THE REPORTER
The Carmel baseball team took back The Oar in dramatic fashion last Saturday.
Tripp Schroeder hit an RBI single in the bottom of the eighth inning, and that sent the Greyhounds to an 11-10 walkoff win over Noblesville at Hartman Field. Carmel trailed 10-3 midway through the fifth inning before staging a huge comeback.
Both teams got on the board in the second inning. Jack Shade scored the Millers’ first run when Josh Peek reached on error. Jacob Edwards then scored on a passed ball, then Peek got home on an error.
The Greyhounds got two of those runs back in the bottom of the second. Gabe Mathison hit a one-out triple, then scored when Kenny Bruntlett reached on error. Bruntlett was later singled in by Schroeder.
Noblesville put up four runs in the third inning. Bryce Riggs got on base with a right field hit, moved around to third base and was singled home by Nolan Decker. Shade came up next, and he blasted a home run into right field, also sending Decker in. Later, Edwards hit a double, and Logan Shoffner came in to run for him. Shoffner soon scored and Noblesville had a 7-2 lead.
In the fourth inning, Carmel’s James Charland hit a double into center field, and was immediately scored by Drew Fouts’ center field base hit. Noblesville then added three runs in the fifth: Shade doubled in Decker, Edwards brought in Shade with a double, then Shoffner scored again to give the Millers a 10-3 lead.
The Greyhounds began their comeback in the bottom of the fifth. Case Sullivan reached on a dropped third strike, then Tyler Walkey and Mathison both hit singles. Bruntlett came up next, and he sent everybody home with a grand slam home run into right field. Carmel was now within 10-7.
The ‘Hounds tied the game in the sixth inning. Cam Carmichael scored on Sullivan’s RBI groundout. Walkey and Mathison each hit a single, and Bruntlett batted them both in, giving him six RBIs for the game.
The score was now tied 10-10 after six innings. Neither team scored in the seventh, so it was on to extra innings. In the bottom of the eighth, Walkey got on base with a single, then stole second with one out. Bruntlett was intentionally walked. After a second out, Schroeder came to the plate, and his right field hit sent Walkey home, and gave Carmel the win.
Walkey and Mathison both finished the game with three hits, while Bruntlett and Schroeder both had two. Carmichael hit a double. Max Winders went five innings in relief for the win.
Shade’s home run and double were part of a 3-for-3 night for the Millers. Bryce Riggs was 3-for-4 and Edwards hit two doubles.
The Greyhounds are 7-1 and host Westfield on Monday, then play at Louisville Trinity on Saturday. Noblesville is 8-3 and hosts Rossville on Monday, then begins a Hoosier Crossroads Conference series with Franklin Central on Thursday at Dunker Field.