Instead of traveling down to Tennessee for Spring Break, the Noblesville baseball team is staying home this year.
The Millers are keeping active, though, as they’re hosting the Noblesville Invitational. The Millers played their first game of the tournament Friday night, falling to Mount Vernon 8-4.
Noblesville is dealing with a situation that many teams are: “We return zero starters,” said Millers coach Justin Keever.
The last time high school baseball was played in Indiana, this year’s senior players were sophomores. The juniors were freshmen. As a result, these players have been thrown into varsity competition without much varsity experience.
“And we’ve started off a little bit different than we’ve had in the past, so not only are the players a little bit out of sorts, the coaches are out of sorts, because we haven’t coached games and stuff like that in two years,” said Keever.
But the Noblesville tradition is still there, and this year’s Millers are trying to add to that.
“We’ve got a really good group of kids,” said Keever. “They’re very coachable, they want to learn.”
Noblesville scored a run in each of the first two innings. The Millers’ first run was walked in, as they drew three walks to load the bases, then Jacob Weiler got the fourth walk of the inning, which sent Dean White home.
White scored again in the second inning, but this time he got on base with a single, then got home on a double from Drew Niswonger. That put Noblesville up 2-1.
But the Marauders took the lead in the top of the third with three runs, then added three more runs in the fifth inning to lead 7-2. The Millers scored runs in the fifth and sixth innings, both times due to wild pitches. Kolbi Kazmierski ran home in the fifth, while Josh Kern scored in the sixth.
Three Noblesville players finished with two hits: White, Niswonger and Mason Bohland. White hit a double in the fifth inning. Ethan Leslie got the start on the mound for the Millers, striking out seven in four and a third innings.
“We’ve got some ability, we’ve got some athletic ability, we’ve got some guys that are capable,” said Keever. “Just got to get there and we’re not there right now.”
Noblesville is 0-2 and will play Zionsville in its second tournament game at 10 a.m. today.
MOUNT VERNON 8, NOBLESVILLE 4
Noblesville AB R H RBI
Dean White 4 2 2 0
Drew Niswonger 4 0 2 1
Mason Bohland 3 0 2 0
Bryce Adams 2 0 0 0
Josh Kern 4 1 0 0
Jacob Weiler 3 0 0 1
Kolbi Kazmierski 2 1 1 0
Caden David 3 0 1 0
Bryce Riggs 3 0 1 0
Austin Hastings 1 0 0 0
Keegan Speek 0 0 0 0
Totals 29 4 9 2
Score by Innings
Mount Vernon 103 031 0 – 8 6 1
Noblesville 110 011 0 – 4 9 5
2B: Niswonger, White. SB: Niswonger, Kazmierski, Bohland, White. HBP: Kazmierski, Kern, Adams.
NHS pitching IP R ER H
Ethan Leslie 4.1 7 2 5
Ty Haley 2.2 1 0 1
Strikeouts: Leslie 7, Haley 3. Walks: Leslie 4, Haley 1.
Fishers endured a frustrating day at the Noblesville Invitational on Friday, dropping both of its games.
First, the Tigers lost a tough one to Franklin Community 6-5. Fishers got ahead early, scoring in the top of the first inning when Joey Brenczewski got home on an error.
After absorbing 11 strikeouts in a row, the Tigers got another run in the fourth inning. JP Preston hit a two-out single, and he was soon back home after Jack Braun nailed a double into left field. Fishers now led 2-0.
Franklin scored a run in the bottom of the fourth, but the Tigers responded with three in the top of the fifth. With the bases loaded, Caulin Brown got home when Carson Dunn hit into a fielder’s choice. That kept the bases loaded when Dom Oliverio came up to the plate, and he hit a double into center field, scoring Bryant and Brenczewski.
But that would be it for Fishers. Franklin scored a run in the fifth and two runs in the sixth to get within 5-4. A single tied the game with two outs, then with the bases loaded, Franklin hit a walkoff single for the victory.
The Tigers had five hits, and four of them were doubles. Caulin Brown and Bryant joined Braun and Oliverio in getting extra-base hits for the game. Tate Warner pitched five innings, striking out eight.
Fishers played Columbus East in its second game and lost 10-0 in five innings. The Tigers were held to two hits, one each from Preston and Jack Brown.
Fishers is 1-2 and will play at 1 p.m. this afternoon, with its opponent to be determined.
FRANKLIN COMMUNITY 6, FISHERS 5
Fishers AB R H RBI
Joey Brenczewski 2 2 0 0
Carson Dunn 4 0 0 1
Dom Oliverio 3 0 1 2
JP Preston 4 1 1 0
Jack Braun 4 0 1 1
Jack Brown 3 0 0 0
Caulin Brown 3 1 1 0
Kaden Gorak 1 0 0 0
Matt Bryant 3 1 1 0
Gavin Kuzniewski 0 0 0 0
Totals 27 5 5 4
Score by Innings
Fishers 100 130 0 – 5 5 4
Franklin 000 112 2 – 6 8 1
2B: Braun, C. Brown, Bryant, Oliverio. SB: Brenczewski 2, Bryant, Oliverio, SAC: Gorak.
Fishers pitching IP R ER H
Tate Warner 5 2 1 6
Evan Allbright 0.1 2 0 0
Mason Sweeney 1.1 2 2 3
Strikeouts: Warner 8, Sweeney 1. Walks: Sweeney 3, Allbright 2, Warner 1.
COLUMBUS EAST 10, FISHERS 0
(5 innings)
Fishers AB R H RBI
Joey Brenczewski 2 0 0 0
Carson Dunn 2 0 0 0
Dom Oliverio 2 0 0 0
JP Preston 2 0 1 0
Jack Braun 2 0 0 0
Jack Brown 2 0 1 0
Caulin Brown 1 0 0 0
Grant Moritz 0 0 0 0
Jack Backofen 2 0 0 0
Zach Cox 2 0 0 0
Kaden Gorak 0 0 0 0
Totals 17 0 2 0
Score by Innings not available
SB: Gorak. HBP: Moritz.
Fishers pitching IP R ER H
J. Brown 2 6 6 5
Cody Jones 1 3 3 0
Kyle Manship 1 1 0 0
Strikeouts: J. Brown 3, Jones 2, Manship 1. Walks: Jones 5, J. Brown 2, Manship 2.