IHSAA baseball: Noblesville recipe for success no secret; sectional draw thoughts

Believe or the not, postseason baseball is right around the corner. With the IHSAA revealing the brackets for sectionals, teams can start to dream on the path to Victory Field. I'll have more on the sectional draw below, but first, I check in with the top team in the Fab 15, Noblesville.

Millers are preaching patience

On the surface, Noblesville's 10 strikeouts against Brebeuf Jesuit starter Christian Forniss seem like a tough day at the plate.

Yes, Noblesville coach Justin Keever would like to see his players make more contact with two strikes, but their process at the plate was sound. By working deep into counts, the Millers forced Brebeuf's starter into several extended at-bats. The Northwestern commit reached 100 pitches by the fourth inning, and the host plated five more runs against reliver Nick Sobek after Forniss left the game.

Vote for baseball player of week: Double-digit Ks and multi-homer games

"Sometimes the guy makes pitches and he beats us, and sometimes he's better than us in a certain situation, but did we make him earn the strikeout?" Keever said.

Through 17 games, the reigning Hoosier Crossroads Conference champs are 14-3 and atop the HCC with a 6-0 record. The Millers have plus-79 run differential and six players with at least 10 RBIs. Last season, starter Bryce Riggs led a Noblesville capable of shutting down the opposition with him on the mound. These Millers still have strong pitching and defense, but their bats have been the strength of the team so far. Sophomore Aiden Reynolds leads the team with a .408/.536/.612 slash line. The IU commit has 19 RBIs, five doubles, one triple and one home run through 17 games.

"They're different, different group of guys, they interact differently with each other, different roles and all that stuff," Keever said when asked to compare this year's team with last year's. "But the big rocks are the same: The approach, trying to throw strikes, all the things we try to accomplish.

"The recipe for success isn't a secret one. Our guys are really attacking what it takes to win and understand that we've got to do it together."

Here's a look at some intriguing sectional brackets.

Class 4A

Sectional 8 (Noblesville)

Easily one of, if not the toughest sectional in the state, Noblesville faces Carmel (9-5), while Westfield (9-7) and Zionsville (12-5) play each other in round one. Carmel has a deep arsenal of pitchers, critical in any must-win situation. The Greyhounds could turn to any combination Adam Buczkowski, Max Winders and Gabe Mathison to start or enter in relief.

Westfield and Zionsville meet for the first time in the regular season this week. Both teams are perennial state title contenders, making their first-round meeting a prime example for tournament seeding, but that's an issue for another day.

Fishers (12-7) and Hamilton Southeastern (8-9) get the first-round bye, but playing your arch rival with a trip to the sectional championship on the line is hardly cause for celebration. Fishers took two of three from HSE during the Mudsock series last week.

Class 3A

Sectional 27 (Brebeuf Jesuit)

Reigning sectional champion Bishop Chatard (12-5) draws host Brebeuf (12-6) in the semifinals. The Trojans are always a tough out, but they struggled in two games against Brebeuf this season, losing 15-6 and 7-5.

The winner of Chatard/Brebeuf will most likely meet Guerin Catholic (12-2) in the sectional final. After a breakout 2023 campaign, the Golden Eagles will certainly love to get over the hump this postseason.

Class 2A

Sectional 43 (Sheridan)

This sectional produced the Class 2A runner-up in Covenant Christian last season. Don't let the Crusaders' 5-10 record fool you. Last season, Covenant was 9-15 before reeling off seven wins in a row en route to Victory Field. Covenant will return to the sectional final. University (9-6-1) and Cascade (11-2) appear headed for a semifinal round collision course. The winner will setup up an exciting sectional championship game.

Class A

Sectional 59 (Morristown)

Lutheran (6-9) gets a tough break having to play in the lone first round game against Morristown (4-9). Reigning champion Greenwood Christian (6-7) likely awaits whoever makes it out of the bottom side of the bracket.

Follow IndyStar high school baseball Insider Akeem Glaspie on X at @THEAkeemGlaspie.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Noblesville baseball surging, IHSAA sectional draw takeaways