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.
Tuesday, April 28, 2015
Friday, April 24, 2015
Noblesville wins final 2, takes HCC series over #5 Zionsville
Game 1: Tuesday, April 21 at Zionsville
Wind aids Zionsville bats in 10-0 series opener
Millers 0 0 0 0 0 - 0 1 1
Eagles 4 0 4 0 2 - 10 12 0
On a cool, extremely windy Tuesday night in Boone County, the wind played a factor for both the Noblesville Millers and the Zionsville Eagles, but only one was able to take advantage of it at the plate.
The host Eagles jumped on starting pitching of Will Plumer right away in the bottom of the 1st and took advantage of a wind that was blowing straight out to left field from west to east.
Nolan Elsbury was hit by a pitch with one out to get the first base runner. The next pitch, his older brother Kellan got a hold of a Plumer fastball and belted it up into the wind out to left and it was carried over the left field fence and out of the reach of Travis Gillian. That gave the Eagles an early 2-0 lead.
Drew Bertram singled right to the bag at third and reached on an infield single. A double by Jack Pilcher over Connor Christman's head at third gave Zionsville runners at 2nd and 3rd with one out. The pitcher Grant Sloan helped his own cause, grounding out to second and driving in Bertram for a 3-0 score. Chad Garicek singled up the middle to plate the fourth Eagle run of the inning, sending Pilcher home for a 4-0 count through one.
Sloan forced three ground outs in the first. In the second and third, the Virginia-commit showed that he meant business, striking out those six hitters for six of his eight strikeouts in five innings of work.
Will Plumer didn't pitch a bad game at all. It was the simple fact that Zionsville was able to play with the hand the wind was dealing them at the plate and the Millers weren't able to place the ball as well as the Eagles.
Zionsville got back to it offensively in the bottom of the third. The elder Bertram, Drew, took a 3-2, one out pitch and lined it over the left field fence for a solid solo home run and a 5-0 tally on the board.
Pilcher then took a 1-1 pitch and singled into shallow left.
Two batters later with two down now and head coach Justin Keever decided to go with senior Justin Buchanan out of the bullpen in relief of Plumer,
Garicek singled for two on. Next, with the wind howling out to left again, Nick Prather smacked a high fly ball to deep left. In normal conditions, this would have been a routine catch to end the inning for Gillian. Instead, he and Austin Shirley were forced to watch the wind carry the ball over the left field fence for a 3-run home run off the bat of Prather and just like that, it was 8-0.
Ty Lindstrand led off the top of the 4th by breaking up Grant Sloan's no-hit bid, doubling to the fence in deep left center. Unfortunately, Ty was stranded at second with three consecutive outs recorded.
The Millers were only about to get Gillian aboard via a walk in the top of the fifth, stranding the sophomore at second also.
Jack Pilcher would continue his great night at the plate with a lead-off walk to start the bottom of the 5th. Sloan, then took a 2-0 pitch to the fence in center for an RBI-triple to score Pilcher and put the Eagles up 9-0. Garicek would K for the first out. Prather poked an easy single just over Neil Brown's head and shallow left, allowing Sloan to trot home for the 10-0 final score, giving Zionsville a victory in 5 innings to start the series.
Noblesville dropped to 6-6 and 2-5 in HCC play, while Zionsville improved to 9-2 and 5-2 in the league.
Game 2: Wednesday, April 22 at The Dunk, Noblesville
McLochlin twirls six-hit shutout for 6-0 victory
Eagles 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 - 0 6 1
Millers 0 0 0 2 4 0 x - 6 6 1
The wind was doing its number once again on Wednesday night at The Dunk in Noblesville. This time, they worked it into their favor.
Dax McLochlin took to the mound in search of his 3rd win of the season and more importantly, to even up the series at one game apiece.
The senior right-hander was dealing his good stuff right away to the Zionsville hitters. Getting two quick outs in the 1st, Kellan Elsbury walked, but was left on base when Dax struck out Drew Bertram looking to end the inning.
He struck out four more over the next two innings to give him five fanned Eagles through three.
Through the first three, the Miller bats were held in check Kellan Elsbury on the mound. Elsbury sent four Noblesville hitters down on strikes during the first 3 innings.
McLochlin forced three ground outs to sit down the Eagles 1-2-3 in the top of the 4th and it just had that feeling that Noblesville would be breaking out their bats.
Michael Carmosino walked on six pitches to get the dugout and the fans into it. Before Connor Christman even saw one pitch, Elsbury balked on the mound, granting Carmo second base. Christman grounded out to second for the first out, but that helped move Carmo over to third and into scoring position.
Carmo scored on Bryce Masterson reaching on an error by catcher Drew Bertram, which also helped Bryce head to second and into scoring position right away. Dax then hit a tailing fly ball to the gap in right center, one-hopping it to the fence to score Masterson and the Millers had gained a 2-0 lead on Zionsville through four.
Jacob Hurtibise and Riley Bertram both singled with one out for the Eagles, but Bertram was caught stealing by catcher Alec Parker and Nolan Elsbury popped out by the third base bag to Christman to strand Hurtibise.
Nick Etter started the 5th in relief for Zionsville and the Millers couldn't help but take advantage of the arm just out of the bullpen.
Alec Parker sat patient at the plate and walked to lead off the home half of the 5th. L.J. Tilley came in to courtesy run for the senior catcher and immediately stole second base. Travis Gillian lined a single center to get Tilley to third and L.J. was able to score on the play.
Ty Lindstrand grounded out to the pitcher Etter, getting Gillian to second and then the swift sophomore stole third when the catcher Bertram was slow getting the ball out of his glove. Three pitches later on an 0-2 count, Carmosino hit an RBI single over SS Joey Mushalla's head and into shallow left to score Gillian for a 4-0 score.
Connor Christman singled to left to score Carmo to make it 5-0. Masterson collected his second hit of the night with an RBI single through the hole between the first and second basemen to plate Christman and put the Millers up 6-0 through five.
McLochlin's final two innings on the mound gave Zionsville a slight thought that they had a chance, but they weren't able to advance runners like they were able to on Tuesday night. The Eagles were trying for a 7th inning rally, but it would be too late.
Grant Sloan led off with an infield single and was forced out at second on a force out at second on a fielder's choice by Chad Garicek. Jake Hurd pinch hit for Nick Prather and singled into shallow right for runners at first and second. Hurtibise flied out to right for the second out. What ended the game was Garicek leaving early and not tagging up at second, trying to advance to third. Harris Camp threw to Carmo at first and then to Neil Brown standing on the bag at second for a 9-3-6 putout for the double play to end the game and preserve the shutout.
Dax McLochlin improved his record to 3-1 with a complete game, six-hit shutout. The 6'4 hard throwing righty struck out five and walked just two. Masterson led the Millers at the plate with a 2-3 night with 2 RBIs. Carmosino had an RBI, scoring twice and Christman also scored and had an RBI. Gillian was a key contributor with an RBI single.
Zionsville drops to 9-3 overall and 3-2 in the HCC and Noblesville improves to 7-6 with a 3-5 mark in the HCC.
Game 3: Thursday, April 23 at Zionsville
Conway fans career-high 15 as Millers come back for series win
Millers 0 0 0 1 1 0 1 - 3 10 2
Eagles 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 - 2 6 1
The Millers hit the road to Zionsville for the second time in three nights, this time against a hard-throwing right-handed junior in RJ Wagner. The host Eagles had a tougher task to face and that was Noblesville ace junior southpaw Cory Conway.
Wagner was a little shaky to start off in the first, Travis Gillian walked and stole second with Ty Lindstrand up, but was caught stealing third base by the catcher Drew Bertram for the first out.
Michael Carmosino walked to put another runner aboard, but with Lindstrand striking out, Connor Christman grounded out to the pitcher to end the inning, although it looked like Kellan Elsbury pulled his foot off of the first base bag before Connor got there.
Zionsville was ready to get back to how they hit against the Millers at home on Tuesday, but that would be extremely tough.
Conway took it right to the freshman lead-off hitter Riley Bertram and struck him out looking. Nolan Elsbury walked for the first Eagle on. Drew Bertram's strikeout put two outs on the board. Jack Pilcher, who's had a decent series at the plate so far, drilled a triple to the fence in right center, scoring Elsbury for a 1-0 Zionsville lead.
The next pitch, DH Nick Prather hit an RBI double down the right field line to send Pilcher home to give the Eagles a 2-0 advantage after one.
Conway was all business from that point on.
He struck out the side in the 2nd and struck out the lead-off hitter in the 3rd for his fifth K in a row, whiffing two of the three he faced in the inning. Nolan Elsbury reached on an error by Neil Brown at short, but was picked off by Conway on a 1-3-6 before fanning Drew Bertram for the 2nd consecutive time.
The Millers had somewhat rattled Wagner and were done getting runners aboard with no results.
Dax McLochlin took a 2-1 fastball for a double that hit that fence in left center on a short hop to lead off the inning. Austin Shirley drove Dax home with a long single in just about the same spot to cut the Eagles' lead to 2-1. Nick Prather came in to relieve Wagner, but Alec Parker and Travis Gillian both singled with two outs, but Parker's courtesy runner (Jackson Thurman) and Gillian were stranded at 3rd and 2nd, respectively, to end the inning.
Noblesville kept at it in the top of the 5th. Michael Carmosino roped a long single right center and reached second on a passed ball while Christman was up. Masterson got under a 1-0 pitch and popped it up to the shortstop for the second out. McLochlin notched his second hit of the game with an RBI single to the gap in left center and the Millers had tied the game 2-2.
The bottom of the 5th was a little testing for Conway. Striking out Chad Garicek on three pitches to start the inning off, he seemed on point. Jacob Hurtibise singled up the middle and Joey Mushalla doubled just inside the third base bag to give the Eagles runners on 2nd and 3rd with one out.
That was enough to motivate Cory even more, as hey struck out Riley Bertram at the top of the order and forced N. Elsbury to ground out to Brown at short to end the inning.
Both squads pretty much went down 1-2-3 on strikeouts in the 6th, except for Gillian grounding out to 1st in the top and Prather reaching on an error by Harris Camp in right.
Through six innings, Conway had mowed down 14 Zionsville hitters striking them out.
Lindstrand checked back into the lineup in right and led off the top of the 7th with a double down the right field line to get the Miller dugout and fans to erupt. Carmo would walk for two on and Christman reached first on an error at short by Mushalla to load the bases with no outs.
On an 0-2 count, Bryce Masterson lined an RBI single up the middle to the shortstop side of the second base bag, scoring Lindstrand for what would be the game-winning hit and a 3-2 Miller lead.
Dax, Austin Shirley and Neil Brown would strikeout consecutively to put a stop to any more scoring on the new Eagle relief pitcher Jack Pilcher.
Conway walked out determined to finish off the host Eagles in the 7th inning. Grant Sloan pinch hit for Garicek and struck out to start the inning for Cory's 15th strikeout of the night. Hurtibise grounded out to Christman at third for the second out on a close play at first. Mushalla got his second hit of the night up the middle, followed by a four pitch walk to Riley Bertram.
That brought head coach Justin Keever out of the Noblesville dugout that would end Conway's unbelievable night on the mound, striking out 15 and walking just 1 in 6 2/3 innings to improve his record on the mound to 3-1. To say the least, the Millers that made the road trip to Zionsville gave the junior lefty a standing ovation as he walked to the dugout where his teammates were there to greet him.
On the season, Conway has struck out 42 batters in 26.2 innings and only walked just 6.
Clayton Marowski came out of the bullpen to face Nolan Elsbury with two on and two down. It took just five pitches for the junior relief pitcher to strike out Elsbury looking to end the game, giving the Millers the road victory and the series win, 2-1.
Travis Gillian, Dan McLochlin and Bryce Masterson accounted for two hits each, with Masterson providing the game-winner in the top of the 7th. McLochlin, Shirley and Masterson drove in the three Miller runs in the win.
That was Zionsville's second loss in a row, dropping them to 9-4 overall and 3-3 in HCC play.
Noblesville improved to 8-6 on the season and 4-5 in the HCC, after starting league play at 1-4, they've for three out of their last four.
The Millers take Friday to get some kinks out and get a good practice in before hitting the road again just west to take on the Carmel Greyhounds (5-6) at Hartman Field on Saturday at 7 p.m.
Saturday night's Battle for the Oar in the "White River Rivalry" will be streamed live on Hamilton County TV at www.hctv5.com! Myself (Craig Adkins) will have the play-by-play and Perry Williams will provide the color as the Millers and Greyhounds renew their Hamilton county rivalry. Following the game Saturday night, the game will also be archived at hctvsports.com!
Wind aids Zionsville bats in 10-0 series opener
Millers 0 0 0 0 0 - 0 1 1
Eagles 4 0 4 0 2 - 10 12 0
On a cool, extremely windy Tuesday night in Boone County, the wind played a factor for both the Noblesville Millers and the Zionsville Eagles, but only one was able to take advantage of it at the plate.
The host Eagles jumped on starting pitching of Will Plumer right away in the bottom of the 1st and took advantage of a wind that was blowing straight out to left field from west to east.
Nolan Elsbury was hit by a pitch with one out to get the first base runner. The next pitch, his older brother Kellan got a hold of a Plumer fastball and belted it up into the wind out to left and it was carried over the left field fence and out of the reach of Travis Gillian. That gave the Eagles an early 2-0 lead.
Drew Bertram singled right to the bag at third and reached on an infield single. A double by Jack Pilcher over Connor Christman's head at third gave Zionsville runners at 2nd and 3rd with one out. The pitcher Grant Sloan helped his own cause, grounding out to second and driving in Bertram for a 3-0 score. Chad Garicek singled up the middle to plate the fourth Eagle run of the inning, sending Pilcher home for a 4-0 count through one.
Sloan forced three ground outs in the first. In the second and third, the Virginia-commit showed that he meant business, striking out those six hitters for six of his eight strikeouts in five innings of work.
Will Plumer didn't pitch a bad game at all. It was the simple fact that Zionsville was able to play with the hand the wind was dealing them at the plate and the Millers weren't able to place the ball as well as the Eagles.
Zionsville got back to it offensively in the bottom of the third. The elder Bertram, Drew, took a 3-2, one out pitch and lined it over the left field fence for a solid solo home run and a 5-0 tally on the board.
Pilcher then took a 1-1 pitch and singled into shallow left.
Two batters later with two down now and head coach Justin Keever decided to go with senior Justin Buchanan out of the bullpen in relief of Plumer,
Garicek singled for two on. Next, with the wind howling out to left again, Nick Prather smacked a high fly ball to deep left. In normal conditions, this would have been a routine catch to end the inning for Gillian. Instead, he and Austin Shirley were forced to watch the wind carry the ball over the left field fence for a 3-run home run off the bat of Prather and just like that, it was 8-0.
Ty Lindstrand led off the top of the 4th by breaking up Grant Sloan's no-hit bid, doubling to the fence in deep left center. Unfortunately, Ty was stranded at second with three consecutive outs recorded.
The Millers were only about to get Gillian aboard via a walk in the top of the fifth, stranding the sophomore at second also.
Jack Pilcher would continue his great night at the plate with a lead-off walk to start the bottom of the 5th. Sloan, then took a 2-0 pitch to the fence in center for an RBI-triple to score Pilcher and put the Eagles up 9-0. Garicek would K for the first out. Prather poked an easy single just over Neil Brown's head and shallow left, allowing Sloan to trot home for the 10-0 final score, giving Zionsville a victory in 5 innings to start the series.
Noblesville dropped to 6-6 and 2-5 in HCC play, while Zionsville improved to 9-2 and 5-2 in the league.
Game 2: Wednesday, April 22 at The Dunk, Noblesville
McLochlin twirls six-hit shutout for 6-0 victory
Eagles 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 - 0 6 1
Millers 0 0 0 2 4 0 x - 6 6 1
The wind was doing its number once again on Wednesday night at The Dunk in Noblesville. This time, they worked it into their favor.
Dax McLochlin took to the mound in search of his 3rd win of the season and more importantly, to even up the series at one game apiece.
The senior right-hander was dealing his good stuff right away to the Zionsville hitters. Getting two quick outs in the 1st, Kellan Elsbury walked, but was left on base when Dax struck out Drew Bertram looking to end the inning.
He struck out four more over the next two innings to give him five fanned Eagles through three.
Through the first three, the Miller bats were held in check Kellan Elsbury on the mound. Elsbury sent four Noblesville hitters down on strikes during the first 3 innings.
McLochlin forced three ground outs to sit down the Eagles 1-2-3 in the top of the 4th and it just had that feeling that Noblesville would be breaking out their bats.
Michael Carmosino walked on six pitches to get the dugout and the fans into it. Before Connor Christman even saw one pitch, Elsbury balked on the mound, granting Carmo second base. Christman grounded out to second for the first out, but that helped move Carmo over to third and into scoring position.
Carmo scored on Bryce Masterson reaching on an error by catcher Drew Bertram, which also helped Bryce head to second and into scoring position right away. Dax then hit a tailing fly ball to the gap in right center, one-hopping it to the fence to score Masterson and the Millers had gained a 2-0 lead on Zionsville through four.
Jacob Hurtibise and Riley Bertram both singled with one out for the Eagles, but Bertram was caught stealing by catcher Alec Parker and Nolan Elsbury popped out by the third base bag to Christman to strand Hurtibise.
Nick Etter started the 5th in relief for Zionsville and the Millers couldn't help but take advantage of the arm just out of the bullpen.
Alec Parker sat patient at the plate and walked to lead off the home half of the 5th. L.J. Tilley came in to courtesy run for the senior catcher and immediately stole second base. Travis Gillian lined a single center to get Tilley to third and L.J. was able to score on the play.
Ty Lindstrand grounded out to the pitcher Etter, getting Gillian to second and then the swift sophomore stole third when the catcher Bertram was slow getting the ball out of his glove. Three pitches later on an 0-2 count, Carmosino hit an RBI single over SS Joey Mushalla's head and into shallow left to score Gillian for a 4-0 score.
Connor Christman singled to left to score Carmo to make it 5-0. Masterson collected his second hit of the night with an RBI single through the hole between the first and second basemen to plate Christman and put the Millers up 6-0 through five.
McLochlin's final two innings on the mound gave Zionsville a slight thought that they had a chance, but they weren't able to advance runners like they were able to on Tuesday night. The Eagles were trying for a 7th inning rally, but it would be too late.
Grant Sloan led off with an infield single and was forced out at second on a force out at second on a fielder's choice by Chad Garicek. Jake Hurd pinch hit for Nick Prather and singled into shallow right for runners at first and second. Hurtibise flied out to right for the second out. What ended the game was Garicek leaving early and not tagging up at second, trying to advance to third. Harris Camp threw to Carmo at first and then to Neil Brown standing on the bag at second for a 9-3-6 putout for the double play to end the game and preserve the shutout.
Dax McLochlin improved his record to 3-1 with a complete game, six-hit shutout. The 6'4 hard throwing righty struck out five and walked just two. Masterson led the Millers at the plate with a 2-3 night with 2 RBIs. Carmosino had an RBI, scoring twice and Christman also scored and had an RBI. Gillian was a key contributor with an RBI single.
Zionsville drops to 9-3 overall and 3-2 in the HCC and Noblesville improves to 7-6 with a 3-5 mark in the HCC.
Game 3: Thursday, April 23 at Zionsville
Conway fans career-high 15 as Millers come back for series win
Millers 0 0 0 1 1 0 1 - 3 10 2
Eagles 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 - 2 6 1
The Millers hit the road to Zionsville for the second time in three nights, this time against a hard-throwing right-handed junior in RJ Wagner. The host Eagles had a tougher task to face and that was Noblesville ace junior southpaw Cory Conway.
Wagner was a little shaky to start off in the first, Travis Gillian walked and stole second with Ty Lindstrand up, but was caught stealing third base by the catcher Drew Bertram for the first out.
Michael Carmosino walked to put another runner aboard, but with Lindstrand striking out, Connor Christman grounded out to the pitcher to end the inning, although it looked like Kellan Elsbury pulled his foot off of the first base bag before Connor got there.
Zionsville was ready to get back to how they hit against the Millers at home on Tuesday, but that would be extremely tough.
Conway took it right to the freshman lead-off hitter Riley Bertram and struck him out looking. Nolan Elsbury walked for the first Eagle on. Drew Bertram's strikeout put two outs on the board. Jack Pilcher, who's had a decent series at the plate so far, drilled a triple to the fence in right center, scoring Elsbury for a 1-0 Zionsville lead.
The next pitch, DH Nick Prather hit an RBI double down the right field line to send Pilcher home to give the Eagles a 2-0 advantage after one.
Conway was all business from that point on.
He struck out the side in the 2nd and struck out the lead-off hitter in the 3rd for his fifth K in a row, whiffing two of the three he faced in the inning. Nolan Elsbury reached on an error by Neil Brown at short, but was picked off by Conway on a 1-3-6 before fanning Drew Bertram for the 2nd consecutive time.
The Millers had somewhat rattled Wagner and were done getting runners aboard with no results.
Dax McLochlin took a 2-1 fastball for a double that hit that fence in left center on a short hop to lead off the inning. Austin Shirley drove Dax home with a long single in just about the same spot to cut the Eagles' lead to 2-1. Nick Prather came in to relieve Wagner, but Alec Parker and Travis Gillian both singled with two outs, but Parker's courtesy runner (Jackson Thurman) and Gillian were stranded at 3rd and 2nd, respectively, to end the inning.
Noblesville kept at it in the top of the 5th. Michael Carmosino roped a long single right center and reached second on a passed ball while Christman was up. Masterson got under a 1-0 pitch and popped it up to the shortstop for the second out. McLochlin notched his second hit of the game with an RBI single to the gap in left center and the Millers had tied the game 2-2.
The bottom of the 5th was a little testing for Conway. Striking out Chad Garicek on three pitches to start the inning off, he seemed on point. Jacob Hurtibise singled up the middle and Joey Mushalla doubled just inside the third base bag to give the Eagles runners on 2nd and 3rd with one out.
That was enough to motivate Cory even more, as hey struck out Riley Bertram at the top of the order and forced N. Elsbury to ground out to Brown at short to end the inning.
Both squads pretty much went down 1-2-3 on strikeouts in the 6th, except for Gillian grounding out to 1st in the top and Prather reaching on an error by Harris Camp in right.
Through six innings, Conway had mowed down 14 Zionsville hitters striking them out.
Lindstrand checked back into the lineup in right and led off the top of the 7th with a double down the right field line to get the Miller dugout and fans to erupt. Carmo would walk for two on and Christman reached first on an error at short by Mushalla to load the bases with no outs.
On an 0-2 count, Bryce Masterson lined an RBI single up the middle to the shortstop side of the second base bag, scoring Lindstrand for what would be the game-winning hit and a 3-2 Miller lead.
Dax, Austin Shirley and Neil Brown would strikeout consecutively to put a stop to any more scoring on the new Eagle relief pitcher Jack Pilcher.
Conway walked out determined to finish off the host Eagles in the 7th inning. Grant Sloan pinch hit for Garicek and struck out to start the inning for Cory's 15th strikeout of the night. Hurtibise grounded out to Christman at third for the second out on a close play at first. Mushalla got his second hit of the night up the middle, followed by a four pitch walk to Riley Bertram.
That brought head coach Justin Keever out of the Noblesville dugout that would end Conway's unbelievable night on the mound, striking out 15 and walking just 1 in 6 2/3 innings to improve his record on the mound to 3-1. To say the least, the Millers that made the road trip to Zionsville gave the junior lefty a standing ovation as he walked to the dugout where his teammates were there to greet him.
On the season, Conway has struck out 42 batters in 26.2 innings and only walked just 6.
Clayton Marowski came out of the bullpen to face Nolan Elsbury with two on and two down. It took just five pitches for the junior relief pitcher to strike out Elsbury looking to end the game, giving the Millers the road victory and the series win, 2-1.
Travis Gillian, Dan McLochlin and Bryce Masterson accounted for two hits each, with Masterson providing the game-winner in the top of the 7th. McLochlin, Shirley and Masterson drove in the three Miller runs in the win.
That was Zionsville's second loss in a row, dropping them to 9-4 overall and 3-3 in HCC play.
Noblesville improved to 8-6 on the season and 4-5 in the HCC, after starting league play at 1-4, they've for three out of their last four.
The Millers take Friday to get some kinks out and get a good practice in before hitting the road again just west to take on the Carmel Greyhounds (5-6) at Hartman Field on Saturday at 7 p.m.
Saturday night's Battle for the Oar in the "White River Rivalry" will be streamed live on Hamilton County TV at www.hctv5.com! Myself (Craig Adkins) will have the play-by-play and Perry Williams will provide the color as the Millers and Greyhounds renew their Hamilton county rivalry. Following the game Saturday night, the game will also be archived at hctvsports.com!
Wednesday, April 22, 2015
Millers win Game 3, avoid sweep in tight series with Westfield
Year in and year out, Noblesville and Westfield are deemed as two of the better baseball teams in the Hoosier Crossroads Conference. Usually toward the top of the league standings, this particular 3-game series would be a test for both teams.
Both squads have a great mix of experience and youth that have blended together for some good and bad outcomes for both teams so far in this young season. Add senior leadership for both Westfield and Noblesville and you've got a series that will come down to the final out every game.
Game 1: Thursday, April 16 at The Dunk, Noblesville
Passed ball helps Westfield win at Noblesville, 2-1
Shamrocks 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 - 2 6 0
Millers 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 - 1 7 3
Nick Rhodes helped Westfield waste no time on Thursday night to get on the scoreboard early. Rhodes singled to right center with a full count. He found his way to second base when a passed ball bounced back to the backstop. Two hitters later, Harrison Freed lined a single up the middle to plate Rhodes and the visiting Shamrocks were up 1-0 early.
For the Millers on the mound, unfortunately Justin Buchanan's 2nd start of the season didn't pan out how he hoped it would. It had been 13 days since he had last pitched 5.1 innings against Knoxville West to earn the win.
The senior righty only gave up three hits in two innings, but it seemed like Noblesville was going to use a few pitchers and that's exactly what pitching coach Caleb Small turned to.
Will Plumer came in out of the bullpen again and pitched tremendously during the 3rd through 6th innings to keep the Westfield hitters at bay, allowing just three hits over that span and no more runs crossed home plate.
Connor Christman led off the bottom of the 4th with a single into shallow left center and was driven home to tie the ballgame up 1-1 when Travis Gillian reached base on an infield single.
Nick Rhodes was hit by a pitch to start off the top of the 7th and Chris Ayers reached on an error by McLochlin at 1st. Harrison Freed climbed aboard with a fielder's choice, which forced out Ayers at second for the first out of the inning, moving Rhodes to third.
With one out and runners at the corners, Ryan Pepiot was at the plate. Rhodes was able to dart home and prove to be the game-winning run on a passed ball for a 2-1 score.
Noblesville went down 1-2-3 in the last of the 7th to drop the series opener at home.
Game 2: Friday, April 17 at Shamrock Field, Westfield
Robinson's 3-run walk-off blast lifts Westfield to 9-6 win
Millers 3 0 1 0 0 0 2 - 6 7 4
Shamrocks 2 0 0 0 4 0 3 - 9 7 4
After dropping game one like they did on a passed ball at home, Noblesville was geared up and ready for their lone road game of the series.
The Millers got their offensive work started with a two-out rally in the top of the 1st. Michael Carmosino walked and was driven home on a Connor Christman double to the fence in right center on one hop for 1-0.
Christman would score on an error by the SS Ryan Pepiot. The DH Bryce Masterson, who would also get on base via the walk, advanced to third on the error and headed home on a Travis Gillian RBI-single to give Noblesville a 3-0 cushion after one at-bat.
Westfield got busy at the plate in the home half of the 1st with Nick Rhodes beating out an infield single to start things off. Chris Ayers doubled for two on at second and third. Rhodes scored on a passed ball, moving Ayers up to third. After Harrison Freed struck out, Pepiot hit an RBI ground out to third, scoring Ayers, cutting the Millers' lead to 3-2 after one full inning.
Christman singled with one out in the 3rd and advanced to second on a throwing error by Pepiot. Two hitters later with two down, Gillian singled and drove Connor home for a 4-2 Noblesville lead.
The Shamrocks would find their groove at the plate again in the bottom of the 5th. Ayers led off with a lining single up the middle into center and stole second during Freed's strikeout. Pepiot notched his second run driven in of the night, singling to left and Ayers scoring on the hit. Jackson Garrett smacked his second single of the game into shallow left. Jacob Robinson reached on an error at shortstop by Michael Carmosino, which helped Pepiot to tie it up 4-4.
Garrett and Robinson would score the final two runs of a four-run 4th. Logan Schneider would give the host Shamrocks a 6-4 lead on his single up the middle that scored Robinson.
After reliever Julian Lytle sent the Millers down 1-2-3 in the top of the 6th, they had one last chance to tie or take the lead on the Shamrocks in the 7th.
Jacob Robinson came to the mound from third to pitch the top of the 7th.
Carmosino walked for the second time in the game to lead off the inning. Christman singled to give the Millers two on with no outs and helping Connor put together another 4-for-4 night at the plate.
Gillian came through once again, singling and driving in Carmosino to cut Westfield's lead to 6-5. Alec Parker was intentionally walked to load the bases and set up the double play option for the Shamrocks. That didn't exactly work. Austin Shirley hit a long fly ball to the right center gap for a sac fly, sending Christman home to tie it up 6-6.
Noblesville reliever Clayton Marowski came in with two on in the seventh and a pressured situation. Jackson Garrett hit a grounder to the mound. Marowski smartly threw to third to get the lead runner (Pepiot) out for one away. That gave the Shamrocks two on.
The first pitch Jacob Robinson saw he sent towering over the left field fence for a three-run walk-off home run to give Westfield a 9-6 home field win and take a 2-0 series lead.
Robinson's swing of the bat earned him Player of the Game from Hamilton County TV. The stout 3B/P finished 1-4 at the plate with a 3-run walk-off HR and was the winning pitcher, tossing the top of the seventh when the Millers tied it 6-6.
Game 3: Saturday, April 18 at The Dunk, Noblesville
Conway stays poised, helps Millers avoid Shamrock sweep
Shamrocks 1 0 2 0 0 0 0 - 3 6 5
Millers 0 0 0 1 3 2 x - 6 6 1
Westfield was looking for a sweep in the series and they seemed pretty pumped to get that done on the road at Noblesville on Saturday. In this conference, it'll be extremely tough to sweep one team, no matter who they may be.
The Shamrocks wasted no time in getting their point across in the first inning. Nick Rhodes led off with a bloop single over Connor Christman's head at third base. Chris Ayers hit a grounder to Dax McLochlin at first that deflected off of his glove to Neil Brown at second. Brown quickly threw to Dax back at the bag for the first out.
Bailey Partlow and Milo Beam were in their first games back with the Shamrocks after being suspended for the first six games for a violation of team rules. Partlow made up for lost time at the plate, doubling to the left field corner, scoring Rhodes from second for an early 1-0 Westfield lead.
The visitors would grab another couple runs in the third with the help Beam and the top of the order. Beam, the Purdue commit, walked to start off the 3rd and stole second base soon after. Rhodes singled down the left field line to score Beam for a 2-0 Westfield advantage. Ayers singled to move Rhodes to third with no one out.
Here's where it got tricky.
Partlow flied out to left for the first out. Harrison Freed hit a sacrifice fly to deep center, scoring Rhodes. Both Rhodes and Ayers raced home from third and second, respectively. The quirky think about the play was that Rhodes tagged up at 3rd, but Ayers didn't tag up at 2nd. Ayers left early from second base, only allowing Rhodes' run to score.
The Millers tossed the ball to second and Ayers was tagged out to end the inning. Regardless of what happened and how the play unfolded, Westfield had jumped out to a 3-0 edge after three at-bats.
Noblesville was finally able to get something going offensively in the home half of the 4th. Bryce Masterson led off getting hit by a pitch and was relieved by pinch runner Jackson Thurman. Travis Gillian kept up his offensive clip, hitting a double on a 1-2 pitch to get Thurman to third and himself in scoring position at second with no outs.
Two batters later, Austin Shirley hit a long fly ball to center for a sac fly, driving home Thurman to cut the Westfield lead to 3-1.
In the 5th, Noblesville got their point across Westfield that they wouldn't be sweeping them on this particular day.
Ty Lindstrand led off with a walk and moved over to second a couple hitters later on a Carmosino single. Connor Christman singled to score Lindstrand to make it a 3-2 game and the bases were loaded with one out.
Gillian hit a sac fly to right, scoring Carmo for a tie ballgame at 3-3. Alec Parker's single into shallow right was enough to score Connor for a 4-3 lead that the Millers wouldn't give back.
The Miller bats kept going in the bottom of the 6th.
Lindstrand led off again, this time reaching on an error by second baseman Logan Schneider. McLochlin laid down a perfect bunt to the left side of the mound and almost beat out the throw at first, but did get Lindstrand's pinch runner Harris Camp to second. Carmo was hit by a pitch for the seventh time of the season. L.J. Tilley pinch ran for him at first and stole second. On that play, Camp scored on a passed ball for a 5-3 count.
Bryce Masterson ended the scoring for the Millers, doubling to center to send Tilley home for a 6-3 final score.
Cory Conway went the distance on the mound for 7 innings pitched, 7 hits, one walk and 4 strikeouts to his credit for move to 2-1 on the season. For his poise and control on the mound, Conway earned his second Player of the Game award from Hamilton County TV.
Westfield dropped to 4-4 on the season and 3-3 in the HCC.
The victory moved the Millers to 6-5 overall and 2-4 in Hoosier Crossroads Conference action.
Noblesville embarks on a busy week with a mid week series with Zionsville in HCC league play and a Saturday night tilt on the road at Carmel.
*as always, if you like what you're reading, follow me on Twitter (@MillerVoiceNDCB)!
Both squads have a great mix of experience and youth that have blended together for some good and bad outcomes for both teams so far in this young season. Add senior leadership for both Westfield and Noblesville and you've got a series that will come down to the final out every game.
Game 1: Thursday, April 16 at The Dunk, Noblesville
Passed ball helps Westfield win at Noblesville, 2-1
Shamrocks 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 - 2 6 0
Millers 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 - 1 7 3
Nick Rhodes helped Westfield waste no time on Thursday night to get on the scoreboard early. Rhodes singled to right center with a full count. He found his way to second base when a passed ball bounced back to the backstop. Two hitters later, Harrison Freed lined a single up the middle to plate Rhodes and the visiting Shamrocks were up 1-0 early.
For the Millers on the mound, unfortunately Justin Buchanan's 2nd start of the season didn't pan out how he hoped it would. It had been 13 days since he had last pitched 5.1 innings against Knoxville West to earn the win.
The senior righty only gave up three hits in two innings, but it seemed like Noblesville was going to use a few pitchers and that's exactly what pitching coach Caleb Small turned to.
Will Plumer came in out of the bullpen again and pitched tremendously during the 3rd through 6th innings to keep the Westfield hitters at bay, allowing just three hits over that span and no more runs crossed home plate.
Connor Christman led off the bottom of the 4th with a single into shallow left center and was driven home to tie the ballgame up 1-1 when Travis Gillian reached base on an infield single.
Nick Rhodes was hit by a pitch to start off the top of the 7th and Chris Ayers reached on an error by McLochlin at 1st. Harrison Freed climbed aboard with a fielder's choice, which forced out Ayers at second for the first out of the inning, moving Rhodes to third.
With one out and runners at the corners, Ryan Pepiot was at the plate. Rhodes was able to dart home and prove to be the game-winning run on a passed ball for a 2-1 score.
Noblesville went down 1-2-3 in the last of the 7th to drop the series opener at home.
Game 2: Friday, April 17 at Shamrock Field, Westfield
Robinson's 3-run walk-off blast lifts Westfield to 9-6 win
Millers 3 0 1 0 0 0 2 - 6 7 4
Shamrocks 2 0 0 0 4 0 3 - 9 7 4
After dropping game one like they did on a passed ball at home, Noblesville was geared up and ready for their lone road game of the series.
The Millers got their offensive work started with a two-out rally in the top of the 1st. Michael Carmosino walked and was driven home on a Connor Christman double to the fence in right center on one hop for 1-0.
Christman would score on an error by the SS Ryan Pepiot. The DH Bryce Masterson, who would also get on base via the walk, advanced to third on the error and headed home on a Travis Gillian RBI-single to give Noblesville a 3-0 cushion after one at-bat.
Westfield got busy at the plate in the home half of the 1st with Nick Rhodes beating out an infield single to start things off. Chris Ayers doubled for two on at second and third. Rhodes scored on a passed ball, moving Ayers up to third. After Harrison Freed struck out, Pepiot hit an RBI ground out to third, scoring Ayers, cutting the Millers' lead to 3-2 after one full inning.
Christman singled with one out in the 3rd and advanced to second on a throwing error by Pepiot. Two hitters later with two down, Gillian singled and drove Connor home for a 4-2 Noblesville lead.
The Shamrocks would find their groove at the plate again in the bottom of the 5th. Ayers led off with a lining single up the middle into center and stole second during Freed's strikeout. Pepiot notched his second run driven in of the night, singling to left and Ayers scoring on the hit. Jackson Garrett smacked his second single of the game into shallow left. Jacob Robinson reached on an error at shortstop by Michael Carmosino, which helped Pepiot to tie it up 4-4.
Garrett and Robinson would score the final two runs of a four-run 4th. Logan Schneider would give the host Shamrocks a 6-4 lead on his single up the middle that scored Robinson.
After reliever Julian Lytle sent the Millers down 1-2-3 in the top of the 6th, they had one last chance to tie or take the lead on the Shamrocks in the 7th.
Jacob Robinson came to the mound from third to pitch the top of the 7th.
Carmosino walked for the second time in the game to lead off the inning. Christman singled to give the Millers two on with no outs and helping Connor put together another 4-for-4 night at the plate.
Gillian came through once again, singling and driving in Carmosino to cut Westfield's lead to 6-5. Alec Parker was intentionally walked to load the bases and set up the double play option for the Shamrocks. That didn't exactly work. Austin Shirley hit a long fly ball to the right center gap for a sac fly, sending Christman home to tie it up 6-6.
Noblesville reliever Clayton Marowski came in with two on in the seventh and a pressured situation. Jackson Garrett hit a grounder to the mound. Marowski smartly threw to third to get the lead runner (Pepiot) out for one away. That gave the Shamrocks two on.
The first pitch Jacob Robinson saw he sent towering over the left field fence for a three-run walk-off home run to give Westfield a 9-6 home field win and take a 2-0 series lead.
Robinson's swing of the bat earned him Player of the Game from Hamilton County TV. The stout 3B/P finished 1-4 at the plate with a 3-run walk-off HR and was the winning pitcher, tossing the top of the seventh when the Millers tied it 6-6.
Game 3: Saturday, April 18 at The Dunk, Noblesville
Conway stays poised, helps Millers avoid Shamrock sweep
Shamrocks 1 0 2 0 0 0 0 - 3 6 5
Millers 0 0 0 1 3 2 x - 6 6 1
Westfield was looking for a sweep in the series and they seemed pretty pumped to get that done on the road at Noblesville on Saturday. In this conference, it'll be extremely tough to sweep one team, no matter who they may be.
The Shamrocks wasted no time in getting their point across in the first inning. Nick Rhodes led off with a bloop single over Connor Christman's head at third base. Chris Ayers hit a grounder to Dax McLochlin at first that deflected off of his glove to Neil Brown at second. Brown quickly threw to Dax back at the bag for the first out.
Bailey Partlow and Milo Beam were in their first games back with the Shamrocks after being suspended for the first six games for a violation of team rules. Partlow made up for lost time at the plate, doubling to the left field corner, scoring Rhodes from second for an early 1-0 Westfield lead.
The visitors would grab another couple runs in the third with the help Beam and the top of the order. Beam, the Purdue commit, walked to start off the 3rd and stole second base soon after. Rhodes singled down the left field line to score Beam for a 2-0 Westfield advantage. Ayers singled to move Rhodes to third with no one out.
Here's where it got tricky.
Partlow flied out to left for the first out. Harrison Freed hit a sacrifice fly to deep center, scoring Rhodes. Both Rhodes and Ayers raced home from third and second, respectively. The quirky think about the play was that Rhodes tagged up at 3rd, but Ayers didn't tag up at 2nd. Ayers left early from second base, only allowing Rhodes' run to score.
The Millers tossed the ball to second and Ayers was tagged out to end the inning. Regardless of what happened and how the play unfolded, Westfield had jumped out to a 3-0 edge after three at-bats.
Noblesville was finally able to get something going offensively in the home half of the 4th. Bryce Masterson led off getting hit by a pitch and was relieved by pinch runner Jackson Thurman. Travis Gillian kept up his offensive clip, hitting a double on a 1-2 pitch to get Thurman to third and himself in scoring position at second with no outs.
Two batters later, Austin Shirley hit a long fly ball to center for a sac fly, driving home Thurman to cut the Westfield lead to 3-1.
In the 5th, Noblesville got their point across Westfield that they wouldn't be sweeping them on this particular day.
Ty Lindstrand led off with a walk and moved over to second a couple hitters later on a Carmosino single. Connor Christman singled to score Lindstrand to make it a 3-2 game and the bases were loaded with one out.
Gillian hit a sac fly to right, scoring Carmo for a tie ballgame at 3-3. Alec Parker's single into shallow right was enough to score Connor for a 4-3 lead that the Millers wouldn't give back.
The Miller bats kept going in the bottom of the 6th.
Lindstrand led off again, this time reaching on an error by second baseman Logan Schneider. McLochlin laid down a perfect bunt to the left side of the mound and almost beat out the throw at first, but did get Lindstrand's pinch runner Harris Camp to second. Carmo was hit by a pitch for the seventh time of the season. L.J. Tilley pinch ran for him at first and stole second. On that play, Camp scored on a passed ball for a 5-3 count.
Bryce Masterson ended the scoring for the Millers, doubling to center to send Tilley home for a 6-3 final score.
Cory Conway went the distance on the mound for 7 innings pitched, 7 hits, one walk and 4 strikeouts to his credit for move to 2-1 on the season. For his poise and control on the mound, Conway earned his second Player of the Game award from Hamilton County TV.
Westfield dropped to 4-4 on the season and 3-3 in the HCC.
The victory moved the Millers to 6-5 overall and 2-4 in Hoosier Crossroads Conference action.
Noblesville embarks on a busy week with a mid week series with Zionsville in HCC league play and a Saturday night tilt on the road at Carmel.
*as always, if you like what you're reading, follow me on Twitter (@MillerVoiceNDCB)!
Tuesday, April 14, 2015
Fishers takes 2 of 3 from Millers in HCC opening series
The weather in central Indiana always plays a factor in if and when outdoor sporting events take place. That was the case twice this week for the Noblesville Millers. Tuesday's game vs. Frankfort was moved to Wednesday because of weather conditions and then by 6:45 p.m. Wednesday, the game was postponed to a later date to be announced.
Noblesville and Fishers were to open their first game of the Hoosier Crossroads Conference season on Thursday at Fishers, but that game was washed out by midday Thursday and became part of a doubleheader on Friday night at The Dunk in Noblesville. Saturday morning at Fishers turned out to be sunny skies and perfect baseball weather.
Judging by how this first look at the 3-game series setup in the HCC this season, my guess is that we could be seeing a two or three way tie for 1st in the conference and the teams at the top of the league could probably have 6 or possibly 7 losses during the 18-game conference slate. With just seven teams in the conference now, it will be an absolute dogfight to win the title.
It ought to be pretty interesting to see how this league pans out at the end of May. By then, rankings won't matter, because all seven will have beaten each other up like the Big Ten, ACC, Big 12 and SEC do in both football and basketball year in and year out.
Game 1: Fishers 6, Noblesville 2 - (Fri. 4/10 at The Dunk, Noblesville)
Tigers 0 0 1 0 0 3 2 - 6 9 1
Millers 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 - 2 3 3
After getting pushed back from starting the series at Fishers on Thursday, Friday became a doubleheader at Noblesville. It was a great night to "play two" and no better place than Dunker Field.
Game 1 became Noblesville's home game, because of its original slating to be played on Friday night.
Dax McLochlin (right) took to the mound with a 2-0 record on the season. The senior right-handed hurler was able to get through the first couple innings giving up three hits and Fishers stranded all three. With one out in the top of the 3rd, Andy Bennett reached on an error by Michael Carmosino at shortstop and was driven in two hitters later by Joe Michel, who doubled over the head of Austin Shirley in center for a 1-0.
McLochlin got himself into a groove on the mound the next couple innings, but got himself into a pitching situation that he was unable to get out of.
Michel led off the top of the 6th with a single up the middle. Caleb Brenczewski came up next and doubled to center field for runners at second and third and unfortunately had Dax reeling. Two batters later, Christian Chapman lined a two-run double to right center to get Michel and Brenczewski home for a 3-0 lead. Chapman made his way home before the inning ended to put Fishers up 4-0.
Noblesville felt the pressure and decided it was time to put some runs on the board. Travis Gillian walked on seven pitches to lead things off, making sophomore Fishers pitcher Luke Duermit work for the victory. Up next, the DH Bryce Masterson blasted a two-run, the first of his young varsity career as a Miller, narrowing the Tigers' lead to 4-2 through six.
Fishers knew that Noblesville would be very capable in the bottom of the 7th to tie the game and/or win the game. The Tigers knew they should probably tack on another insurance run or two.
Bennett walked and Miller head coach Justin Keever pulled McLochlin and brought in junior right-hander Clayton Marowski. Brandon Yoho walked and Michel for bases loaded and no outs. Brenczewski grounded to short, forcing out Michel at 2nd, scoring Bennett. Still two runners on and Elliot Gilmore, who was in to pitch now, walked to score Yoho for the final score of 6-2.
The Millers were only able to get an infield single out of Carmosino before the final out was recorded by Gilmore, giving him the save.
Masterson led the Millers with his 2-run HR in the 6th. Luke Duermit pitched a solid 5-plus innings for Fishers, striking out 7.
Joe Michel (above) had a great game at the plate, going 3-4 with three singles, an RBI, stolen base, run scored and was named the Player of the Game by Hamilton County TV.
Game 2: Noblesville 11, Fishers 0 (6 inn.) - (Fri. 4/10 at The Dunk, Noblesville)
Millers 0 2 3 0 1 5 - 11 12 0
Tigers 0 0 0 0 0 0 - 0 1 1
Cory Conway (pitching at left) was back on the hill for the first time since last Thursday, when he threw 6 innings and struck out 11 Farragut batters, but lost that decision as the Millers were no-hit 2-0 by the host Admirals.
The junior southpaw picked up right where he left off eight days prior. It was a little bit of a jittery first home start of the season for Conway, walking two before he fanned two in a row, forcing Fishers to strand runners at 2nd and 3rd.
The Tigers started another sophomore in Game 2. Ryan Metz was looking for his second win of the season, but all he could do was look, because the Millers' offense had other things in mind.
Conway struck out another three in the 2nd to give him 5 K's through two to give him a confidence boost for the duration.
Noblesville got their bats going in the top of the 2nd, being the visiting team in this game. Connor Christman legged out an infield single in the hole at short with one out. Two hitters later with two outs now, Alec Parker singles to get runners at the corners. Then, sophomore catcher Alex Cleverly busted out his stick at the dish, doubling on one hop to the fence in center, scoring both Christman and Parker for an early 2-0 Millers advantage that they would only build on.
The top of the 3rd got a little better the Miller offense. Travis Gillian lined a one out single into center. He was driven home not too long after, as Bryce Masterson belted a 3-1 pitch over the right field fence for a two-run home run and it was now 4-0. McLochlin walked and was singled home by Christman to make it 5-0 through three.
It was continued dominance by Conway on the mound as he would send down another six batters on strikes to give him 11 on the night.
Dax McLochlin smoked a double to the right field corner on the second pitch he saw. Alec Parker reached on a fielder's choice with Dax at third and scored McLochlin for 6-0.
The Millers wanted to end this game as quick as they could for the Friday night doubleheader split and that's exactly what they did.
Harris Camp and Michael Carmosino led off the top of the 6th with a pair walks. Bryce Masterson singled to short to score Camp for a 7-0 score. McLochlin reached on a fielder's choice to score Carmo from third and it was 8-0.
Connor Christman knocked an RBI single to right center, scoring McLochlin to make it 9-0. Austin Shirley kept that party going with an RBI single of his own to right, after starting the series 0-for-6 at the plate, to give the Millers a double-digit lead. Alec Parker singled to left to send Shirley home and put Noblesville up by what became the final count of 11-0 in 6 innings.
Christman had an outstanding night at the plate, going 4-for-4, with four singles, two runs scored, an RBI and a stolen base to earn Hamilton County TV's Noblesville Trophies Player of the Game honor.
Game 3: Fishers 3, Noblesville 2 - (Sat. 4/11 at Fishers)
Millers 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 - 2 6 1
Tigers 3 0 0 0 0 0 x - 3 6 2
It'll be said time and time again, but it's just about a guarantee that no series will probably be swept in the Hoosier Crossroads Conference this season. Yes, it is very possible, but being how competitive that this league is and how tight the games will be, each series will grind it out to be decided in the final innings of the third game of the set.
That's how things wound up in the first series for Noblesville and Fishers. With the Tigers taking the first game 6-2 and the Millers dominating the second game of Friday's doubleheader 11-0, it was bound to be quite a Game 3, to say the least.
It was amazing weather for Saturday morning's series finale at Fishers.
Michael Carmosino reached to lead off the game on an error by pitcher Brandon Yoho and was able to reach second base on the overthrow by Yoho. Travis Gillian singled to right halfway down the line and Carmo scored from second for an early 1-0 lead for the Millers.
Bryce Masterson singled to shallow left for runners at first and second. Dax McLochlin belted a high fly ball to center for a sacrifice fly, plating Gillian for a 2-0 lead after the first inning.
Harris Camp started on the mound for the Millers and was hoping to get himself off to a better start than in his varsity debut eight days earlier at Grace Christian Academy in Knoxville, Tennessee.
After Jacob Totman popped out to Alec Parker in foul territory, Andy Bennett walked and Yoho reached on an error by Camp at the mound. Bennett was able to score on the play and the Tigers trailed just 2-1. Mike Folta pinch ran for Yoho and scored with Joe Michel at first on a fielder's choice by the DH Caleb Brenczewski to tie it up at 2-2. Two batters later with Brenczewski and Luke Duermit aboard, Christian Chapman singled to center to give Fishers a 3-2 lead after the first inning.
Neither coach probably figured that it would be the end of the scoring for the remainder of the game.
From that point on, it became a pitcher's duel.
Brandon Yoho was on point with his pitches, allowing five hits over his final 5-plus innings of work before giving way to Elliot Gilmore to save the game.
The thing that myself and Perry Williams were more impressed with was the finesse and great composure on the mound in relief by Noblesville senior southpaw Will Plumer (left)
. He was warming up in the bullpen during the first inning when Harris Camp ran into trouble when Fishers put three up.
Plumer came in and finished the game on the mound for the final six innings, striking out two and only allowing four hits over that span in a great effort to keep the Tigers' hitters in-check after scoring in the first.
Noblesville had one last chance to either tie or take the lead in the top of the 7th. Ty Lindstrand singled to left to lead off the inning and Carmosino was hit by a pitch for runners at first and second and the Millers in prime position to rattle Fishers reliever Elliot Gilmore, who was brought on in place of Yoho to put a stop to Noblesville's momentum.
Travis Gillian laid down a perfect sacrifice bunt to move both runners to second and third. It was a perfect situation for the Millers to make a move.
Bryce Masterson hit a hard grounder to Michel at third and Lindstrand was on his way home. Sliding home, it appeared that Ty got his foot on the backside of the plate just before catcher Ryan Metz applied the tag. Unfortunately, that's not how home plate umpire Kevin Moore saw it and Lindstrand was called out at home for the second out. Bryce was safe at first on a fielder's choice and his pinch runner (Harris Camp) was stranded to end the game on a ground out to second by McLochlin.
Fishers (5-3, 2-1 HCC) won the game Saturday 3-2 and also took the series 2-1. Noblesville dropped to 5-3 overall and 1-2 in HCC play. The Millers will match up with Westfield (2-3, 1-2 HCC) at home on Thursday to start their three-game set.
Brandon Yoho was named the Hamilton County TV Player of the Game for his pitching efforts on the mound, striking out 3 and a double at the plate.
Miller head coach Justin Keever was in complete disagreement with Moore's call at the plate of Lindstrand being out and was ejected from the game. Being ejected, Keever is expected to miss Thursday night's series opener with Westfield. Third base/assistant head coach Kevin Fitzgerald will take Keever's place, if this is the case.
(*all photos courtesy of Kent Graham at kentgraham.photoshelter.com)
Noblesville and Fishers were to open their first game of the Hoosier Crossroads Conference season on Thursday at Fishers, but that game was washed out by midday Thursday and became part of a doubleheader on Friday night at The Dunk in Noblesville. Saturday morning at Fishers turned out to be sunny skies and perfect baseball weather.Judging by how this first look at the 3-game series setup in the HCC this season, my guess is that we could be seeing a two or three way tie for 1st in the conference and the teams at the top of the league could probably have 6 or possibly 7 losses during the 18-game conference slate. With just seven teams in the conference now, it will be an absolute dogfight to win the title.
It ought to be pretty interesting to see how this league pans out at the end of May. By then, rankings won't matter, because all seven will have beaten each other up like the Big Ten, ACC, Big 12 and SEC do in both football and basketball year in and year out.
Game 1: Fishers 6, Noblesville 2 - (Fri. 4/10 at The Dunk, Noblesville)
Tigers 0 0 1 0 0 3 2 - 6 9 1
Millers 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 - 2 3 3
After getting pushed back from starting the series at Fishers on Thursday, Friday became a doubleheader at Noblesville. It was a great night to "play two" and no better place than Dunker Field.
Game 1 became Noblesville's home game, because of its original slating to be played on Friday night.Dax McLochlin (right) took to the mound with a 2-0 record on the season. The senior right-handed hurler was able to get through the first couple innings giving up three hits and Fishers stranded all three. With one out in the top of the 3rd, Andy Bennett reached on an error by Michael Carmosino at shortstop and was driven in two hitters later by Joe Michel, who doubled over the head of Austin Shirley in center for a 1-0.
McLochlin got himself into a groove on the mound the next couple innings, but got himself into a pitching situation that he was unable to get out of.
Michel led off the top of the 6th with a single up the middle. Caleb Brenczewski came up next and doubled to center field for runners at second and third and unfortunately had Dax reeling. Two batters later, Christian Chapman lined a two-run double to right center to get Michel and Brenczewski home for a 3-0 lead. Chapman made his way home before the inning ended to put Fishers up 4-0.
Noblesville felt the pressure and decided it was time to put some runs on the board. Travis Gillian walked on seven pitches to lead things off, making sophomore Fishers pitcher Luke Duermit work for the victory. Up next, the DH Bryce Masterson blasted a two-run, the first of his young varsity career as a Miller, narrowing the Tigers' lead to 4-2 through six.
Fishers knew that Noblesville would be very capable in the bottom of the 7th to tie the game and/or win the game. The Tigers knew they should probably tack on another insurance run or two.
Bennett walked and Miller head coach Justin Keever pulled McLochlin and brought in junior right-hander Clayton Marowski. Brandon Yoho walked and Michel for bases loaded and no outs. Brenczewski grounded to short, forcing out Michel at 2nd, scoring Bennett. Still two runners on and Elliot Gilmore, who was in to pitch now, walked to score Yoho for the final score of 6-2.The Millers were only able to get an infield single out of Carmosino before the final out was recorded by Gilmore, giving him the save.
Masterson led the Millers with his 2-run HR in the 6th. Luke Duermit pitched a solid 5-plus innings for Fishers, striking out 7.
Joe Michel (above) had a great game at the plate, going 3-4 with three singles, an RBI, stolen base, run scored and was named the Player of the Game by Hamilton County TV.
Game 2: Noblesville 11, Fishers 0 (6 inn.) - (Fri. 4/10 at The Dunk, Noblesville)
Millers 0 2 3 0 1 5 - 11 12 0
Tigers 0 0 0 0 0 0 - 0 1 1
Cory Conway (pitching at left) was back on the hill for the first time since last Thursday, when he threw 6 innings and struck out 11 Farragut batters, but lost that decision as the Millers were no-hit 2-0 by the host Admirals.The junior southpaw picked up right where he left off eight days prior. It was a little bit of a jittery first home start of the season for Conway, walking two before he fanned two in a row, forcing Fishers to strand runners at 2nd and 3rd.
The Tigers started another sophomore in Game 2. Ryan Metz was looking for his second win of the season, but all he could do was look, because the Millers' offense had other things in mind.
Conway struck out another three in the 2nd to give him 5 K's through two to give him a confidence boost for the duration.
Noblesville got their bats going in the top of the 2nd, being the visiting team in this game. Connor Christman legged out an infield single in the hole at short with one out. Two hitters later with two outs now, Alec Parker singles to get runners at the corners. Then, sophomore catcher Alex Cleverly busted out his stick at the dish, doubling on one hop to the fence in center, scoring both Christman and Parker for an early 2-0 Millers advantage that they would only build on.
The top of the 3rd got a little better the Miller offense. Travis Gillian lined a one out single into center. He was driven home not too long after, as Bryce Masterson belted a 3-1 pitch over the right field fence for a two-run home run and it was now 4-0. McLochlin walked and was singled home by Christman to make it 5-0 through three.
It was continued dominance by Conway on the mound as he would send down another six batters on strikes to give him 11 on the night.
Dax McLochlin smoked a double to the right field corner on the second pitch he saw. Alec Parker reached on a fielder's choice with Dax at third and scored McLochlin for 6-0.
The Millers wanted to end this game as quick as they could for the Friday night doubleheader split and that's exactly what they did.
Harris Camp and Michael Carmosino led off the top of the 6th with a pair walks. Bryce Masterson singled to short to score Camp for a 7-0 score. McLochlin reached on a fielder's choice to score Carmo from third and it was 8-0.Connor Christman knocked an RBI single to right center, scoring McLochlin to make it 9-0. Austin Shirley kept that party going with an RBI single of his own to right, after starting the series 0-for-6 at the plate, to give the Millers a double-digit lead. Alec Parker singled to left to send Shirley home and put Noblesville up by what became the final count of 11-0 in 6 innings.
Christman had an outstanding night at the plate, going 4-for-4, with four singles, two runs scored, an RBI and a stolen base to earn Hamilton County TV's Noblesville Trophies Player of the Game honor.
Game 3: Fishers 3, Noblesville 2 - (Sat. 4/11 at Fishers)
Millers 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 - 2 6 1
Tigers 3 0 0 0 0 0 x - 3 6 2
It'll be said time and time again, but it's just about a guarantee that no series will probably be swept in the Hoosier Crossroads Conference this season. Yes, it is very possible, but being how competitive that this league is and how tight the games will be, each series will grind it out to be decided in the final innings of the third game of the set.
That's how things wound up in the first series for Noblesville and Fishers. With the Tigers taking the first game 6-2 and the Millers dominating the second game of Friday's doubleheader 11-0, it was bound to be quite a Game 3, to say the least.It was amazing weather for Saturday morning's series finale at Fishers.
Michael Carmosino reached to lead off the game on an error by pitcher Brandon Yoho and was able to reach second base on the overthrow by Yoho. Travis Gillian singled to right halfway down the line and Carmo scored from second for an early 1-0 lead for the Millers.
Bryce Masterson singled to shallow left for runners at first and second. Dax McLochlin belted a high fly ball to center for a sacrifice fly, plating Gillian for a 2-0 lead after the first inning.
Harris Camp started on the mound for the Millers and was hoping to get himself off to a better start than in his varsity debut eight days earlier at Grace Christian Academy in Knoxville, Tennessee.
After Jacob Totman popped out to Alec Parker in foul territory, Andy Bennett walked and Yoho reached on an error by Camp at the mound. Bennett was able to score on the play and the Tigers trailed just 2-1. Mike Folta pinch ran for Yoho and scored with Joe Michel at first on a fielder's choice by the DH Caleb Brenczewski to tie it up at 2-2. Two batters later with Brenczewski and Luke Duermit aboard, Christian Chapman singled to center to give Fishers a 3-2 lead after the first inning.
Neither coach probably figured that it would be the end of the scoring for the remainder of the game.
From that point on, it became a pitcher's duel.
Brandon Yoho was on point with his pitches, allowing five hits over his final 5-plus innings of work before giving way to Elliot Gilmore to save the game.
The thing that myself and Perry Williams were more impressed with was the finesse and great composure on the mound in relief by Noblesville senior southpaw Will Plumer (left). He was warming up in the bullpen during the first inning when Harris Camp ran into trouble when Fishers put three up.
Plumer came in and finished the game on the mound for the final six innings, striking out two and only allowing four hits over that span in a great effort to keep the Tigers' hitters in-check after scoring in the first.
Noblesville had one last chance to either tie or take the lead in the top of the 7th. Ty Lindstrand singled to left to lead off the inning and Carmosino was hit by a pitch for runners at first and second and the Millers in prime position to rattle Fishers reliever Elliot Gilmore, who was brought on in place of Yoho to put a stop to Noblesville's momentum.
Travis Gillian laid down a perfect sacrifice bunt to move both runners to second and third. It was a perfect situation for the Millers to make a move.
Bryce Masterson hit a hard grounder to Michel at third and Lindstrand was on his way home. Sliding home, it appeared that Ty got his foot on the backside of the plate just before catcher Ryan Metz applied the tag. Unfortunately, that's not how home plate umpire Kevin Moore saw it and Lindstrand was called out at home for the second out. Bryce was safe at first on a fielder's choice and his pinch runner (Harris Camp) was stranded to end the game on a ground out to second by McLochlin.
Fishers (5-3, 2-1 HCC) won the game Saturday 3-2 and also took the series 2-1. Noblesville dropped to 5-3 overall and 1-2 in HCC play. The Millers will match up with Westfield (2-3, 1-2 HCC) at home on Thursday to start their three-game set.
Brandon Yoho was named the Hamilton County TV Player of the Game for his pitching efforts on the mound, striking out 3 and a double at the plate.
Miller head coach Justin Keever was in complete disagreement with Moore's call at the plate of Lindstrand being out and was ejected from the game. Being ejected, Keever is expected to miss Thursday night's series opener with Westfield. Third base/assistant head coach Kevin Fitzgerald will take Keever's place, if this is the case.
(*all photos courtesy of Kent Graham at kentgraham.photoshelter.com)
Sunday, April 5, 2015
Dax tosses two-hitter, Millers blank Brentwood to finish TN trip 3-1
The first three games of the spring break trip to Knoxville, Tennessee, 11th-year head coach Justin Keever and pitching coach Caleb Small had the chance to see many different things out of their pitching staff.
Cory Conway showed a lot of great maturity on Thursday night with 11 strikeouts against nationally ranked #9 Farragut (#5 in TN), despite the game not turning out exactly how the Millers would have liked on the field, a no-hit shutout loss, 2-0.Justin Buchanan's start versus Knoxville West on Friday shows the staff that they have yet another senior leader on the mound. The senior righty worked 5 1/3 innings, sending down six on strikeouts and allowing just five hits in his varsity debut for the 5-2 win.
The combination of sophomore Harris Camp, junior Clayton Marowski, Connor Adams and Harris Camp to close the game out with Grace Christian Academy was able to stave off Grace Christian on their home field in 8 innings, 10-8. Marowski held his own pretty good on the mound during the middle of the game for three innings.
Connor Adams had quite a Friday. The senior southpaw, a recent Kellogg Community College signee on Wednesday, came in for the save to relieve Buchanan in the first game of the day against Knoxville West and got the win against Grace Christian, while Harris Camp re-entered for the save against the host Rams.
Noblesville 7, Brentwood 0 - (Sat. 4/4 at Christian Academy of Knoxville)
Millers 0 0 0 3 0 0 4 - 7 10 0
Bruins 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 - 0 2 4
Noblesville started off the top of the 1st getting a couple runners on base, but weren't able to get any runs across. Michael Carmosino got on with a one-out infield single to the hole at short. Bryce Masterson got aboard on a fielder's choice to short, but that forced Carmo out for the second out of the inning. Dax McLochlin struck out to end the inning, leaving the DH Masterson at first.
Aside from a few walks on the mound to start the game, senior right-handed pitcher McLochlin was pretty dialed in on the hill in his second outing of the young season.
P.J. Scalisi walked with one out to give Brentwood a little hope in the last of the second. A groundout by the DH Paulo Puglese put two outs on the board. Nine hole hitter Jackson Pope singled to second in the hole just behind the bag, but second baseman Travis Gillian gunned down Scalisi at the plate for the final out of the inning.
Both teams went down in order in the 3rd, 1-2-3, so it was a wonder when one of these two offenses were going to break out.
The 3-4-5 hitters led off the top of the 4th for Noblesville and they knew it was time to show the Bruins how they can hit.
Masterson led off the inning hitting hard to third, but Tim Robuck's throw across the infield was slightly off, pinning an error on first baseman Korey Bell, getting Bryce on with an E3 on Bell.
Dax grounded out to third for the first out of the inning. Connor Christman hit an 0-1 pitch behind the base at third for runners at first and second and en error on third baseman Tim Robuck. That got pinch-runner Ty Lindstrand advanced to third. Gillian was now up and Lindstrand was able to score on a passed ball for the first run and a 1-0 lead, advancing Christman to second.
Gillian lined a single to center, getting Connor across home plate from second for a 2-0 score. The sophomore second baseman stole second and then was joined on the bases by Alec Parker on a walk. Sophomore Jackson Thurman singled in the infield to load the bases. Right fielder Harris Camp grounded out to third with one out and that would get home another run for a 3-0 Noblesville advantage through three.
Brentwood head coach Bill Moore decided that starting pitcher Josh Galloway had seen enough of the Millers' bats and he brought in Wyatt Duke in the top of the 5th. Duke allowed a two-out double by Dax McLochlin, but pinch-runner Julian Simac would be stranded.
McLochlin was completely determined to go the distance and solidify the win and keep the Bruins off of the scoreboard at all costs. Over the final three innings, Dax only allowed one walk and just his second hit of the ball game, a two-out double deep to the left center wall by Nathan Jay. But, Jay was stranded on second, just like Simac was in the 5th, to end the 6th inning.
Even though Brentwood had posted a half dozen wins to start their season, Noblesville knew it should probably give Dax some more insurance runs.
And that's exactly what happened.
Austin Shirley led off the 7th walking and advanced to second on a balk by Wyatt Duke. After Carmosino K'd for one away, Masterson reached again by an error. This time it was by second baseman Lane Harris. That gave the Millers runners at the corners with pinch-runner Julian Simac now in for Masterson.
McLochlin hit a sacrifice fly to center. Shirley tagged up to make it 4-0, advancing Simac to second. Christman reached for the second time in the game on an error, this one by SS Nathan Jay, allowing Simac to third and runners on the corners.
Gillian kept his bat going, belting a single to left to score Connor. Alec Parker lined an RBI-single to right, scoring Simac for 6-0. Jackson Thurman picked up his second hit of the game and drove Gillian in for the final score of 7-0.
Dax was smooth in the 7th to pitch a complete game, shutting out the Brentwood Bruins 7-0 and giving up just two hits. McLochlin moves to 2-0 on the mound, walking 4 and striking out 5 in throwing 105 pitches.
Brentwood drops to 6-7 on the season. Noblesville got their third win in a row on the spring break trip after losing a tough one Thursday night 2-0 and are now 4-1 heading home.
Alec Parker fully earned his Hamilton County TV Player of the Game awards, going 3-for-3 at the plate, with an RBI, double, two singles and a walk. The senior also had a great game in the field at first base.
The Millers now turn their attention to the loss of senior teammate Avrey Rose, who lost his life late Thursday night at St. Vincent Hospital in Indianapolis, way too early in life. They will get to say their final goodbyes to Avrey on Tuesday from 3-6 p.m. at Randall and Roberts Funeral Home on SR 32 in Noblesville. The burial will be Wednesday at Crownland Cemetary in Noblesville.
Noblesville outlasts Grace Christian in extras, 10-8
Noblesville 10, Grace Christian 8 (8 inn.) - (3pm at Grace Christian Academy - Knoxville, TN)
Millers 1 0 1 1 3 0 2 2 - 10 14 4
Rams 1 0 2 0 0 3 2 0 - 8 9 0
Austin Shirley was bound and determined to start things off on the right foot at the plate against Grace Christian Academy on the Rams' home turf. It literally is a full turf infield, even where there's usually dirt. The outfield is bermuda grass.
The junior CF led off the game with a single and it was kind of like he got a monkey off of his back. In the first two games of the season against New Castle and at Farragut on Thursday, Austin struckout and it more than likely affected his approach.
Michael Carmosino was hit by a pitch to put runners at first and second. Shirley stole third for runners at the corners and a good outlook for the Millers, that was, until Carmo tried making his way to second. He got caught in a short-lived rundown going 2-3-6, scoring Shirley for a 1-0 early edge. Bryce Masterson flied out to left and Dax McLochlin struck out looking to end the first abruptly and put a stop to what could have been an even more productive start.
GCA was playing their 17the game of the year, just as Farragut was on Thursday night against Noblesville. The Rams made a little noise of their own in the home half of the 1st. Tanner Fee got on with a one-out walk. Chandler Adkins sailed a double to the centerfield wall, sending Fee home for a 1-1 tie. Pitcher Luke Shepherd walked, but was stranded to end the inning with Miller starter Harris Camp forced a pop out and struck out the catcher Hayden Coffman.
Noblesville loaded the bases from a couple singles and a walk in the top of the second, but weren't able to get those baserunners home.
They had another chance in the visitors half of the third and took advantage of it. Carmo and Masterson both grounded out to the first baseman Ross Ledford for a pair of quick outs. Dax came up next and it was obvious that the senior didn't feel the pressure. McLochlin blasted a solo home run over the 15-foot center field wall to give the Millers a 2-1 lead. Christman and Gilliam singled right after Dax, but got stranded when Alec Parker went down swinging to end the inning.
Grace Christian took advantage of sophomore hurler Harris Camp in the bottom of the third. After striking out leadoff hitter Justin Shaw for the second time in a row, Fee reached again, this time via a throwing error on Camp, allowing Fee to second with the throw leaving the field of play. Adkins grounded out to Parker at first, moving Fee over to third and into scoring position. Shepherd walked, then he and Fee were driven home on a two-run double down the right field line by new pitcher Ryan Medders and the Rams had regained the lead 3-2.
A couple quick outs in the top of the 4th from a fly out to right by L.J. Tilley and Alex Cleverly striking out had the Millers on their heels, but not for long. Back to the top of the order, Shirley walked on four Medders pitches and was sent home from first on a double that hit the right field chalk line and that tied the score 3-3.
McLochlin led the 5th off by walking. Connor Christman singled to right center to get Dax over to third and there were runners at the corners. Travis Gillian drove the first pitch of his at-bat on one hop to the wall in center for a two-run triple, scoring both Dax and Conner for a 5-3 lead for the Millers. With no outs, Alec Parker grounded out to short, which was enough for Gillian to score and after 4 1/2, Noblesville was up on GCA, 6-3.
Clayton Marowski came in during the 3rd inning from the bullpen and pitched Camp out of the slight mess he'd gotten himself into. Marowski worked a total of 3 innings, but was pulled for Connor Adams just after Clayton allowed two runs to come in to cut the NHS lead to 6-5. Adkins singled to left to plate Justin Shaw, tying the game for the 3rd time, 6-6 through six.
The Millers entered the top of the 7th looking like they had a sense of urgency to make a change to the score out on the scoreboard in left field. Christman started off with a walk just before GCA changed pitchers and Justin Shaw jogged in from center to take the ball on the mound.
On the third pitch Shaw threw, Gillian grounded to short where Connor was forced out at second and Travis was safe at first on the throw for a fielder's choice. Parker walked and they both were driven in by Jackson Thurman's pinch-hit two-run double to left and the Millers took an 8-6 score into the bottom of the 7th.
Looking ready for the challenge, Connor Adams gave up a 1-1 single up the middle to Hayden Coffman. The next pitch was crushed over the center field wall by Micah Wheeler for a two-run home run, tying the see-saw affair at 8-8. Adams was able to retire three of the next four that stepped in the box to end the inning.
After Shirley grounded out, Carmosino doubled again for the second time in the game. Two batters later, McLochlin stoked an RBI-single to left to make it 9-8. Two more singles by Christman and Gillian loaded the bases with two down. Alec Parker worked the count and really didn't feel the pressure as he walked to bring home another run for the final count of 10-8 in 8 innings.
Noblesville's starting pitcher, Harris Camp, re-entered the game. It's not often that it happens, but in high school baseball, and softball for that matter, the if the starting pitcher leaves the game, they can re-enter. Camp came back in the game and pitched with a purpose, allowing just one hit and a fielder's choice during the final out of the game to seal the deal for the Millers' second win of the day.
Connor Adams earned the win in the decision and Harris Camp notched the save. Travis Gillian earned his way to Player of the Game honors from Hamilton County TV.
The win improved Noblesville to 3-1 before they finish up their play in the DeMarini/Diamond Invitational on Saturday against Brentwood High School at 10 a.m.
Millers 1 0 1 1 3 0 2 2 - 10 14 4
Rams 1 0 2 0 0 3 2 0 - 8 9 0
Austin Shirley was bound and determined to start things off on the right foot at the plate against Grace Christian Academy on the Rams' home turf. It literally is a full turf infield, even where there's usually dirt. The outfield is bermuda grass.
The junior CF led off the game with a single and it was kind of like he got a monkey off of his back. In the first two games of the season against New Castle and at Farragut on Thursday, Austin struckout and it more than likely affected his approach.
Michael Carmosino was hit by a pitch to put runners at first and second. Shirley stole third for runners at the corners and a good outlook for the Millers, that was, until Carmo tried making his way to second. He got caught in a short-lived rundown going 2-3-6, scoring Shirley for a 1-0 early edge. Bryce Masterson flied out to left and Dax McLochlin struck out looking to end the first abruptly and put a stop to what could have been an even more productive start.
GCA was playing their 17the game of the year, just as Farragut was on Thursday night against Noblesville. The Rams made a little noise of their own in the home half of the 1st. Tanner Fee got on with a one-out walk. Chandler Adkins sailed a double to the centerfield wall, sending Fee home for a 1-1 tie. Pitcher Luke Shepherd walked, but was stranded to end the inning with Miller starter Harris Camp forced a pop out and struck out the catcher Hayden Coffman.
Noblesville loaded the bases from a couple singles and a walk in the top of the second, but weren't able to get those baserunners home.They had another chance in the visitors half of the third and took advantage of it. Carmo and Masterson both grounded out to the first baseman Ross Ledford for a pair of quick outs. Dax came up next and it was obvious that the senior didn't feel the pressure. McLochlin blasted a solo home run over the 15-foot center field wall to give the Millers a 2-1 lead. Christman and Gilliam singled right after Dax, but got stranded when Alec Parker went down swinging to end the inning.
Grace Christian took advantage of sophomore hurler Harris Camp in the bottom of the third. After striking out leadoff hitter Justin Shaw for the second time in a row, Fee reached again, this time via a throwing error on Camp, allowing Fee to second with the throw leaving the field of play. Adkins grounded out to Parker at first, moving Fee over to third and into scoring position. Shepherd walked, then he and Fee were driven home on a two-run double down the right field line by new pitcher Ryan Medders and the Rams had regained the lead 3-2.
A couple quick outs in the top of the 4th from a fly out to right by L.J. Tilley and Alex Cleverly striking out had the Millers on their heels, but not for long. Back to the top of the order, Shirley walked on four Medders pitches and was sent home from first on a double that hit the right field chalk line and that tied the score 3-3.
McLochlin led the 5th off by walking. Connor Christman singled to right center to get Dax over to third and there were runners at the corners. Travis Gillian drove the first pitch of his at-bat on one hop to the wall in center for a two-run triple, scoring both Dax and Conner for a 5-3 lead for the Millers. With no outs, Alec Parker grounded out to short, which was enough for Gillian to score and after 4 1/2, Noblesville was up on GCA, 6-3.
Clayton Marowski came in during the 3rd inning from the bullpen and pitched Camp out of the slight mess he'd gotten himself into. Marowski worked a total of 3 innings, but was pulled for Connor Adams just after Clayton allowed two runs to come in to cut the NHS lead to 6-5. Adkins singled to left to plate Justin Shaw, tying the game for the 3rd time, 6-6 through six.
The Millers entered the top of the 7th looking like they had a sense of urgency to make a change to the score out on the scoreboard in left field. Christman started off with a walk just before GCA changed pitchers and Justin Shaw jogged in from center to take the ball on the mound.
On the third pitch Shaw threw, Gillian grounded to short where Connor was forced out at second and Travis was safe at first on the throw for a fielder's choice. Parker walked and they both were driven in by Jackson Thurman's pinch-hit two-run double to left and the Millers took an 8-6 score into the bottom of the 7th.
Looking ready for the challenge, Connor Adams gave up a 1-1 single up the middle to Hayden Coffman. The next pitch was crushed over the center field wall by Micah Wheeler for a two-run home run, tying the see-saw affair at 8-8. Adams was able to retire three of the next four that stepped in the box to end the inning.
After Shirley grounded out, Carmosino doubled again for the second time in the game. Two batters later, McLochlin stoked an RBI-single to left to make it 9-8. Two more singles by Christman and Gillian loaded the bases with two down. Alec Parker worked the count and really didn't feel the pressure as he walked to bring home another run for the final count of 10-8 in 8 innings.
Noblesville's starting pitcher, Harris Camp, re-entered the game. It's not often that it happens, but in high school baseball, and softball for that matter, the if the starting pitcher leaves the game, they can re-enter. Camp came back in the game and pitched with a purpose, allowing just one hit and a fielder's choice during the final out of the game to seal the deal for the Millers' second win of the day.
Connor Adams earned the win in the decision and Harris Camp notched the save. Travis Gillian earned his way to Player of the Game honors from Hamilton County TV.
The win improved Noblesville to 3-1 before they finish up their play in the DeMarini/Diamond Invitational on Saturday against Brentwood High School at 10 a.m.
Millerball takes down Knoxville West 5-2, Buchanan wins varsity debut
To start the day on Friday, it was a question of how the Noblesville Millers would respond mentally for their two games during the middle of the day against Knoxville West and Grace Christian Academy. The team found out the news late Thursday night following their 2-0 loss at Farragut that teammate Avrey Rose had lost his battle back home in Noblesville.Avrey Rose was a Noblesville senior and a part of the Miller baseball team. He was close to many members of the team. This baseball family is a very tight knit group. The parents and coaches will help the players get through this extremely tough time in their lives. Losing someone this close is obviously never an easy thing to deal with. Once personnel at Farragut caught wind, they offered grief counselors to anyone that might possibly need it. That's just a small part of hospitality that Noblesville received through this tragic event while on the road.
Prior to the 12:30 first pitch between Knoxville West and Noblesville at Grace Christian Academy, the public address announcer from Grace Christian spoke some very kind words about Avrey, along with having a moment of silence in his memory before the playing of the Star-Spangled Banner.
Noblesville 5, Knoxville West 2 - (Fri. 4/3, 12:30 at Grace Christian Academy - Knoxville, TN)
Rebels 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 - 2 5 0
Millers 0 0 3 1 0 1 x - 5 11 0
Senior Justin Buchanan was called upon to start for Noblesville in Game 1 of the two-game set for the Millers at Grace Christian Academy. Buchanan has worked very hard to get to where he is now at the varsity level.
This particular pitcher thrives on gummy worms being a must-have in the dugout, instead of sunflower seeds, at least for himself to keep going. It must work, to an extent. He told me that he brought 3 bags of gummy worms with him to the ballpark on Friday, which should surely get him through his outing.
Wind became a dominant force on the campus of Grace Christian Academy on Good Friday. Their baseball diamond sits between their newly renovated football stadium and softball field just up the hill. The wind swirled, but that wouldn't affect Buchanan.
He started off his varsity debut by striking out his first two hitters, gaining some confidence with fellow senior Alec Parker catching his pitches behind the plate.
Adam Cupp doubled to left and was immediately driven home by DH Sam Springer on a single up the middle for a 1-0 Knoxville West lead. Noblesville also managed a singled and a double in the home half of the 1st, but weren't able to send them home, as Travis Gilliam flied out to left to end the possibility of a big inning, leaving three on base.
Buchanan sent the Rebels down in order with a pop out, groundout and strikeout to fire up the Miller crowd that made the trip.
After Parker lined out to left to start off the bottom of the 2nd, L.J. Tilley and Jackson Thurman had back-to-back singles before Austin Shirley struckout for the second straight inning. Michael Carmosino walked to load the bags once again, but Bryce Masterson grounded out to Roland Ryan to end the inning and leave three on-base for the second inning in a row.
Aside from plunking a pair of Rebels in the top of the third, Buchanan K'd another West hitter and forced two others to pop out, keeping any more runs from crossing the plate.
Dax McLochlin led off the home half of the 3rd with a single and stole second base on an outside pitch to put himself into scoring position. Three pitches later, Connor Christman lined a single up the middle into center field to score Dax from second to tie it 1-1. Parker came up big in the next at-bat, tripling to the wall in center on one hope, scoring Christman to make it 2-1.
On the play, CF Cole Skvara somehow got his foot stuck under the bottom of the metal wall and he had to get it pryed out with a bat.
Ty Lindstrand came in to courtesy run for the catcher Parker and bolted home on a passed ball for a 3-1 Miller lead after three that they wouldn't give back to the Rebels.
Lead-off hitter Austin Shirley was up first in the bottom of four and singled right by shortstop Adam Cupp. Shirley would score minutes later on another passed ball for a 4-1 score through four.
Cupp led off the top of the 6th with a double about 20-feet beyond Christman at third. Springer drove Cupp in for Knoxville West's second run to cut the deficit to 4-2. Senior reliever Connor Adams came in out of the bullpen to get the final two outs of the 6th, striking out Eli Coe looking and forcing pinch-hitter Christian Millwood into a groundout right back to Adams and he made a nice throw to first for the third out.
Noblesville answered the call and got that run back that they just gave up in the top of the inning. With one away, Carmo reached on an infield single and was quickly able to steal second on Rebels' pitcher Grayson Goble. Two hitters later, McLochlin rifled a hit in the hole between the shortstop and third baseman, scoring Carmosino with ease for the final score of 5-2.
Justin Buchanan earned the win on the mound, tossing 5.1 innings, giving up 5 hits, allowing two runs (both earned), striking out 6 and walking none to earn our Player of the Game award from Hamilton County TV. Connor Adams pitched 1.2 innings, walking one and striking out another to earn the save.
Dax McLochlin led Noblesville (2-1) at the plate with a 3-for-4 game, scoring once and driving in a run while also stealing a base. Bryce Masterson was 2-for-4, while Alec Parker also highlighted the Millers on offense with an RBI-triple and Connor Christman had an RBI-single.
The second game of the day would be at 3pm vs. the host school, Grace Christian Academy.
Friday, April 3, 2015
Noblesville falls 2-0 to nationally ranked Farragut (TN), Conway fans 11
The two teams were slated for the nightcap on Day 1 of the 2015 Demarini/Diamond Academy Classic in West Knoxville, Tennessee for a couple reasons. It's only fitting that the host school, Farragut, would play the final game of the day. Also, it made perfect sense to schedule the 2014 Tennessee state champions to play the Noblesville Millers, the 2014 4A Indiana State Champions.Warmer weather earlier in the south helps Farragut get started with their season a few weeks earlier than a cold state like Indiana can. Prior to last night's game, the Admirals had already played 16 games and the Millers have only just begun their season on Monday with that 13-0 win over New Castle.
Noblesville wasn't going to let their difference in games played be a factor in how they approached this particular match-up. Coach Keever's team has both experience and youth, which should mix pretty well together as the season progresses.
#5 Farragut (TN) 2, 4A #3 Noblesville 0 - (at Farragut HS, West Knoxville, TN)
Millers 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 - 0 0 2
Admirals 0 0 2 0 0 0 x - 2 5 1
Thomas Keyes took the mound for Farragut and looked bound and determined from the get-go to get the Admirals to 15-2. After Austin Shirley led off striking out, Michael Carmosino was hit by an inside pitch, but was stranded at second to end the inning.
Cory Conway got the ball on the mound for Noblesville and couldn't have been more ready for this opportunity. The junior southpaw threw just 11 pitches in the bottom of the 1st and pitched with purpose. He struck out two of the three he faced and sandwiched those Ks with a ground out to send Farragut down in order.
The Millers did the same at the plate in the 2nd, with strikeouts from Connor Christman and Alec Parker bordering a Travis Gilliam ground out.
Conway was back at it in the home half of the 2nd, starting off striking out future University of Tennessee player Duncan Pence. Catcher Jake Hagenow hit a high fly ball to left into the night sky that was unfortunately misplayed by mere inches by left fielder Ty Lindstrand, getting Farragut's first runner aboard. Niko Mascia walked to give the hosts a pair of runners on, but that didn't phase Cory.
On the next eight pitches, the much-improved junior struck out Jake Blevins and John Painter, both looking, to end the inning and put an end to Farragut's threat.\
Once again, Noblesville went 1-2-3 in the third with a pair of ground outs and a fly out.
Starting the last of the 3rd fanning sophomore Chandler Chambers, Conway had struck out three in a row. Lead-off hitter Cole Morgan reached via an error by Gilliam at second. Carmelo Venero singled to get Morgan over to third for runners at the corners and now an even bigger threat to score. With North Carolina signee Chase Fullington up, a passed ball got away from Miller catcher Alex Cleverly and Morgan scored from third with ease to get Farragut up 1-0. Then, with one out, Fullington grounded out to second, scoring Venero for a 2-0 lead, which would wind up being the final score.
In the top of the 4th, the Millers had a chance to put themselves on the scoreboard. Michael Carmosino reached on a throwing error by third baseman John Painter. Carmo stole second with an intent on getting his team on the board and putting a dent in the narrow 2-0 lead the Admirals had.
Right in a row, DH Bryce Masterson struck out, Dax McLochlin flied out to right and Christman grounded out to third to end Noblesville's threat, stranding Carmosino at second.
Thomas Keyes went the distance to also throw a complete game for the Admirals. Although it didn't seem like it, Keyes finished the game with a no-hit shutout of Noblesville, striking out 5 and walking none. The only base runner he allowed was Carmosino twice. The junior Miller SS was hit by a pitch and reached on an error. Forcing nine ground outs and five fly/pop outs, the Millers made Keyes and Farragut work out in the field to grind out this 2-0 win over Noblesville.
The final three innings of work, Conway allowed four hits and struck out five. He ended his complete game effort with 6 innings pitched, allowing just 5 hits, 2 runs (both unearned), one walk, while striking out 11 Farragut hitters. He threw 95 pitches, 63 being strikes. Also, he tossed first pitch strikes to 15 of the 26 batters he faced. To say the least, Cory Conway answered the call and was completely dialed in. For his outstanding efforts on the mound, Conway was named the Hamilton County TV Player of the Game.
Noblesville (1-1) has a tough day ahead. They'll head over to Grace Christian Academy, where they'll face Knoxville West at 12:30 and then face the hosts in Grace Christian at 3 p.m.
We will continue to have full coverage of the Millers today on this spring break trip in both games on Hamilton County TV and it will be available at www.hctv5.com for your viewing/listening pleasure!
GO MILLERS!
Wednesday, April 1, 2015
Miller softball beats Fishers to open HCC play
On a beautiful day in Noblesville, it was sunny and in the upper 50's. But, since it was still March 31st, the wind was picking and choosing when it wanted to blow, forcing the fans in attendance at Miller Park to dress for a late October football game like they were just south at Hare Chevrolet Field. Nonetheless, Perry Williams and myself at Hamilton County TV were glad that we could be there to broadcast the home opener.Overall, it was a great night between the Fishers and Noblesville communities. The two got together, just like they do for their girls basketball regular season meeting, and had tables full of silent auction items for people to bid on. All proceeds from the auction go toward cancer research. There were also cancer survivors on hand, which is always an applauding gesture to recognize them in their fight of cancer. One even was chosen to throw out the ceremonial first pitch.
The Fishers Tigers donned pink t-shirts with the cancer logo on the front and their numbers on the back in white. Noblesville chose a black shirt and the cancer logo on their shirts was pink with white numbers on their backs.
Noblesville 8, Fishers 4 - (Tuesday, March 31 at Miller Park, Noblesville)
Tigers 0 2 0 0 0 0 2 - 4 5 1
Millers 0 4 2 0 2 0 x - 8 10 1
When the name Melloh is on the opponent's lineup card in Hamilton county, you know that they've got some talent. Kristin Melloh (right), younger sister of former Hamilton Southeastern standout and 2007 Indiana Miss Softball, got the call to start for Mike Ramsey's Noblesville Millers.
If you look down the Millers' varsity roster, there are a lot of upperclassmen to lead this great group of talent. In Monday's "season opener" at Tipton, Noblesville put on a hitting show for the host Blue Devils, belting out 16 hits, compared to Tipton's 4, including 6 doubles and Zoe Schafer's first HR of the season. The reason "season opener" is in quotes, is because last Friday the Millers were to open at Guerin Catholic, but cold temperatures prevented the game from being played.
Melloh was at ease on the mound from the start. Striking out Abby Mozingo and Mykayla Spillman for two quick outs boosted her confidence level. After that, she forced Allysa Chavez to pop out to Maddie Moore at short to end the top of the first for Fishers.
Moore led off the bottom for the Millers with a single. With freshman Grace Smith striking out, Maddie wasn't able to get off the bag. While Zoe Schafer was at the plate, Moore was called out for leaving 1st base too early. Just after the call, Schafer flew out to left to end the inning.Brooke Hendricks was hit by a 2-1 inside pitch to lead off the 2nd. Briana Rance walked to put Fishers in a good position. Katie Shaw hit a solid grounder to Taylor Bounin at third. Bounin overthrew Schafer at first, allowing Hendricks to score from second and the Tigers jumped on the board 1st, 1-0. Two batters later, Alijah Guilliam lined a single to left to plate Rance and Fishers had a 2-0 edge.
Aly Compton led off the bottom of two getting on base by the shortstop Guilliam. Karley Blankenship popped out just in front of the plate for the first out and Ariel Gaskill (above left) moved Compton to 2nd with a sacrifice bunt for the second out.
Bounin walked for runners at first and second. Kimi Box came up next and laid down a perfect bunt, driving home Compton for the Millers' first run. Runners were at first and third now with catcher Cassie Neal up. With a 1-2 count, Neal smoked a double to left, scoring both Bounin and Box to help Noblesville take a 3-2 lead, igniting the home crowd. Hayley Lutz came in to pinch run for Neal and immediately scored as Maddie Moore drove in the 4th run of the inning on an RBI triple and the Millers were up 4-2 through two.
Kristin Melloh had really settled in on the pitching rubber, facing a total of 14 hitters of the third through sixth innings.
Noblesville kept things going on offense in the home half of the 3rd, really testing Fishers hurler Gabbi Schnaiter.
Zoe Schafer belted a solo home run over the right center field fence to lead off the inning for a 5-2 score. Compton doubled for her first hit of the game and was moved over to third on Blankenship's sac bunt. Gaskill dropped down a bunt in an effort to score Compton, which she did, but in the process also beat out the throw for a bunt RBI single and a 6-2 lead.Schafer would lead off the fifth inning just like she did in the third. This time, her home run was a little closer to center for her 2nd HR of the night and her third of the young season in just two games. She hit 6 home runs last season as a junior. The duos HRs gave Noblesville an 8-2 lead after five innings.
With the Miller bats taking advantage of Schnaiter, Compton decided it was her turn to smack a home run. Aly hit two long balls in 2014, so she and Schafer look like they'll be a great combo in the 3-4 slots in the Noblesville batting order.Defense and a great Noblesville varsity pitching debut for junior Kristin Melloh are what kept Fishers at a distance. Melloh ran into a little bit of trouble in her search for a complete game. Guilliam poked a one-out single to shallow left. Abby Mozingo drove in Guilliam with a single and Spillman also singled home Mozingo. Sammi Minton, a move-in, came in to relieve Melloh and recorded the final out and the Millers held on for an 8-4 HCC win.
Melloh gets the win in her debut as a Miller and Minton the save.
After her two home run effort, we named Zoe Schafer our Hamilton County TV Player of the Game, presented by Noblesville Trophies.
Congratulations to Coach Mike Ramsey, his staff and the players for a great Hoosier Crossroads Conference opening win and a 2-0 start to the season! Good luck tonight at Hamilton Heights!
Beat those Huskies!
*all photos courtesy of Kent Graham at kentgraham.photoshelter.com.
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