Noblesville junior Reese Newsom (left) and freshman Lilly Brown are shown here during warmups for the Millers’ Friday, April 24 game with Lake Central at the Carmel Invitational. (Richie Hall)
The REPORTER
The Noblesville softball team placed sixth at the Carmel Invitational this past weekend.
The Class 4A No. 10 Millers opened against Lake Central, the No. 1 team in 4A and eventual winner of the invitational, in their first game on Friday, April 24. Noblesville took an early lead before the Indians ran away with the later innings and won 8-2, handing the Millers their first loss of the season.
Maggie Kern smacked a two-run home run in the first inning, also scoring Delaney Cook. The Millers held on to that least until the fourth inning, when Lake Central scored three runs and stayed in front from there.
Haley Schatko had two hits. Addison Retzinger pitched a complete game, striking out seven.
Noblesville played two games on Saturday, April 25, starting with an 11-2 victory over Pendleton Heights. The Millers came out swinging, with four runs in the top of the first inning. Blythe Walker scored the first run, Lilly Brown singled in Reese Newsom and Schatko, then Kate Ringholz batted Brown in.
Walker hit a one-out double in the second inning, then went home after Schatko cracked a center field homer. The Arabians scored in the bottom of the third, but Schatko got the run back in the bottom of the fourth, batting in Walker.
Noblesville kept rolling in the fifth inning with two more runs. Walker singled Kinley Westbrook home, then Cook scored on a Schatko sacrifice fly. Pendleton doubled in a run in the bottom of the fifth, but the Millers added two runs in the sixth: Newcome scored on Ringholz’s bunt single, then Zapp singled in Bella Hughes.
Walker was 4-for-5 at the plate, while Zapp hit a double. Roslyn Ervin pitched all seven innings, striking out six.
Noblesville lost to 3A No. 2 Cathedral 16-10 in the fifth-place game. The Irish scored five runs in the second inning and held the lead from there.
Hughes singled in Newsom for a second-inning run, then Walker scored in the third inning on Kern’s RBI groundout.
Cathedral led 14-2 midway through the fourth inning before the Millers scored four in the bottom of that inning. Schatko doubled Walker and Zapp home, then Kern sent Schatko home with a double. Newsom singled in Kern.
Zapp batted Ringholz in with a fifth-inning single, getting Noblesville within 14-7. The Irish scored a run in the top of the sixth, then the Millers got two in the bottom of the inning. Kern doubled in Schatko, then Hughes brought Noelle Fredricks home with an RBI groundout.
Both teams added one more run in the seventh inning. Newsom singled in Walker for Noblesville’s run.
Schatko (5-for-5) and Kern (3-for-3) were both perfect at the plate, including two doubles for each player. Newsom and Zapp both hit one double.
The Millers are 7-2. They were to play New Palestine on Monday, but the game was rained out and rescheduled for Monday, May 20. Noblesville will host Westfield tonight in a Hoosier Crossroads Conference game.
