R
OF - Nolan Fertig (Jeffersonville) 4-6, 2B, RBI, R, 2 SBs
OF - Roy Thurman (North Central) 3-8, 2 2Bs, 2 RBIs, R
DH - Robert Young (North Central) 3-7, 3B, 2B, 3 RBIs, R
*all photos are courtesy of Kent Graham. Visit the rest of his photo gallery at kentgraham.photoshelter.com!
Noblesville wasn't able to really get their bats going until the bottom of the 4th inning. Freshman Panther lefty Sam Behrmann was in control for the first few frames, sending the Millers down in order.
Travis Gillian singled down the line in left to lead off the home half of the 4th. He tried swiping second, but was gunned down by catcher Josh Wooten. Connor Christman also singled to left with Michael Carmosino walking after him. Vince Essig grounded to short, forcing out Carmo at second and Essig reaching 1st on a fielder's choice for runners at the corners with two outs. Bryce Masterson and Ty Lindstrand both walked consecutively to get the Millers on the board, trailing 3-1.
North Central got their bats going again in the top of the 6th. Robert Young tripled to lead off and was driven home by Allbry Major's RBI single to left for a 4-1 NC advantage. They Panthers would strand a pair of runner to end any more of a threat.
They added another onto their total in the top of the 7th when AJ Williams darted home on a passed ball for a 5-1 score and the Millers would be in panic mode in the bottom.
Jackson Thurman came in to pinch hit for Alex Cleverly to start off the bottom of 7, Harris Camp's ground out to short moved Thurman to second. Alec Parker and Gillian both walked to load the bags. Christman and Carmo singled consecutively, scoring Thurman and Parker to cut the gap to 5-3.
Vince Essig sac flied to left, scoring Gillian to narrow it to 5-4. Ty Lindstrand helped finish off the inning to tie it up with an RBI single to score Connor Christman, sending the game to extra innings.
North Central would add a run in the top of the 8th with AJ Williams scoring on a wild pitch for a 6-5 Panthers edge.
Noblesville would tie it up again in the last of the 8th when Gillian hit a sacrifice fly to left, scoring Harris Camp for a 6-6 score, heading to the 9th.
Neither would get anything done in the 9th, sending us to the 10th.
Gillian (at right without helmet) would come through in the clutch once again in the bottom of the 10th.
Cleverly walked to start off the inning. Camp flied out to center for the first out. Alec Parker would reach on an error by the shortstop Seth Fleming for two on. Gillian took a 1-1 pitch for a game-winning RBI double to the gap in left center, giving the Millers a big-time comeback win to start off the Miller Classic, 7-6 over North Central in 10 innings.
Game 2: Jeffersonville 9, Crown Point 4
Red Devils 3 0 0 2 1 0 2 - 9 13 1
Bulldogs 0 1 0 3 0 0 0 - 4 7 2
Jeffersonville got started right away with 3 runs in the 1st. Drew Campbell got it going with the first of his four hits. Then, in the middle of the Red Devils lineup in the 1st, Nolan Fertig doubled home Campbell, Casey Gibson singled home Fertig and Bailey Falkenstein drove Gibson home with another single for a 3-0 Jeffersonville lead.
Crown Point would have a similar inning in the bottom of the 3rd. The Bulldogs scored three runs of their own. Corey Brown led off the 3rd getting on by an error by 1B Joe Burke. Austin Thomas singled into center to move Brown over. Two batters later, the pitcher Mike Wathier singled to right center to send Brown home to cut Jeffersonville's lead to 5-2.
Back to the top of the order. Andrew Atchison singled into left to score both Thomas and Wathier, narrowing the Red Devil lead to 5-4.
Jacob Cochrum's solo HR in the top of the 5th and Campbell's 2-run single in the 7th helped the Red Devils distance themselves from Crown Point and hold on for a 9-4 Game 2 win for a berth in the championship game with Noblesville.
Consolation Game: Crown Point 8, North Central 2
Bulldogs 1 1 0 3 2 0 1 - 8 9 0
Panthers 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 - 2 9 2
Crown Point started the Consolation game off with a small storm at the plate. Andrew Atchison took the second pitch he saw from Ty Finchum for a double in the right center gap. Geoff Kozlowski singled to left to score Atchison for an early 1-0 Bulldog lead.
They added another on in the 2nd when Thayne Bukowski and Mike Wathier led off with singles and Bukowski was able to score on a sacrifice fly to right for a 2-0 score.
Alan Lozer had a two out single in the bottom of the 3rd to get North Central's first run on the board when he was doubled home by Roy Thurman.
The red clad Bulldogs broke the game open a little bit in the top of the 4th. Corey Brown was hit by a pitch to lead off the inning. Austin Thomas singled him over to second and Wathier walked. Next, Alex Ruiz drilled a 3-run triple to the fence in center to give Crown Point a 5-1 cushion.
Adding a couple more runs in the top of the 5th, they Crown Point Bulldogs did it for the second inning in a row with two outs. Thomas walked and Bukowski doubled him over to third. Thomas would score on the play on a throwing error by Thurman in right. Wathier got on base by an error from the LF AJ Williams, allowing Bukowski to score to make it 7-1.
The Panthers would score just one more and it came in the bottom of the 5th and it came on an RBI single by Robert Young to score Alex Snider for a 7-2 deficit.
The Bulldogs added one more in the top of the 7th when Austin Thomas singled to lead off and would eventually score for the final score of 8-2.
Championship Game: Noblesville 8, Jeffersonville 0
Red Devils 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 - 0 4 5
Millers 1 0 6 1 0 0 x - 8 4 0
Noblesville's ace was on the mound for the Miller Classic Championship and he would surely be dialed in from the get-go to take down the Jeffersonville Red Devils.
Cory Conway had a slightly shaky start, but then he was able to settle himself down in no time at all. After two groundouts to start the game, Joe Burke singled, Nolan Fertig walked and it looked like the Red Devils would strike first.Two pitches later, Casey Gibson grounded to Connor Christman at third and he quickly stepped on the bag for the third out, ending a possible scoring threat by Jeffersonville, leaving a pair of runners aboard.
Travis Gillian was hit by the first pitch that Dawson Willis throw to (at) him. Vince Essig double Gillian over to third and just like that, the Millers had runners at 2nd and 3rd with no outs. Two batters later, Christman would hit a sacrifice fly to left, scoring Gillian for a 1-0 Miller lead after one.
Conway must have gotten back to his old self mentally in the second inning. He struck out the side, sending Bailey Falkenstein, Jacob Cochrum and Trey Dempsey all down on strikes.
The Millers really busted the game open in the bottom of the 3rd. Alec Parker led off with a walk. Gillian reached on an error for runners at first and second. Then, they both advanced on a passed ball to get to second and third.
Essig grounded out to third, scoring Parker for 2-0. Michael Carmosino was hit by a pitch for what seems like the 12th time this season already for runners at the corners. Christman hit a roller in the infield, scoring Gillian. Connor was safe at first on a fielder's choice, but Carmo was also safe at second, as he beat the throw to the base. Two pitches later, Bryce Masterson hit a 2-run single that plated Carmosino and Christman and it was now 4-0.Ty Lindstrand singled to move Masterson over to second. Masterson and Lindstrand would eventually score and the Millers had taken a commanding 6-0 lead through three innings.
Through his final 4 innings on the hill, Conway allowed just two hits and two walks. Keeping the Red Devils' hitters at a minimum, it was up to Noblesville's offense to keep that part of the bargain going.
Essig would single and wind up scoring in the home half of the 4th for what would be the final count of 8-0.
Conway had another stellar outing, fanning 8 Jeffersonville hitters and walking just three.
Miller Classic All-Tournament Team:
P - Cory Conway (Noblesville) 7 IP, 4 H, 3 BB, 8 K's; WP in Championship
P - Gabe Bierman (Jeffersonville) 6 IP, 7 H, 4 BB, 8 K's; WP in Game 2
P - Austin Thomas (Crown Point) 5 IP, 7 H, BB, 2 K's; WP in Consolation
C - Andrew Atchison (Crown Point) 3-7, 2B, 2 RBIs, 2 1Bs
1B - Allbry Major (North Central) 2-8, 2B, RBI
2B - Michael Carmosino (Noblesville) 1-6, R, RBI
3B - Connor Christman (Noblesville) 2-8, 3 R, 3 RBIs
SS - Vince Essig (Noblesville) 3-9, 2B, R, 2 RBIs
OF - Travis Gillian (Noblesville) 2-6, 2B, 3 R, 2 RBIs
OF - Drew Campbell (Jeffersonville) 5-8, 3B, 4 1Bs, 2 RBIs, R
OF - Nolan Fertig (Jeffersonville) 4-6, 2B, RBI, R, 2 SBs
OF - Roy Thurman (North Central) 3-8, 2 2Bs, 2 RBIs, R
DH - Robert Young (North Central) 3-7, 3B, 2B, 3 RBIs, R
*all photos are courtesy of Kent Graham. Visit the rest of his photo gallery at kentgraham.photoshelter.com!
Monday, May 4, 2015
4A #8 McCutcheon steals one late from Noblesville
When McCutcheon, Lafayette and Harrison all three left the Hoosier Crossroads Conference after the spring sports season in 2014, it was almost a given that the Mavericks would be kept on the schedule for head coach Justin Keever and the Millers.
Just as McCutcheon made the Friday night trip to The Dunk this season, the Millers will take the trip to Lafayette in 2016 to keep this ongoing rivalry alive.
As expected, it would be another classic in the series that could have gone either way. Jake Burton, made his typical 3 or 4 walks out onto the field to complain about calls on the base paths and tried changing the mind of the base umpire, but that obviously never happens and didn't on Friday night.
4A #8 McCutcheon 6, Noblesville 5 - (Fri. 5/1 at The Dunk, Noblesville)
Mavericks 0 0 0 0 2 4 0 - 6 9 2
Millers 2 0 1 2 0 0 0 - 5 5 1
Senior pitcher Justin Buchanan looked like the J.B. that we saw against Knoxville West at Grace Christian in the second game of the spring baseball trip about a month ago. He forced two fly outs and a ground out to make quick work of the Mavericks in the top of the 1st.
Travis Gillian singled to left center on the first pitch he saw and made his way to second on an error by the first baseman Jackson Smeltz. Connor Christman walked for a pair of runners aboard quickly.
Michael Carmosino seems to really be seeing the ball much better in the past week or so. Carmo took a 2-1 pitch to deep center on a hop to the fence for a stand-up double, scoring both Gillian and Christman for an early 2-0 Noblesville lead.
The Millers tacked on another in the home half of the 3rd when Ty Lindstrand walked with the bases load to score Gillian for 3-0.
The cushion got a little bigger in the bottom of the 4th.
After Harris Camp and Alec Parker were out via a fly out to center and a strikeout looking, respectively, they started a two-out rally. Gillian singled for his second hit of the night. Christman singled to get Travis to 3rd for runners at the corners. The next pitch, Carmo hit a two-run single off of reliever Mason Bruce up the middle into center and it was now a 5-0 score in favor of the Millers.
Clayton Marowski came on in relief of Buchanan in the top of the 4th, after J.B. had walked the Smeltz and Walter Talcott to start the inning.
Marowski took down the Mavericks next three hitters to get Noblesville out of the slight jam.
Bruce got himself into a little bit of a groove on the mound for the remainder of the game. After sending down the Millers 1-2-3 in the top of the 5th, McCutcheon found a way to get their offense going.
Braden Giroux smacked a double deep to the fence in left center with one out. Two batters later, Sean Roginski took a fly ball over the left field fence for a two-run home run, scoring both he and Giroux to cut Noblesville's lead to 5-2 through five.
The visiting Mavericks had figured out Marowski in the 6th. They scored four runs in the inning to take a 6-5 lead, which would wind up as the final score. Two runs were scored with Marowski in the game and the other two with left-handed reliever Connor Adams on the mound, but all four were the responsibility of Marowski.
Mason Bruce did what he was put in the game to do. He kept the Noblesville bats just about silent in the final three innings as he and the Mavericks made their comeback offensively.
The win upped McCutcheon's overall record to 10-3 and dropped Noblesville to 8-8.
Just as McCutcheon made the Friday night trip to The Dunk this season, the Millers will take the trip to Lafayette in 2016 to keep this ongoing rivalry alive.
As expected, it would be another classic in the series that could have gone either way. Jake Burton, made his typical 3 or 4 walks out onto the field to complain about calls on the base paths and tried changing the mind of the base umpire, but that obviously never happens and didn't on Friday night.
4A #8 McCutcheon 6, Noblesville 5 - (Fri. 5/1 at The Dunk, Noblesville)
Mavericks 0 0 0 0 2 4 0 - 6 9 2
Millers 2 0 1 2 0 0 0 - 5 5 1
Senior pitcher Justin Buchanan looked like the J.B. that we saw against Knoxville West at Grace Christian in the second game of the spring baseball trip about a month ago. He forced two fly outs and a ground out to make quick work of the Mavericks in the top of the 1st.
Travis Gillian singled to left center on the first pitch he saw and made his way to second on an error by the first baseman Jackson Smeltz. Connor Christman walked for a pair of runners aboard quickly.
Michael Carmosino seems to really be seeing the ball much better in the past week or so. Carmo took a 2-1 pitch to deep center on a hop to the fence for a stand-up double, scoring both Gillian and Christman for an early 2-0 Noblesville lead.
The Millers tacked on another in the home half of the 3rd when Ty Lindstrand walked with the bases load to score Gillian for 3-0.
The cushion got a little bigger in the bottom of the 4th.
After Harris Camp and Alec Parker were out via a fly out to center and a strikeout looking, respectively, they started a two-out rally. Gillian singled for his second hit of the night. Christman singled to get Travis to 3rd for runners at the corners. The next pitch, Carmo hit a two-run single off of reliever Mason Bruce up the middle into center and it was now a 5-0 score in favor of the Millers.
Clayton Marowski came on in relief of Buchanan in the top of the 4th, after J.B. had walked the Smeltz and Walter Talcott to start the inning.
Marowski took down the Mavericks next three hitters to get Noblesville out of the slight jam.
Bruce got himself into a little bit of a groove on the mound for the remainder of the game. After sending down the Millers 1-2-3 in the top of the 5th, McCutcheon found a way to get their offense going.
Braden Giroux smacked a double deep to the fence in left center with one out. Two batters later, Sean Roginski took a fly ball over the left field fence for a two-run home run, scoring both he and Giroux to cut Noblesville's lead to 5-2 through five.
The visiting Mavericks had figured out Marowski in the 6th. They scored four runs in the inning to take a 6-5 lead, which would wind up as the final score. Two runs were scored with Marowski in the game and the other two with left-handed reliever Connor Adams on the mound, but all four were the responsibility of Marowski.
Mason Bruce did what he was put in the game to do. He kept the Noblesville bats just about silent in the final three innings as he and the Mavericks made their comeback offensively.
The win upped McCutcheon's overall record to 10-3 and dropped Noblesville to 8-8.
Tuesday, April 28, 2015
Massman's walk-off HR helps Carmel win White River Rivalry
In high school baseball, the White River Rivalry between Noblesville and Carmel always turns out to be a great game, no matter what the two teams' records are coming into the game.
The neighboring communities and school districts are always in heated battles, no matter what sport it is that they face each other. This is also a Class 4A Sectional 8 potential rematch possibility.
Both Carmel and Noblesville, through 12 and 15 games respectively, are still fully trying to gel and define their true identities. Sometimes that takes more time than the fans, parents and players would like, but that's just the reality of it. It's all about them buying into who they are as a team and putting together that final product on the field.
Last year's 4A state championship didn't happen overnight for Noblesville. Yes, those players stuck together and endured a lot of ups and downs before everything finally came together and clicked on all cylinders to produce their magical state tournament run. There's also that pressure to keep that mojo going, even when a lot of that team's starters and pitching graduated.
It's not time to worry about the Millers being just one game over .500 at the midway point of the regular season. 11th year head coach Justin Keever, along with assistants Kevin Fitzgerald, Caleb Small and Jake Wood know exactly what they're doing and will do everything in their powers to get their squad in the right mental state to win baseball games in the ways they know how to.
Carmel 7, Noblesville 6 - (Monday, April 27 at Hartman Field, Carmel)
Millers 0 5 0 0 0 0 1 - 6 8 0
Greyhounds 3 0 0 1 0 1 2 - 7 10 2
The start time got moved from 5:30 to 5:45 because of a bus situation with Noblesville not being about to get a bus until 4:20 and by the time they got loaded up and to Hartman Field, it was pushing 5 p.m.
Left-hander Connor Cunningham got the nod on the mound for Carmel and was primed to take on the Millers. He allowed just a single to Michael Carmosino in the first.
Lead-off hitter Matthew Chernoff wasted no time in taking a 1-1 pitch from Dax McLochlin down the left field line for a stand-up double. Tyler Keith walked and before Dax threw another pitch, he was called for a balk, advancing both Chernoff and Keith to second and third.
Cunningham singled home Chernoff from 2nd for the game's first run. Keith was at third and Cunningham at first, the DH Tyler Blackington hit a sacrifice fly to right, scoring Keith for 2-0. Two batters later with two down, Rhett Wintner lined a single into left between Connor Christman and third and Neil Brown at short in the hole to score Cunningham's courtesy runner Trevor Kinnaird and at the end of the first, the host Greyhounds had jumped out to a 3-0 lead on four hits.
Bryce Masterson led off the 2nd with an infield single and moved to second on McLochlin's single up the middle into center. Alec Parker reached on an error by Keith at second to load the bases. Austin Shirley got aboard on an error by Wintner at first, scoring Masterson to get the Millers on the board and now down 3-1.
Alex Cleverly came up next and was probably a little amped up to get in the box, since his last plate appearance was in Game 3 at Fishers on April 11. On an 0-2 pitch, the sophomore catcher hit a sacrifice fly to left, scoring courtesy runner Harris Camp to cut Carmel's lead to 3-2.
Travis Gillian singled to the hole at short to load the bases again. Ty Lindstrand singled opposite field to left to score Parker to tie it up at 3-3. Connor Christman finished out the scoring in the top of the 2nd with a two-run double that tailed into the gap in right center, plating Shirley and Gillian to push the Millers ahead 5-3.
McLochlin settled in on the mound over the 2nd through 4th innings, striking out three and allowing just three hits and one walk. But, at 69 pitches through four, the righty was relieved by Will Plumer and played right field the remainder of the game.
Striking out the first two he faced in the 4th, Dax was cruising. Then, he walked Drew Fox, the Carmel 9-hole hitter. Fox stole second with Chernoff up and four pitches later scored on a Chernoff single to right center, cutting Noblesville's lead to 5-4.
By now, Cunningham was comfortable using both the inside and outside corners of the plate, as well as his curveball, throwing Miller hitters off.
Cunningham fanned 5 Noblesville hitters just in the 3rd through 5th innings, throwing just 42 pitches over those three frames, before he was pulled for Cameron Pferrer just one walk into the 6th.
In Carmel's half of the 6th, Elliot Shebek walked with one out and then made his way to 2nd on a perfect bunt single by Drew Fox. JC Hanley came off of the Greyhound bench to pinch hit for Tyler Keith. Hanley hit a ground ball to Christman at third and that was enough for Fox to be able to run home to tie the game again at 5-5.
Noblesville got back at it in the top of the 7th with Seth Keeling now on the mound. A lead-off double to center from Michael Carmosino. Masterson walked on four straight pitches for runners at first and second with one out. Dax McLochlin recorded his second hit of the night, this time to left, driving in Carmo for a 6-5 Noblesville lead heading into the bottom of the 7th and Carmel's last at-bat.
Plumer stayed on the mound for the Millers in the 7th, confident that he could shut down the hosts. He got Blackington to fly out to right and Jack Van Remortel to ground out to short for two quick outs. Robert Evans was the new left fielder in the 6th and stepped in for his first plate appearance with two outs in the bottom of the 7th. He walked to get a runner aboard. Plumer had a 1-2 count and Parker Massman was down to his last strike. Massman drove the 1-2 pitch from Plumer over the left center field fence for a walk-off two-run home run to give Carmel a 7-6 win.
Matthew Chernoff led all hitters with a 3-4 night that included a double and a pair of singles, with an RBI and a run scored. Cunningham, Blackington and Wintner also drove in one run each. Parker Massman was named Hamilton County TV's Player of the Game for his walk-off 2-run HR to give the Greyhounds the 7-6 win.
Michael Carmosino led the Millers with a single, double and a run scored. Dax McLochlin was 2-4 at the dish with two singles and an RBI in the 7th that scored Carmo to give the Millers the 6-5 edge. Connor Christman also was a big part of the 5-run 2nd with his 2-run double.
Carmel improves their record to 6-6 on the season and will head to Lawrence North on Tuesday night for a MIC showdown with the 13-0 (6-0 MIC) Wildcats, who come in ranked #5 in this week's 4A poll by the IHSBCA.
The loss drops Noblesville to 8-7 on the season before welcoming in 4A #8 McCutcheon (9-2) to The Dunk on Friday night for a 7 p.m. first pitch.
The Millers finish up their week by hosting the Miller Classic on Saturday at The Dunk. Noblesville opens the day with North Central (4-2) at 11 a.m. A potential opponent in Class 4A Sectional 8 next month. North Central scored a big road win Monday night with a 10-3 victory at Hamilton Southeastern. The second game of the day features the Crown Point Bulldogs (8-4) against the Jeffersonville Red Devils (4-2).
The consolation game that pits the losers of games one and two will be played following the Crown Point/Jeffersonville match-up. The Miller Classic championship game will feature the winners of the first two games of the day and is slated for approximately 6:30 p.m.
The neighboring communities and school districts are always in heated battles, no matter what sport it is that they face each other. This is also a Class 4A Sectional 8 potential rematch possibility.
Both Carmel and Noblesville, through 12 and 15 games respectively, are still fully trying to gel and define their true identities. Sometimes that takes more time than the fans, parents and players would like, but that's just the reality of it. It's all about them buying into who they are as a team and putting together that final product on the field.
Last year's 4A state championship didn't happen overnight for Noblesville. Yes, those players stuck together and endured a lot of ups and downs before everything finally came together and clicked on all cylinders to produce their magical state tournament run. There's also that pressure to keep that mojo going, even when a lot of that team's starters and pitching graduated.
It's not time to worry about the Millers being just one game over .500 at the midway point of the regular season. 11th year head coach Justin Keever, along with assistants Kevin Fitzgerald, Caleb Small and Jake Wood know exactly what they're doing and will do everything in their powers to get their squad in the right mental state to win baseball games in the ways they know how to.
Carmel 7, Noblesville 6 - (Monday, April 27 at Hartman Field, Carmel)
Millers 0 5 0 0 0 0 1 - 6 8 0
Greyhounds 3 0 0 1 0 1 2 - 7 10 2
The start time got moved from 5:30 to 5:45 because of a bus situation with Noblesville not being about to get a bus until 4:20 and by the time they got loaded up and to Hartman Field, it was pushing 5 p.m.
Left-hander Connor Cunningham got the nod on the mound for Carmel and was primed to take on the Millers. He allowed just a single to Michael Carmosino in the first.
Lead-off hitter Matthew Chernoff wasted no time in taking a 1-1 pitch from Dax McLochlin down the left field line for a stand-up double. Tyler Keith walked and before Dax threw another pitch, he was called for a balk, advancing both Chernoff and Keith to second and third.
Cunningham singled home Chernoff from 2nd for the game's first run. Keith was at third and Cunningham at first, the DH Tyler Blackington hit a sacrifice fly to right, scoring Keith for 2-0. Two batters later with two down, Rhett Wintner lined a single into left between Connor Christman and third and Neil Brown at short in the hole to score Cunningham's courtesy runner Trevor Kinnaird and at the end of the first, the host Greyhounds had jumped out to a 3-0 lead on four hits.
Bryce Masterson led off the 2nd with an infield single and moved to second on McLochlin's single up the middle into center. Alec Parker reached on an error by Keith at second to load the bases. Austin Shirley got aboard on an error by Wintner at first, scoring Masterson to get the Millers on the board and now down 3-1.
Alex Cleverly came up next and was probably a little amped up to get in the box, since his last plate appearance was in Game 3 at Fishers on April 11. On an 0-2 pitch, the sophomore catcher hit a sacrifice fly to left, scoring courtesy runner Harris Camp to cut Carmel's lead to 3-2.
Travis Gillian singled to the hole at short to load the bases again. Ty Lindstrand singled opposite field to left to score Parker to tie it up at 3-3. Connor Christman finished out the scoring in the top of the 2nd with a two-run double that tailed into the gap in right center, plating Shirley and Gillian to push the Millers ahead 5-3.
McLochlin settled in on the mound over the 2nd through 4th innings, striking out three and allowing just three hits and one walk. But, at 69 pitches through four, the righty was relieved by Will Plumer and played right field the remainder of the game.
Striking out the first two he faced in the 4th, Dax was cruising. Then, he walked Drew Fox, the Carmel 9-hole hitter. Fox stole second with Chernoff up and four pitches later scored on a Chernoff single to right center, cutting Noblesville's lead to 5-4.
By now, Cunningham was comfortable using both the inside and outside corners of the plate, as well as his curveball, throwing Miller hitters off.
Cunningham fanned 5 Noblesville hitters just in the 3rd through 5th innings, throwing just 42 pitches over those three frames, before he was pulled for Cameron Pferrer just one walk into the 6th.
In Carmel's half of the 6th, Elliot Shebek walked with one out and then made his way to 2nd on a perfect bunt single by Drew Fox. JC Hanley came off of the Greyhound bench to pinch hit for Tyler Keith. Hanley hit a ground ball to Christman at third and that was enough for Fox to be able to run home to tie the game again at 5-5.
Noblesville got back at it in the top of the 7th with Seth Keeling now on the mound. A lead-off double to center from Michael Carmosino. Masterson walked on four straight pitches for runners at first and second with one out. Dax McLochlin recorded his second hit of the night, this time to left, driving in Carmo for a 6-5 Noblesville lead heading into the bottom of the 7th and Carmel's last at-bat.
Plumer stayed on the mound for the Millers in the 7th, confident that he could shut down the hosts. He got Blackington to fly out to right and Jack Van Remortel to ground out to short for two quick outs. Robert Evans was the new left fielder in the 6th and stepped in for his first plate appearance with two outs in the bottom of the 7th. He walked to get a runner aboard. Plumer had a 1-2 count and Parker Massman was down to his last strike. Massman drove the 1-2 pitch from Plumer over the left center field fence for a walk-off two-run home run to give Carmel a 7-6 win.
Matthew Chernoff led all hitters with a 3-4 night that included a double and a pair of singles, with an RBI and a run scored. Cunningham, Blackington and Wintner also drove in one run each. Parker Massman was named Hamilton County TV's Player of the Game for his walk-off 2-run HR to give the Greyhounds the 7-6 win.
Michael Carmosino led the Millers with a single, double and a run scored. Dax McLochlin was 2-4 at the dish with two singles and an RBI in the 7th that scored Carmo to give the Millers the 6-5 edge. Connor Christman also was a big part of the 5-run 2nd with his 2-run double.
Carmel improves their record to 6-6 on the season and will head to Lawrence North on Tuesday night for a MIC showdown with the 13-0 (6-0 MIC) Wildcats, who come in ranked #5 in this week's 4A poll by the IHSBCA.
The loss drops Noblesville to 8-7 on the season before welcoming in 4A #8 McCutcheon (9-2) to The Dunk on Friday night for a 7 p.m. first pitch.
The Millers finish up their week by hosting the Miller Classic on Saturday at The Dunk. Noblesville opens the day with North Central (4-2) at 11 a.m. A potential opponent in Class 4A Sectional 8 next month. North Central scored a big road win Monday night with a 10-3 victory at Hamilton Southeastern. The second game of the day features the Crown Point Bulldogs (8-4) against the Jeffersonville Red Devils (4-2).
The consolation game that pits the losers of games one and two will be played following the Crown Point/Jeffersonville match-up. The Miller Classic championship game will feature the winners of the first two games of the day and is slated for approximately 6:30 p.m.
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