Carmel rallies in extras; Noblesville's Bryce Riggs strikes out 14 in sectional win
CARMEL — With runners on first and second in extra innings of Wednesday's IHSAA Class 4A Sectional 8 first round matchup between Carmel and Zionsville, Carmel senior Case Sullivan received the sign to drop down a bunt and advance both runners into scoring position. Sullivan made two attempts at the bunt and fouled them off.
Coach Ty Neal had a choice to make. He could call off the bunt and let Sullivan swing away, or he could keep the bunt on and risk Sullivan fouling off another attempt for the first out of the inning.
"We've got nothing to lose here," Neal said of his thought process during the crucial at bat. "He's a senior, and he works his rear end off. I trusted him in that situation."
Sullivan rewarded his coach with a well-placed bunt right in front of Zionsville pitcher Chase Wagner. Wagner bobbled the ball, and all the runners were safe, loading the bases with nobody out. James Charland plated the go-ahead run by drawing a walk and after a fly out, Tyler Walkey added a two-run single into center field. J.D. Stein followed with a two-run double, helping Carmel (18-8) get a 6-4 win and a trip to face Noblesville in the sectional semifinals.
"We've been working on that all (through) practice," Sullivan said. "We knew a game like this, it's gonna come down to one or two runs... You really just got to put the selfishness away and just get a bunt down to move the guys over. That really just got the whole cycle going, got guys hyped, and that's how we ended up putting this away."
Extra innings started with the score tied at 1-1. Zionsville starter Simon Wilkinson pitched 4⅓ innings allowing five hits and one unearned run. Chase Wagner entered in relief of Wilkinson, striking out two and stranding a runner on third. Wagner was strong early, but his command evaded him as his appearance progressed, walking four batters.
Trailing 6-1 in the bottom of the eighth, Zionsville (18-11) loaded the bases with nobody out. With a chance to break the inning open, Nash Wagner lined out to Sullivan at shortstop getting Easton Moore doubled off at second in the process. A throwing error on a Max Bond grounder cleared the bases, but Adam Buczkowski regrouped and struck out Jackson Tielker to end the game.
Bryce Riggs' 14-strikeout performance leads Noblesville over Fishers
When a pitcher has all his pitches working, no jam is inescapable, and Noblesville ace Bryce Riggs proved that to be true during Wednesday's Sectional 8 opener against Fishers.
The Tigers (19-12) had the bases loaded in consecutive innings and Riggs held them to just one run.
In the fourth, hits from Jack Brown and Gavin Clayton followed by a Huston Dunn walk loaded the bases with one out. Riggs squashed the rally with back-to-back strikeouts to end the inning. Noah McPeek's RBI double got Fishers on the board in the fifth. An error and a walk loaded the bases, and once again, Riggs reared back and fired his fastball for two more strikeouts.
The hard-throwing righty ended the night with 14 strikeouts, helping Noblesville (22-6) earn a 3-1 win over Fishers.
"I just had to trust myself and trust my defense behind me," Riggs said. "Runners got on but I didn't get fazed by anything. I trust coach (Justin) Keever calling pitches. I trust myself in making sure that everything is working. I was able to get out of those jams and win the game."
The Eastern Illinois commit's pitching arsenal starts with his fastball that sits in the low 90s and touches 93 mph. Riggs located the fastball well, getting whiffs up in the zone and dotting it on the inside of the plate to right-handed hitters. The senior mixes in a sharp breaking ball and his ability to throw it for strikes kept Fishers off balance all game.
He started the third with a strikeout with the off-speed pitch. He capped the third with three straight breaking balls to strikeout McPeek. Riggs' final out of the game was a strikeout. He finished the night allowing four hits and one earned run over six innings. Lucas Stephan recorded the final three outs for the save.
Nolan Decker started the scoring for Noblesville with an RBI single in the fourth inning. Jack Shade followed with a sacrifice fly for the winning run. Pinch runner Connor Seago scored on a passed ball in the fifth for the Millers' final run.
"Bryce has been a warrior all year. This whole team has been warriors all year," Keever said. "It's kind of a shame a game like this is happening in the first round of the state tournament. That's a heavyweight bout. Great programs. Great teams. Great coaches. And you just saw two teams throwing haymakers left and right tonight."
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: IHSAA baseball: Carmel, Noblesville advance with sectional wins
