The first game of the season for the Hamilton Southeastern baseball team was a big one: Brownsburg.
The Royals hosted the Bulldogs at Ken Seitz Field with new coach Jeremy Sassanella, and Southeastern gave him a 1-0 record by pounding Brownsburg 12-2 in six innings.
HSE got off to a shaky start, giving up two runs in the top of the second. But the Royals lit up the field for six runs in the bottom of that inning, and cruised to a convincing Hoosier Crossroads Conference win.
Brayton Harrison led off the second inning with a double, and was sent home when Greyson Droste hit his own double. After absorbing a strikeout, the Royals put six consecutive men on base: Caden Ruhnow was hit by a pitch, Jake Stout singled in Droste, Jordan Millikan’s base hit got Ruhnow home, Matthew Buckingham doubled in Stout and Millikan, Anthony Eggers got on with a base hit, and Cole DeWael singled home Buckingham.
“I was watching the kids,” said Sassanella, who had been coaching at Brebeuf Jesuit the past four years (one as assistant, three as head coach) before coming to HSE. “I was anxious. That certainly wasn’t the start that we wanted, but I was watching the kids’ reaction to it. I didn’t say a whole lot to them.
“This was all on the kids. They settled in and just focused offensively on having good at-bats, and we just chipped away. The floodgates opened up a little bit, fortunately, as the game went on.”
Southeastern’s small ball game opened the flood gates, and the Royals kept the storm going with big hits in the later innings. Millikan provided a big one in the bottom of the third with a two-run home run. Cam Bolling also scored, he was pinch running for Jack DeWolf, who got on with a base hit.
HSE added three more runs in the fifth inning. DeWolf doubled on to base, with Tyler Rhoades coming in to pinch run. Rhoades would run home soon thereafter; Stout smacked his second RBI single of the game. Buckingham sent Stout home with a two-run homer to center field.
“I was really proud of our kids,” said Sassanella. “I thought, we’re always preaching sportsmanship and driving it home, and I was really proud of where our kids directed their energy tonight and it was really good to see.”
It only took two at bats for the Royals to finish the game in the sixth inning. Pinch hitter Matt Iacobucci cranked a double into right field on the first pitch. That brought up Jake Huston, and his left field single got Iacobucci home.
If you were keeping score at home, that was five doubles for Southeastern in its first game of the season. More numbers: Buckingham drove in four runs while Millikan batted in three.
Michael Dillon got the pitching win, spending five innings on the mound. He struck out four batters and allowed four hits. Dillon Gray threw a perfect sixth inning in relief.
The Royals will play at Brownsburg tonight to complete the HCC series, then return to Ken Seitz Field on Saturday for a 1 p.m. doubleheader with McCutcheon.
Hamilton Southeastern 12, Brownsburg 2
(6 innings)
Southeastern AB R H RBI
Matthew Buckingham 4 2 2 4
Anthony Eggers 4 0 1 0
Cole DeWael 2 0 2 1
Matt Iacobucci 1 1 1 0
Brayton Harrison 3 1 1 0
Jake Hutson 1 0 1 1
Greyson Droste 3 1 1 1
Jack DeWolf 3 0 2 0
Caden Ruhnow 1 1 0 0
Cam Bolling 1 1 0 0
Jake Stout 3 2 2 2
Jordan Millikan 3 2 2 3
Tyler Rhoades 0 1 0 0
Totals 29 12 15 12
Score by innings
Brownsburg 020 000 – 2 4 0
Southeastern 062 031 – 12 15 2
HR: Buckingham, Millikan. 2B: Buckingham, DeWolf, Droste, Harrison, Iacobucci. SB: Bolling. HBP: Ruhnow.
Southeastern pitching IP R ER H
Michael Dillon (W) 5 2 1 4
Dylan Gray 1 0 0 0
Strikeouts: Dillon 4, Gray 1. Walks: Dillon 3.
Jordan Millikan (10) is congratulated by his Hamilton Southeastern baseball teammates after hitting a home run in the third inning during the Royals’ season-opener with Brownsburg Thursday at Ken Seitz Field. Southeastern won the game 12-2. (Richie Hall)
Matthew Buckingham (8) hit a fifth-inning home run for Southeastern. (Richie Hall)