By CRAIG ADKINS
For The Reporter
NOBLESVILLE – On Friday night under the lights at Dunker Field, two of the biggest rivals in the Hoosier Crossroads Conference went to battle in the second of a two-game series.
Bryce Riggs pitched a gem on the mound for the Millers as the hosts posted a 6-2 win over the visiting Royals to split the HCC series one game each.
The senior hurler was completely focused as he would send the first seven HSE hitters down via the strikeout.
“I think this outing is exactly what we needed coming into tonight. The one chink in the armor was that we got two quick outs. He had four two-out walks that got himself into trouble,” said Noblesville head coach Justin Keever.
“Again, he powered through, gave us the chance to win the ball game and at times was dominant. Credit HSE. They kept battling, took advantage of some opportunities,” continued Keever.
“He was good. Bryce was good tonight. I think we just didn’t dig in enough when we had two strikes. We did a better job grinding out at-bats against Nolan (in Thursday’s game),” said Hamilton Southeastern head coach Kory Seitz.
Noblesville put their first run on the board in the second. Brady Bishop walked with one out and would eventually score on a Trevor Corbett single for the early 1-0 lead.
Their lead expanded in the third, as they took advantage of an error and a pair of wild pitches from southpaw starter and Purdue-commit Ethan Lund.
Nolan Decker led off the third, reaching on an error by third baseman Harrison Dilts. Decker stole second and then Jack Shade walked for two on.
Decker scored on Lund’s first wild pitch to make it 2-0. Jacob Edwards hit a sacrifice fly to right that scored Shade for a 3-0 lead. After getting on base with a bunt single, Aiden Ramsey would also score on a wild pitch, jumping the Miller lead to 4-0.
Lund would be chased after three innings, giving up seven walks and two hits while striking out three.
Another lefty, Brady Strawmyer came in to relieve Lund. Strawmyer gave up just one walk in the fourth and fifth before the Millers got to him in the sixth.
The Royals finally made a move on Riggs. After Griffen Haas and Cole Earlewine both struck out looking to start the fourth, Riggs gave up back-to-back walks. Haas and Earlewine scored on a Maddux Bach line drive, two-run single to left center, cutting the Miller lead to 4-2.
Riggs kept rolling on the hill. Before he was relieved by Lucas Stephan in the top of the seventh, Riggs used his 100th pitch to strike out his 13th on the night.
“His stuff was moving. Our kids were trying to figure out where it was on the plate. I think he just did a good job locating on our kids,” stated Seitz.
The Millers tacked on a couple insurance runs in the home half of the sixth. Trevor Corbett led off by smacking a single to right and stole second almost immediately. Two batters later, Riggs was hit by a pitch. Courtesy runner Logan Shoffner then advanced to second on a catcher’s indifference, moving Corbett to third.
Decker lined a double to right that scored Shoffner for a 5-2 count.
Following suit, Jack Shade took a double of his own down the right field line, scoring pinch runner Blake Widget for what wound up as the final score of 6-2.
“I thought our guys kept battling at the plate. I think the Lund kid was struggling with his control a little bit. He’s got really good stuff. Strawmyer came in and kept us off balance for a while. We got to him there in the sixth, which was huge,” continued Keever.
Maddux Bach drove in two runs to lead HSE. Ty Bradle and Harrison Dilts had the other two singles for the Royals.
Hamilton Southeastern drops to 11-11 overall and 6-4 in HCC play. The Royals have some time off before visiting Westfield on Thursday at 6 p.m.
Bryce Riggs stole the show with his performance on the mound. The senior Eastern Illinois commit stymied HSE hitters with 13 strikeouts. He spread out the five walks and only gave up one hit in improving his pitching record to 5-0.
Trevor Corbett was the only player with multiple hits with two. Nolan Decker, Jack Shade and Jacob Edwards all three drove in runs.
“I thought, defensively, this was our best game in a while. Brady Bishop made some nice plays at second,” stated Keever.
The Millers (14-5, 7-3 HCC) now have sole possession of first in the HCC with two series remaining. Noblesville hosts Lebanon (7-10) tonight for Senior Night at 7 p.m. The Tigers grabbed a home win over Lafayette Central Catholic on Friday, 4-0.