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Hamilton SE, Fishers Survive in 4A Sectional 8 at Zionsville

May 30, 2015



By Pete Cava
PBR Indiana Correspondent



ZIONSVILLE – The Royals of Hamilton Southeastern and the Fishers Tigers advanced to the semifinals of 4A Sectional 8 at the Zionsville Community High School Athletic Complex.  

Hamilton Southeastern upended the No. 22 Carmel Greyhounds 5-3 Friday night, while Fishers squeaked past North Central’s Panthers 2-0.  

Due to a threat of storms, Saturday’s schedule has been revised.   Sixth-ranked Westfield (21-8) will play No. 5 Zionsville (22-8) at 12 noon, followed by Hamilton Southeastern (14-16) versus Fishers (13-18).  

Westfield drew a first-round bye, while Zionsville beat Nobleville 3-2 on Thursday.    

Friday’s contests were played under mostly sunny skies, with a steady breeze out towards left field.  

Hamilton Southeastern 5, Carmel 2:  Tanner Sizemore scattered six hits, Nick Kiehl knocked in a pair of runs and Aaron McGee went 3-for-4 as the Royals scored twice in the first inning and added runs in the fourth, fifth and sixth en route to a win over the Greyhounds  (19-11).  

“Good game, good ballclub,” said Hamilton SE skipper Scott Henson, praising his club and Dan Roman’s Greyhounds.  “We faced them earlier in the season, and we knew they were going to be better this time around than they were early on.  Dan's a good coach, they had some good ballplayers, and we knew they were going to be ready, so we knew we were going to have to be on our best game.”  

Left-hander Connor Cunningham, who started for Carmel, gave himself a slight cushion in the top of the first.  After Trevor Kinnaird stroked a one-out single and took second on an outfield error, Cunningham rapped double to left-center to give the Greyhounds a 1-0 advantage. 

HSE fought back with a pair of runs in the bottom of the frame.  Aaron McGee and JB Washburn laced back-to-back singles and advanced on an infield out. Nick Kiehl followed with a bouncer up the middle that plated McGee and Washburn for a 2-1 Royals lead.

“Getting those two runs in that first inning and just kind of putting pressure on them right away, that does a lot of good,” said Henson. 

Carmel made it 2-all in the top of the third.  Matt Chernoff started the inning with a double to left and took third on a wild pitch. One out later Sizemore hit Cunningham with a pitch, putting runners at the corners. Drew Fox entered the game as a courtesy runner for Cunningham, and after Rhett Wintner flied out Fox took off for second.  HSE catcher Spencer Irick's throw arrived ahead of Fox, but second baseman Matt Gorski couldn't hold on to the ball.  Fox was safe on the miscue and Chernoff sped home with the tying run.

Gorski atoned for the error in HSE's half of the fourth.  Jonathan McGee led off with a hit and was out at second when Jack Lang grounded to short.  After a walk to Cole Jacobs, the next batter whiffed for the second out.  Gorski followed with a ground-hugging single to right that brought in Lang and put the Royals on top 3-2.  

HSE added another run in the bottom of the fifth.  JB Washburn and Owen Callaghan hit consecutive singles to start the frame.  When Nick Kiehl followed with a bunt, Carmel’s Cunningham pounced on the ball and fired to Jackson Van Remortel at third for the force.  Cunningham struck out the next batter, bringing up Jack Lang with two out and runners on first and second.  Lang battled back from a two-strike count, fouling off three pitches before driving a soft liner to center for a hit that scored David Herrmann, a courtesy runner for Callaghan.

“He kept battling,” Henson said of Lang, a sophomore.  “He was a late call-up.  We were looking for someone to come in and do the job at third base and not hurt us, more than anything.  One of our assistants, who coached him on JV, said ‘This is usually where he hits it up the middle.’  And sure enough, there’s a line drive up the middle.”

In the sixth, sophomore southpaw Tommy Sommer took the mound for Carmel.  Back-to-back doubles by Matt Gorski and Aaron McGee accounted for the Royals’ final tally.

Tanner Sizemore struck out seven and didn’t allow a base on balls.  “My last two starts, I’ve probably been about 80 (pitches),” said the senior right-hander who’ll enroll this fall at Division II Hillsdale College.  “I was in good shape tonight, so I was ready to go a complete game.   I was mixing a fastball, curve ball and changeup.  My velocity, I was told, it looked pretty good today.  But it’s hard to tell when I’m on the mound.” 

It was a bad day all around for Carmel coach Dan Roman, whose son Mitch plays shortstop for Wright State.  Earlier in the day, the Raiders lost to Notre Dame 13-7 in NCAA Regional play at Champaign, Ill. “He went 2-for-5,” said Dan.  

Another consolation for Roman was the way his Greyhounds turned around their season.  “We started one and six,” said Roman, “and from there we went 18-5. “We put things together, and came together as a team.” 

Fishers 2, North Central 0:  Tigers sophomore left-hander Luke Duermit and Alan Lozer, the Panthers junior righty, hooked up in a mound duel that saw North Central (13-13) load the bases with no out in the bottom of the fifth, only to be stymied.   

“Our record doesn’t show it, but we played well all year,” said Fishers coach Matt Cherry.  “We’ve got great pitching, and when we don’t make mistakes on the bases or in the field, we’ve got a chance to win – especially with a guy like Luke on the mound.  He’s pitched his rear end off all year.”

Fishers took a 1-0 lead in the first when Brendan Toungate sent Lozer’s first pitch into left field for a base hit.  Toungate took second on an infield out and scored on a two-out bloop single by Joe Michel.  Right fielder Robert Young's diving catch of Brandon Yoho's fly ball at the foul line staved off further damage.

Duermit and Lozer traded blanks through the next five innings, aided by outstanding defense on both sides.  In the top of the third, Toungate attempted to steal but was cut down by North Central catcher Josh Wooten's throw to second baseman Ty Finchum.  The inning ended when NC first sacker Allbry Major made a diving stop of Andy Bennett’s hard-hit grounder and flipped to Lozer, who raced from the mound to first, for the third out.

With runners on first and third in the bottom of the frame, Duermit snared a hard smash off the bat of NC's Gary Thurman and fired to first to retire the side.

In Fishers' half of the fourth, it was North Central shortstop Ty Shuder’s turn to flash leather.    After Brandon Yoho was hit by a pitch with one out, Shuder – known to his teammates as ‘Batman’ – scooped up a grounder, stepped on second to get Yoho and then fired to Allbry at first base for an inning-ending double play.

Lozer worked his way into a jam in the fifth, issuing two-out walks to Mike Folta and Brendan Toungate.  He got out of it when Jacob Totman flew out to left.  

In the bottom of the frame it was Duermit’s turn to sweat.  Ty Finchum doubled and Shuder beat out a bunt to put runners at the corners.  When Alex Snider was hit by a pitch, NC had the bases loaded with nobody out.  Duermit fanned Wooten, and when the next batter failed to put the bat on the ball on a squeeze attempt, Finchum got caught in a rundown and was tagged out.  Duermit struck out the next batter got out of the inning unscathed.  “We just couldn’t get the key hit,” said North Central coach Phil McIntyre.

Fishers’ second run came in the top of the sixth when North Central center fielder Alex Snider twice lost fly balls in the lights.  With two out, Brandon Yoho lifted a fly to center that fell untouched for a double.  Caleb Brenczewski followed with another fly ball that dropped in center field as Yoho scored.  

Relying on his fastball and curve, mixed in with a changeup, Duermit allowed three hits and three walks.  He fanned ten North Central batters and sat down the last eight batters in a row, getting the final two outs on strikeouts.  “My team got me a couple of runs early,” said Duermit, icing his left arm after the contest.  “I just battled with what I had and tried to keep us in the game.”

“Duermit’s a great pitcher,” said North Central’s McIntyre.  “We made adjustments throughout the game, and had that chance – bases loaded, nobody out, and we just could not get it done.  That’s baseball.  We’ve down that before, and had an opportunity with the squeeze.  This time it didn’t work.  That’s how we play.  We’re scrappers.  We just didn’t get it done.  We’ve got a lot of guys coming back.  That’s a good thing.  Hopefully, they can learn from this.”    

Lozer, whose older brother Mac is pitching for Michigan in the NCAA Regionals, gave up six hits and a walk while notching nine strikeouts. 

NOTES:  Carmel will send six players to the college ranks next season – pitcher Nick Maier (Wabash), infielder Tyler Keith (Sinclair CC), outfielder Matt Chernoff (Wabash Valley), pitcher Connor Cunningham (Wisconsin-Parkside), Dylan Schildknecht (Indiana) and pitcher Mitchell Sparks (Iowa Lakes CC).

For Hamilton Southeastern, Tanner Sizemore will attend Hillsdale College, pitcher David Blanco is headed to Lincoln Trail CC, pitcher/outfielder David Herrmann signed with Hanover and pitcher/outfielder Aaron McGee will play for Wabash Valley. Two juniors on the Royals squad have already committed – pitcher/infielder Michael Pachmayer (Ball State) and infielder/pitcher Matt Gorski (Indiana).

Fishers pitcher/infielder Brandon Yoho is headed for IPFW while Caleb Brenczewski, a sophomore pitcher/infielder, has committed to Purdue.

North Central will send outfielder Alex Snider to Parkland JC and infielder/outfielder Lance Howard to Prairie View.

Pete Cava is the author of Indiana-Born Major League Baseball Players:  A Biographical Dictionary, 1871-2014, coming soon from McFarland Publishers. 

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