The REPORTER
The Noblesville baseball team scored a Hoosier Crossroads Conference sweep of Fishers last Saturday in a doubleheader at Don Dunker Field.
In the first game, the Millers won a back-and-forth game 10-9, coming from behind in the sixth inning. Noblesville won the second game 5-1, giving the Millers an early 2-0 mark in the conference.
Fishers went up 3-0 early in the first game. Ben Hammond doubled in Jack Brown for a first-inning run, then Trevor Hall led off the second inning with a triple and was batted in by Jase Ruggles’ right field hit. Deagan Repp’s left field hit brought Ruggles home.
Fishers’ Jase Ruggles, pictured here in the second game of the doubleheader, scored two runs for the Tigers during the first game. (Richie Hall)
Noblesville got on the board in the bottom of the second inning. Joe Glander doubled McCoy Fulk home, then scored when Sam Deno reached on error, getting the Millers within 3-2. Fishers got a run back in the top of the third when Evan Doran’s sacrifice fly scored Brown; both Brown and Hammond hit doubles to begin the inning.
Noblesville surged ahead in the bottom of the fourth, putting up five runs. Aiden Reynolds’ sacrifice fly brought in Blake Widget. Nolan Decker hit a single to score Trevor Corbett and Brady Bishop, moving the Millers ahead 5-4. Later, Glander doubled Decker and Aiden Ramsey home, and Noblesville’s lead was 7-4.
The Tigers cut the lead to 7-6 in the top of the fifth. Doran got home on a wild pitch, then Ruggles scored on Mayo Fernandez’s sacrifice fly. The Millers scored one in the bottom of the fifth, with Bishop scoring on Decker’s RBI fielder’s choice, giving Noblesville an 8-6 lead.
Fishers blasted back in the sixth inning with three runs. Huston Dunn got home on Hammond’s right field line drive, then Doran doubled Hammond home to tie the game. Doran later scored on a wild pitch and put the Tigers up 9-8.
But the Millers scored twice in the bottom of the sixth. Noblesville loaded the bases, then Reynolds drew a walk to score Glander and tie the score at 9-9. Jacob Baker came up next, and his RBI fielder’s choice was the go-ahead run, as it scored Josh Peek.
Glander finished the game 3-for-4 for the Millers, while Hammond was 3-for-4 for the Tigers.
Noblesville was the visiting team for the second game. The Millers got a run in the top of the first inning when Fulk drew a bases-loaded walk to score Baker. Fishers tied the game in the bottom of the second; Caulin Brown singled in Gavin Kuzniewski.
Noblesville’s Jacob Baker (19) scored two runs for the Millers during the second game of the doubleheader. (Richie Hall)
Noblesville took the lead for good in the third inning with three runs. Reynolds got home on a passed ball, Baker scored on an error, and Nash Watson got home on Fulk’s RBI groundout. In the sixth inning, Corbett was sent home by a right field hit from Reynolds.
Fulk and Ramsey both hit one double. Decker pitched a complete game, striking out five. Hammond hit a double for Fishers. Kuzniewski went four innings, striking out seven and allowing no hits. Hayden Werner relieved him and threw five strikeouts in three innings.
Next games
The Millers are 7-2. Noblesville was to play Carmel last Saturday before rain forced a schedule change; the Millers will now play Carmel on May 13. This week, Noblesville hosts Rossville on Monday, plays a conference series with Franklin Central (home on Thursday, away on Friday) before welcoming Columbus North on Saturday.
The Tigers are 1-3 in HCC play and 5-6 overall. Fishers hosts Greenfield-Central on Monday, takes on Westfield in a conference series (home on Thursday, away on Friday), then plays Lafayette Jefferson and Twin Lakes on Saturday.