Showdown In Hamilton County

Don Jellison

     Actually, it will be an early season showdown when Carmel and Noblesville meet Saturday, April 18 at Victory Field in Indianapolis. Long-time Hamilton County rivals, the Millers and Greyhounds do not play in the same conference, Noblesville in the Hoosier Crossroads and Carmel in the Metropolitan. But, the two schools play in the same (loaded) Class 4A sectional.

   Both had conference commitments this week before the Saturday trip to Victory Field. Carmel, which didn’t play last week during spring break, earlier this week had Hamilton County match-ups with Hamilton Southeastern and Westfield rained out.

   Coach Justin Keever’s Millers entered the week with a 6-2 record and ranked No. 7 in the coaches poll. That record includes a spring break trip into Kentucky and Tennessee, which came on the heels of a Miller double-header sweep of Cincinnati Moeller at Don Dunker Field in Noblesville.

   The Millers began their season by beating Lebanon 24-3 and Richmond 5-1. In the Richmond game, Noblesville led 11-1 but the top of the sixth was rained out, so Noblesville settled for the four-run victory. Then came the sweep of Moeller, 9-5, 7-1.

   Saint Xavier, in the Louisville area, was Noblesville’s first game on the spring trip. The Millers won 12-6 in eight innings. They then lost in Knoxville to Bearden 9-8 and Farragut 13-2 before ending the trip on Saturday with a 14-10 win over Mt. Juliet.

   Farragut is ranked No. 1 in Tennessee and Bearden is No. 2. If you’re not familiar with Tennessee high school baseball, being No. 1 and No. 2 is pretty special. And, during the same weekend Mt. Juliet upset Bearden.

   On Friday, rained out of playing time, the Millers spent part of the day dodging a tornado and then had the opportunity to see a college game between Tennessee and Mississippi State.

   “It (the trip) was a great experience,” said Keever. “We played some real good teams. We received great hospitality from everyone and the facilities down there were great.”

   Keever, after dropping two games, isn’t worried about dropping in the poll.

   “If we had wanted to protect our ranking, we would not have made the trip,” Keever laughed. “We played those teams to get better.”

   Keever said his Millers are playing well.

   “From top to bottom, with Jake Wood and Jake Roberts leading the way, we’re hitting the ball. Our team batting average is .386. We made three errors in the last game against Mt. Juliet, but our overall defensive average is .950. Our pitching has good.”

   Wood, the senior first sacker is hitting .636 with five home runs and 15 RBI and Roberts, the senior shortstop, is batting .500 with four homers and 15 RBI. Derek Asuras, Javier Aponte and Mitch Miller all are around the .400 mark. Aponte, a move-in from Puerto Rico, appears to be the missing piece behind the plate to what everyone knew would be a good Noblesville team.

   In the 14-10 win over Mt. Juliet in the final game on Saturday, Wood hit a three-run homer in the sixth to tie the contest and then Roberts smashed a three-run shot in the seventh. Both hit two home runs in the game.

   The pitching has been good, led by what Keever has labeled his “conference pitchers,” Ryan Byrne, Derek Asuras and Kyle Guariello. In a game in which Mt. Juliet had scored in every inning, Guariello came to the mound and slammed the door on the Tennessee team in the final two frames.

   “Bearden was good, but we could have played better and Farragut is the real thing,” said Keever of the two teams which defeated Noblesville.

   Noblesville got a taste of Tennessee baseball at its best. While it was Noblesville’s seventh opponent of the season, Farragut came into the game with a 20-4 record.

   “Noblesville has a good club with a couple of Division I players,” said Farragut coach Tommy Pharr when quoted in the Farragut Press newspaper. “I thought they were probably one of the better clubs we’ve faced.”

   In losing to Farragut, the Millers faced lefty Jordan Cooper, who has signed at the University of Mississippi. Another sure-fire Division 1 prospect, although only a sophomore, Nicky Delmonico, blasted grand-slams in back-to-back innings. He had three homers in 10 RBI in the game.

   Coach Eric Lentz’s Carmel team, ranked No. 4 in the state, played three games before spring break, beating another Hamilton County club, Hamilton Heights, and knocked off Warren Central twice in conference games.

   The Greyhounds have two players committed to Division I schools, pitcher Kyle Lloyd to the University of Evansville and third sacker Brooks Fiala to Miami of Ohio and another in outfielder Conrad Gregor once the junior graduates. Gregor can hit the ball a mile.

   Usually in a Carmel-Noblesville early season match-up neither coach throws his ace, saving that experience for the sectional. But, this season Carmel and Noblesville are so deep on the mound, fans likely will see two talented pitchers at Victory Field.

   The Noblesville-Carmel game will be only one of three games Saturday at The Vick. Hamilton Heights and Brebeuf will battle at 2 p.m. and Fishers and New Palestine will play at 5 p.m.