By CRAIG ADKINS
For The Reporter
NOBLESVILLE – When two rivals get together, it’s always a heightened atmosphere and the intensity is higher than normal. That was the case on Tuesday at Dunker Field with the Millers and Greyhounds. It had been since 2019 that Noblesville won the White River Rivalry in the Battle for the Oar.
The Millers snapped their five-game regular season losing streak against Carmel with authority. Brooks Riggs threw his second no-hitter of the season, blanking the Greyhounds 13-0 in five innings.
The last time Noblesville beat Carmel was in the sectional semifinal (7-6) at Hartman Field in 2023. The Greyhounds had won four consecutive against the Millers.
Riggs also no-hit Lebanon in the home opener on April 6.
Ethan Clark got the bottom of the first off right with a walk. Two batters later, Zac Glander singled to left and moved to second on a passed ball. Clark scored for the early 1-0 lead.
Slade Hodges plated Glander (2-0) with a base hit and advanced to second on an error by first baseman Jacob Behm. Jalen Stidham followed by lining a hit to center field to send Hodges home for 3-0.
Blake Riggs reached on an error by the third baseman Kane Hare. Then, Garrett Dixon hit a soft grounder to third, allowing Stidham to score, putting the Millers up 4-0.
Blake Riggs scored on an error by catcher Jackson Harris. The inning continued with a Chris Martz double to left, sending courtesy runner Ryan Ruse home for a 6-0 score after one.
Brooks Riggs let just one baserunner aboard in the first four innings and that was the first hitter of the game.
The Miller bats kept pouring it on in the second. Aiden Reynolds started off with a double past Nate Steele in center. Glander bunted himself for two on and nobody out. Hodges roped an RBI single to center, scoring Reynolds for a 7-0 count.
Blake Riggs walked with two down. Next, with a 3-1 count, Dixon hit a bases-clearing double to the fence in right, sending Glander, Hodges and Riggs home for a 10-0 margin through two times up to bat.
Brooks Riggs continued to mow down the Greyhounds, striking out the side in order in the third.
Reynolds made it 11-0 with his third home run of the season, a solo job to center. Hodges notched his third hit of the game, a double that scored Brooks Riggs for a 12-0 score. The Millers made it a baker’s dozen lead on a Jalen Stidham liner to center that scored Hodges for the final count.
Just as he did against Lebanon, Brooks Riggs (2-0) threw five innings of no-hit ball, struck out six and did not allow a walk.
The trio of starter Silas Neal, Jeremy Millay and Jacob Behm combined to scatter 13 hits. At the plate, Carmel managed just four baserunners. Two reached by errors, Mark Neels was hit by a pitch and Thomas Richason got on by a fielder’s choice in the fifth.
Carmel (5-8) hosts top-ranked Center Grove (14-1) tomorrow night at 6 p.m.
Hodges had the hottest bat, going 3-for-3 with three driven in and three runs scored. Reynolds, Glander, Stidham and Dixon all had two hits as the Millers had 13 as a team.
Noblesville (10-6, 5-1) takes a short road trip west to Shamrock Field tomorrow night in the first game of their Hoosier Crossroads Conference series with Westfield (7-6-1, 4-2) at 6 p.m.
