By RICH TORRES
NOBLESVILLE – Tensions ran high in a tug-of-war Sectional 8 baseball opener between rivals Class 4A Hamilton Southeastern and Carmel, while host Noblesville stayed hot, winning its ninth straight on Wednesday night.
The Hamilton Southeastern Royals (13-15) survived a 3-hour and 16-minute marathon against Carmel 15-10 in eight innings at Don Dunker Field, which showcased three ties, three lead changes and a heated exchange in the bottom of the fifth.
In the evening’s second game, Noblesville’s Kade Gorman was ice cold on the mound, allowing one hit through four innings in relief to help the Millers (20-10) defeat Westfield 5-3.
“Kade’s been a good pitcher for us all year long. He got the job done. He has a lot of confidence, and he did a nice job of coming in and throwing a lot of strikes for us,” Noblesville head coach Justin Keever said.
Gorman entered in the bottom of the fourth and posted three strikeouts to stymie the Shamrocks (11-15), who clubbed a pair of solo home runs to tie the game 3-3 in the third inning.
Westfield’s Logan McClurg and Bryce Dorton both blasted home runs with two outs in the bottom of the second and third, respectively, to break an early 1-1 tie and rally from a 3-2 deficit.
“Unfortunately, we just didn’t get guys on in front of them,” Westfield head coach Ryan Bunnell said. “That’s going to happen from time to time, but that’s a hot ball club over there. And they’re always ready to go, are well coached and protect this field really well.”
At home where they are now 11-5 this season – and haven’t lost in six games – the Millers took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first as Tyler Owens scored on a wild pitch from third base with one out.
Noblesville tacked on two runs in the top of the third behind a two-run double by D.J. Owens to build a 3-2 advantage after trailing 2-1.
An RBI fielder’s choice by Jacob Thieman in the top of the fifth broke the game’s second and final tie to make the score 4-3 before Bryce Randolph connected for a clutch two-out RBI-single to give Gorman all he needed.
The Millers’ senior right-hander picked up his fourth win and retired 12 of 13 batters he faced.
“That’s the most important thing. When you have guys behind me like I have, it’s so easy. I didn’t strike too many guys out. Most of the balls were in play, and they made plays, so it was real easy to do my job,” Gorman said. “Just throw strikes.”
Westfield starter Matthew Meyer went six innings, striking out six, but the Millers put together a pair of three-hit innings in the third and fifth and used two Shamrock errors to advance into Monday’s semifinal round against HSE at 10 a.m.
Tyler Owens was 2-for-4 with two runs scored for the Millers. D.J. Owens went 2-for-4 and Mark Goudy finished 1-for-2 with two runs.
“It wasn’t a very well-played game by us, I didn’t think,” Keever said. “But we found a way to get it done, and this time of the year, it’s all about winning. To our kids’ credit, they found a way.”
The Royals discovered their swagger against Carmel (12-14) in slugfest that involved six hit batters, four intentional walks and seven errors.
The turning point unfolded as tempers flared in the bottom of the fifth when Carmel’s John David Rogers collided with HSE first baseman Greyson Droste as he was tagged out to end the frame during a rundown.
Players from both sides exchanged words as the teams left the field, and both coaches traded verbal jabs before officials and security calmed the situation down before it escalated.
The confrontation infused the Royals, who broke the game open in the top of the eighth with a four-hit, six-run inning. HSE sent 12 batters to the plate and loaded the bases three times to temper the Greyhounds.
“I just told them to focus that energy on things we can control. Any of the things outside of what we can control does nothing but distract you. That’s one of the things we talked about. Focus the energy,” HSE head coach Scott Henson said.
The Royals led the game early 2-0 in the top of the second and went up 4-2 in the third, but Carmel continued to answer.
The Greyhounds took advantage of two HSE errors in the bottom of the fourth to go ahead 6-4 and snapped a 6-6 tie in the bottom of the fifth with a three-run swing 9-6.
HSE responded with a three-run top of the sixth to make it 9-9 as Droste laced a bases-loaded three-run double to left field.
“The energy was a lot better than it’s been all year. We redirected it to the team. It was a much better effort than we’ve had all year,” Droste said. “I think that was the first time we’ve put up 15 runs all year.”
Every HSE player scored at least one run and seven drove in one or more runs during the Royals’ 10-hit performance.
Droste went 2-for-4 with three RBI, and Matthew Buckingham was 1-for-4 with three RBI, including a two-run single with two outs in the eighth.
Jacob Daftari was 1-for-3 with two RBI and Anthony Eggers went 1-for-4 with three runs and two RBI. Caden Ruhnow had a 2-for-4 day at the plate with an RBI and a run scored in his first varsity start.
HSE starter Carter Lohman struck out seven in 3 1/3 innings with two walks and five hits allowed. Sam Bachman finished the game, following reliever Rutger Poiry, with seven strikeouts in three innings.
Carmel’s Will Richter went 3-for-5 with an RBI, and Tanner Simmons was 2-for-2 with two RBI, a triple and a double. Ethan Pryor’s two-run single in the bottom of the fifth put Carmel up 9-6.
“I just told them how proud I was of them. At one point, we were 3-10, and I just told them how proud I was the way they stuck together as a team,” Carmel head coach Matt Buczkowski said. “I’ve been around with other teams where it doesn’t work like that. I think it says a tremendous amount about their character.”
Southeastern 15, Carmel 10
(8 innings)
Southeastern AB R H RBI
Anthony Eggers 4 3 1 2
Cole DeWael 4 2 2 1
Greyson Droste 4 2 2 3
Cole Graverson 0 0 0 0
Jacob Daftari 3 1 1 2
Brayton Harrison 4 2 1 1
Jake Hutson 5 1 0 0
Matt Buckingham 4 1 1 3
Jacob Garcia 2 1 1 1
Cam Bolling 1 0 0 0
Caden Ruhnow 4 0 2 1
Zach Boyle 0 2 0 0
Totals 35 15 11 14
2B: Droste, Eggers, Ruhnow. SB: Buckingham, Droste, Ruhnow. SAC: DeWael, Daftari. HBP: DeWael, Eggers, Ruhnow.
Southeastern pitching IP R ER H
Carter Lohman (W) 3.2 6 3 6
Rutger Poiry 1.1 3 3 2
Sam Bachman (S) 3.0 1 1 3
Strikeouts: Lohman 7, Bachman 7, Poiry 2. Walks: Lohman 2, Poiry 1, Bachman 1.
Carmel AB R H RBI
John David Rogers 3 1 1 0
Alex Brooks 5 1 2 2
Will Richter 5 0 3 1
Jack Van Remortel 4 0 0 0
Jackson Adams 4 1 1 0
Cade Kantz 0 0 0 0
Evan Petruzzi 3 2 0 0
Luke Barnes 4 2 1 1
Tanner Simmons 2 0 2 2
Ethan Pryor 1 1 1 2
Robbie Levine 2 0 0 0
Drew Kelly 1 0 0 0
Drew Harding 0 2 0 0
Totals 34 10 11 8
3B: Barnes, Simmons. 2B: Adams, Brooks, Simmons. SB: Petruzzi, Pryor, Richter, Rogers. SAC: Levine. HBP: Rogers 2, Petruzzi.
Carmel pitching IP R ER H
Drew Olssen 4.2 6 3 5
Harding 0.1 3 3 2
Aiden Bradbury 2.2 6 6 3
Richter 0.1 0 0 1
Strikeouts: Bradbury 5, Olssen 1, Harding 1. Walks: Olssen 4, Bradbury 3, Richter 1.
Score by innings
Southeastern 022 023 06 – 15 11 4
Carmel 020 430 01 – 10 11 4
Noblesville 5, Westfield 3
Noblesville AB R H RBI
Tyler Owens 4 2 2 0
Cooper Miles 4 0 0 0
Mark Goudy 2 2 1 0
DJ Owens 4 0 2 2
Jacob Thieman 4 1 0 1
Bryce Randolph 2 0 1 1
Reese Sharp 3 0 0 0
Ethan Imel 1 0 0 0
Cade Nelis 1 0 0 0
Jackson Ramey 3 0 0 0
Zac Tuinei 0 0 0 0
Totals 28 5 6 4
2B: Goudy, DJ Owens. SB: Goudy. HBP: Imel.
Noblesville pitching IP R ER H
Ryan Plummer 3 3 3 4
Kade Gorman (W) 4 0 0 1
Strikeouts: Gorman 3, Plummer 2. Walks: Plummer 2.
Westfield AB R H RBI
Logan McClurg 3 1 1 1
Matthew Meyer 4 1 1 0
Sam Eaton 3 0 1 0
Zach Collins 3 0 1 0
Bryce Dorton 2 1 1 1
Trey Anderson 1 0 0 1
Kyle Pepiot 3 0 0 0
Luke Hutson 3 0 0 0
Brandon Yoder 2 0 0 0
Quentin Markle 1 0 0 0
Mason Cox 0 0 0 0
Totals 25 3 5 3
HR: Dorton, McClurg. HBP: Anderson, Dorton.
Westfield pitching IP R ER H
Meyer 6 5 4 6
Matthew Robinson 1 0 0 0
Strikeouts: Meyer 6. Walks: Meyer 2, Robinson 1.
Score by innings
Noblesville 102 020 0 – 5 6 0
Westfield 111 000 0 – 3 5 4
The Hamilton Southeastern baseball team celebrates after outlasting Carmel 15-10 in eight innings in Wednesday’s first round of the Noblesville sectional at Don Dunker Field. The Royals will play the Millers Monday morning in the semi-finals. (Richie Hall)