By RICHIE HALL
Reporter Sports Editor
The Noblesville baseball team finished its Hoosier Crossroads Conference series with Westfield by winning 11-1 in six innings at Don Dunker Field Saturday evening.
The Shamrocks scored the first run of the game in the top of the first inning, but the Millers responded with three runs in the bottom of the first, and cruised from there. The big win gave Noblesville a sweep of Westfield, and thus evened its HCC record at 3-3.
“We got a lot of work to do,” said Millers coach Justin Keever. “Our guys are getting better, though.”
The game began with consecutive doubles by the Shamrocks’ Logan McClurg and Matt Meyer, with Meyer batting in McClurg. Noblesville answered with a double by Travis Gillian to lead off the Millers, and he was walked in by Bryce Masterson. DJ Owens later scored on a single by Mark Goudy, and Zac Tuinei batted pinch runner Tyler Owens home; Tyler came in from Alex Cleverly, who laid down a bunt to load the bases.
Cleverly hit again in the second inning, but wouldn’t need a pinch runner. That’s because he hit a three-run home run, sending himself, Harris Camp and Gillian home. After that, Masterson doubled and Reese Sharp hit a sacrifice fly to left field to score him. Gillian batted in Cooper Miles in the fourth inning.
Noblesville added two more runs in the fifth in one of the crazier plays seen in baseball lately. Tuinei was walked on to first and advanced to second on a Camp single. Both Millers advanced on a wild pitch, and both were nearly caught in rundowns, with Tuinei trying to get home. But Tuinei was able to evade the home plate tag, and scored.
“That’s kind of Zac’s personality,” said Keever. “He does not quit. He keeps fighting and he found a way to get out of it. It was pretty entertaining.”
Camp scored later on a Gilliam sacrifice fly. Noblesville ended the game in the sixth inning when Miles’ single got AJ Farber home.
Gillian, Cleverly, Miles and Camp all totaled two hits, with Gillian responsible for two RBIs. Clay Holzworth, in his first every varsity start, pitched all six innings, striking out five. Keever noted that Holzworth has “an old soul,” despite this being a first-ever varsity call-up.
“He’s just going to compete and you trust what he has, and he’s going to do his best and he’s going to be okay with that,” said Keever. “And that’s kind of why we like him.”
McClurg was 2-for-3 for Westfield.
Noblesville 11, Westfield 1
(6 innings)
Westfield AB R H RBI
Logan McClurg 3 1 2 0
Matthew Meyer 3 0 1 1
Brian Skelton 3 0 0 0
Sam Eaton 3 0 0 0
Zach Collins 3 0 0 0
Kyle Pepiot 2 0 0 0
Cam Nance 0 0 0 0
Dylan Zellers 1 0 0 0
Kaleb Pettijohn 2 0 1 0
Trey Anderson 2 0 0 0
Totals 22 1 4 1
2B: McClurg, Meyer.
WHS pitching IP R ER H
Meyer 2.2 8 8 8
Zellers 1.1 0 0 0
Pepiot 1.0 2 2 1
Jason Gabbenesch 0.2 1 1 2
Strikeouts: Meyer 1, Zellers 1, Pepiot 1, Gabbenesch 1. Walks: Meyer 2, Gabbenesch 1, Pepiot 1.
Noblesville AB R H RBI
Travis Gillian 3 2 2 2
DJ Owens 1 1 0 0
Alex Cleverly 2 1 2 3
Tyler Owens 0 1 0 0
Jacob Bowen 1 0 0 0
Bryce Masterson 2 1 1 1
AJ Farber 1 1 1 0
Reese Sharp 2 0 0 1
Michael Scalzo 1 0 0 0
Mark Goudy 3 0 1 1
Jacob Thieman 0 0 0 0
Zac Tuinei 2 1 0 1
Bryce Randolph 0 0 0 0
Cooper Miles 4 1 2 1
Harris Camp 2 2 2 0
Totals 24 11 11 10
HR: Cleverly. 2B: Masterson, Gillian. SB: Farber 2, T. Owens. SAC: DJ Owens, Gillian, Sharp. HBP: Cleverly, Camp, DJ Owens.
NHS pitching IP R ER H
Clay Holzworth 6 1 1 4
Strikeouts: Holzworth 5. Walks: Holzworth 1.
Score by innings
Westfield 100 000 – 1 4 0
Noblesville 341 021 – 11 11 0
Noblesville’s Clay Holzworth got the pitching win in his first-ever varsity game Saturday night. The Millers beat the Shamrocks 11-1. (Kent Graham)