Millers take first game against Flashes, snap three-game skid

By CRAIG ADKINS

For The Reporter

NOBLESVILLE – After dropping three straight games, the Noblesville Miller baseball team needed to dig deep and get back to their style of play. That’s exactly what the Millers did, spreading out five hits and using the long ball to distance themselves from Franklin Central in the first game of their Hoosier Crossroads Conference series, coming out on top, 5-1.

Trevor Corbett led off the bottom of the first with a triple to left center on the fly. He scored on the next pitch, a wild one, for an early 1-0 lead.

The Flashes knotted it at 1-1 in the top of the third. Anthony Santellano walked to lead off. Isaac Kammer then singled to left to plate Santellano.

Cole Schott got ahold of a 1-0 pitch out over the plate for a solo home run to left, putting the Millers up 2-1.

Franklin Central only threatened one other time, but it fizzled out. Jack Cecil was hit by a pitch with two down in the top of the fourth. Cecil stole both second and third. Santellano checked a bunt, grounding out to third to end the inning and possibly threat.

Adam Gaskill got aboard with a one-out base hit to center. A few batters later, Corbett was intentionally walked for two on and two down. The next pitch, junior Aiden Reynolds sent a fastball sailing high over the fence in left center, boosting Noblesville to what wound up being the final score of 5-1.

“We got some barrels moving tonight,” said 21st-year Noblesville head coach Justin Keever. “I thought our approaches at the plate were great. We drove a lot of 3-2 counts, tons of 3-2 counts. We had really good fight by our guys at the plate.”

Patience at the plate paid off. The Millers had 15 plate appearances where hitters saw five or more pitches, making both Franklin Central pitchers work harder, raising their pitch counts.

“Obviously, the big hits by Trevor, Cole and Aiden were really big for us,” said Keever. “That’s nice to see from the top of your order for sure. It’s nice to see Aiden get one. They put Trevor on and that was kind of a pick your poison thing, who you want to face there.”

Glander struck out two of the three he faced in the fifth, giving him six strikeouts in his five innings of work.

“I thought Joe (Glander) just battled out there,” Keever continued. “He didn’t have his best stuff tonight, but kept fighting and fighting and fighting. I thought we played really good defense tonight, too.”

Relief pitching has become more confident for Corbett. The senior, hard-throwing righty struck out five in two frames to hold the Flashes in check.

“Trevor came in and did great for us and was throwing strikes. He’s got a lot of spin on that fastball,” Keever said. “It hits 84 or 85 and plays a lot faster, because it’s got that high spin and stays up.”

Noblesville (6-8, 2-3 HCC) snapped a three-game losing streak and looks to go for the HCC series sweep at Franklin Central tonight at 6:30. The Millers finish the weekend at home tomorrow against St. Xavier (Ky.) (17-5) at 1 p.m.