By RICHARD TORRES
For The Reporter
WEST LAFAYETTE – The 10th-ranked Noblesville Millers get one more day to keep their postseason alive.
After a 15-minute rain delay in the second inning during the Class 4A Harrison Regional on Wednesday night, a second delay in the bottom of the fifth led to an official postponement.
Noblesville (19-7) trailed 7-0 against host Harrison (10-12) in the fifth with no outs and no runners on base. The game will resume today at 6 p.m. with senior Lanie Shallenberger at-bat for the Raiders.
Rain began steadily falling during the second inning, particularly in the bottom half, which halted play with Raiders’ junior Dellany Bossung (2-for-3) on base with a leadoff double.
Once the game restarted, the Raiders discovered their offense with a one-run second and a three-run fourth before tacking on three more runs in the bottom of the fifth powered by a two-run home run from sophomore Anna Hainje (3-for-3, 3 RBI).
Once Hainje’s first home run of the season cleared the left field wall, the game stopped as the rain rapidly flooded the field.
“It’s flat out pouring. You can’t see the ball. You can’t hold on to the ball, and we held off probably three pitches too long before they called that,” Millers coach Deke Bullard said. “I mean, the last three pitches were in the dirt because (Addison Retzinger) can’t hold on to the ball. I’m not going to blame umpires. We haven’t played well, but I mean, you’ve got to be aware of that, right?”
Noblesville defeated Harrison, 5-0, during the regular season on April 21.
Retzinger retired the first three batters she faced in the bottom of the first with two strikeouts looking, and the sophomore right-hander minimized the damage in the second after the game resumed following the initial delay.
An RBI single by Hainje plated the game’s first run during the first at-bat once play resumed in the second before Retzinger struck out one and induced two groundouts.
With the rain picking back up in the fourth inning, the Raiders capitalized as Retzinger’s accuracy and spin were impacted by the inclement weather.
Bullard made a mound visit with one out and a runner on base during the bottom of the fourth in hopes of another delay.
However, play continued and a passed ball and a wild pitch in addition to four more hits in the ensuing five at-bats opened the door for Harrison’s 4-0 lead.
“I told them I was out there stalling, trying to see what they were going to do with the rain,” Bullard said. “That’s all I was doing. We weren’t talking about anything. I walked out and said, ‘Hey, we’re trying to see if it’s going to rain harder or what we’re going to do here because I already knew she couldn’t hold on to the ball.”
Two more wild pitches in the bottom of the fifth advanced Harrison’s runners, scored one and foreshadowed Hainje’s two-run bomb off a pitch down the heart of the strike zone.
The Raiders connected for 11 hits, no walks, had three strikeouts and three extra-base hits.
The Millers were limited to four hits, including a double by senior Addi Emmerson. They worked one walk and struck out five times against Harrison starter Bradi Odom, a senior righty.
Noblesville stranded four runners through five frames. Three were in scoring position.
“We have not played our best softball tonight, so I think that’s one of our challenges. They’re a good team, so you can’t come out and be flat against them and expect things to happen,” Bullard said.
“We’re just flat. I mean, that’s the best way I can describe it. We’re just flat. We’re flat off the bus. We’re flat offensively. You can’t get off the bus flat, and that’s what’s killing us right now.”
Noblesville is attempting to win its fifth regional title in program history with their most recent in 2021 and first in 2002 (3A). The Raiders have won eight regional titles overall.
“We’ll go ride our hour-and-a-half bus ride home and lick our wounds and see if we can come back and do something in six outs because that’s all we’ve got left,” Bullard said.
Be the first to comment on "Regional postponed with Millers trailing"