Millers split with Westfield; Derek Asuras throws 2nd career no-hitter

Westfield 9, Noblesville 6 (Monday)

As much as he gets on base, he should be happier about being walked. That simply means that the opposing pitchers respect his hitting abilities as a leadoff hitter and don’t want to give him good pitches to hit. Most players would kill to be on base as much as DA is and I think he relishes the amount of opportunities that he gets on the base path. That seems to be the case with Noblesville leadoff hitter Derek Asuras.

In Monday night’s game at Westfield, he did just that, walked to lead off the game. He stole second with Tanner Watson at the plate. Watson singled, advancing Asuras to third. DA then scored with ease, sliding home on a passed ball. On that play, Watson moved over to third. Then, on a 3-1 count, Jameson Brock roped an RBI-single to shallow left center, giving Noblesville a 2-0 lead.

Catcher Sam Wides led things off in the 2^nd with a swinging strikeout, but climbed aboard first with the third strike being dropped in the dirt by Westfield catcher Mike McBride, allowing Wides to reach first. With Asuras back up, McBride allowed two more passed balls and Sam wound up at third with no outs. Asuras knew exactly what to do. He hit a ball deep enough to right field for a sacrifice fly, driving the NHS catcher in from third for a 3-0 Miller lead.

From my vantage point halfway down the first base side, I could tell that the Noblesville outfielders were playing a little shallower that they normally do. So, what happened to lead off the Shamrocks’ half of the second? Wade Burtron sailed a 1-1 pitch to deep left center and over the head of CF Caleb Shore for a leadoff triple. Burtron tried to score on a passed ball, but Wides tossed to pitcher Kent Williams in time to tag the Westfield CF out at the plate.

Nick Saldutti walked and reached second on an Andrew McCafferty single to center. Both advanced to third and second, respectively, because of an apparent balk call on Williams at the mound. The plate umpire claimed that Kent basically bounced his glove up and down twice and then proceeded to motion toward home plate. Saldutti cut the Miller lead to 3-1 by scoring from third on a passed ball, which brought McCafferty to third. With one out, McCafferty thought he could possibly score from third, which is not the smartest thought he could have had at that moment. Alec Nelson hit a one out fly ball to Jameson Brock in left. Brock caught the ball for the second out and gunned down McCafferty at the plate with a one bounce throw and it was into Wides’ glove, waiting to tag McCafferty out to end the inning.

That throw fired up Brock. He stroked an 0-1 pitch to left for his second hit. Austin Ramey also singled on the very next pitch. Caleb Shore laid down a beautiful sacrifice bunt to advance Brock and Ramey to third and second, respectively. With Brock Hammond striking out, Seth Rayle walked, loading the bases with two outs. The pressure was getting to Westfield pitcher T.J. Ehrman, it was quite obvious. Then, with a full count, Wides walked to drive in Brock from third. Two pitches later, Asuras broke open the score with a two-run single to right that drove home Ramey and Rayle for a 6-1 Noblesville lead through three innings.

Westfield had seen enough Miller scoring. Andy Gehr grounded out to third to start the fourth. Burtron and Saldutti both walked and McCafferty was hit by a pitch by Kent Williams to load the bases full of Shamrocks. Brandon Gray reached first on a fielder’s choice that was hit to Ramey at first. Ramey threw home to force out Burtron coming home from third. Alec Nelson walked, scoring Saldutti. Noblesville relief pitcher Ben Yoder came in during the 4^th inning and inherited a 1-0 count when he faced Mike McBride. The first pitch that McBride saw from Yoder, he laced a two-run double to the wall, making the score 6-5 Noblesville after four innings.

The Rocks weren’t done with their rally. They scored three more in the bottom of the 5^th inning. Gehr hit a one-out single to right center and Burtron walked. Saldutti then smashed a 1-1 Yoder pitch to deep right, almost leaving the park, giving him a triple with ease. That drove home Gehr and Burtron to give Westfield a 7-6 edge. Saldutti scored on a passed ball for an 8-6 lead.

Noblesville went quietly in the 5^th and 6^th innings, with only six plate appearances.

Alec Nelson reached via an error on Austin Ramey at first to start off the bottom of the sixth and was sitting on second from a sacrifice bunt by Mike McBride. Gehr hit a ball just over the head of Seth Rayle at SS to score Nelson for the final score of 9-6 for a Westfield win.

The Millers did manage a single from Shore to lead off the 7^th and Brock Hammond was hit by a Saldutti pitch for two runners on base and in scoring position. Rayle lined out to second base. Patrick Rader pinch hit for Wides, flying out in foul territory down the right field line. Asuras flied out to center to end the game and the Millers final threat.

Despite the fact that Noblesville left 10 runners on base, there was a positive that can come out of this tough loss. Yes, they gave up a total of 7 runs on three hits, four walks, an HBP and a fielder’s choice in the fourth and fifth innings combined. The positive that the Millers can take back to Dunker Field for Tuesday night’s second game of the series, is that Jameson Brock is back in the Noblesville starting lineup. He rejoined Shore and Asuras to patrol the outfield after serving a 9 game suspension for the violation of team rules.

Noblesville 5, Westfield 0 (Tuesday)

Derek Asuras – 2^nd career no-hitter

When a pitcher is completely in the zone, they’re no where but in the zone. They have tunnel vision. They stay focused. Nothing else is on his mind, but the game itself. He sits by himself in the dugout. Most importantly, while he’s not allowing a single hit by the opponent, no one, absolutely no one in the dugout speaks a word of him not giving up a single hit. It’s considered a curse or jinx to talk about it in any way. Bottom line.

Derek Asuras was dialed in, to say the least, as he took the mound as the starting pitcher for the final time in a home game at Donald J. Dunker Field. He struck out five of the first seven Westfield hitters that he faced. Alec Nelson’s groundout to Dewey Rodgers at third accounted for Asuras retiring the first 8 that he faced. DH Nathan Manworren was hit by a pitch, followed by Jake Celleghin reached via an error by Rodgers, stranding two base runners in the third for the Shamrocks.

Asuras wasn’t alone in being focused on the mound. His opponent Eddie Tomich allowed just two hits through 5-plus innings of work, including five walks while striking out just two Miller hitters.

Tomich was replaced by relief pitcher Andy Gehr in the 6^th, Rodgers at second and Brock at first. Austin Ramey singled to left, scoring Dewey from third to break the scoreless tie in the bottom of the sixth. It was a repeat performance by Caleb Shore in the very next at-bat, an RBI single to left, scoring Brock. Patrick Rader rifled a two-run double to left field, plating Nevin Fansher (pinch-running for Ramey) and Shore. Asuras helped his own cause by drilling an RBI single to center to score Rader from second. Noblesville scored five times on six hits to take a 5-0 lead to the top of the 7^th inning.

With DA back on the mound to try and finish up what he started, the Miller defense tightened up for him and I think he greatly appreciated it. Brandon Gray flied out to center for the first out. Alec Nelson reached first on an error by shortstop Tanner Watson. Manworren struck out for the second out. Pinch hitter Ethan Stelts was facing an 0-2 hole in the count and swung at the third pitch. Stelts hit a groundball to freshman second baseman Garrett Christman. GC fielded the grounder and flipped the ball to Tanner Watson, who was standing on second, for the final out of the game, completing the no-hitter by Derek Asuras.

Asuras pitched a complete game, shutout, four walk, and nine strikeout no-hitter. This was the second no hitter that DA has thrown in his high school career. He threw his first during his sophomore on the Millers’ trip to Tennessee on Spring Break against Bearden High School of Tennessee.