Fishers High School

Fishers JV2 Silver Tigers (10-10-1) saw their season come to an end Saturday in tournament play, falling 9-1 to Noblesville Millers. The Tigers battled throughout the afternoon and had moments where they threatened to shift momentum, but Noblesville’s consistent offense and strong outing on the mound proved difficult to overcome. Noblesville threatened early in the first inning after an error and a pair of hits put runners in scoring position, but Engebretson settled in and recorded two strikeouts to limit the damage and keep the game scoreless. Fishers had an early opportunity of their own in the bottom half when Stone was hit by a pitch and moved into scoring position, but Noblesville worked out of the inning without allowing a run. The Millers broke through in the second inning after a combination of singles, walks, and aggressive baserunning produced two runs for a 2-0 lead. Eli Engebretson battled through the inning with another strikeout and some tough outs behind him, but Noblesville continued to pressure the defense. Fishers answered in the bottom of the third when Mason Walker singled to center and later came around to score on a sharp RBI double by Alex Stiefel to cut the deficit to 2-1. It looked like the Tigers were beginning to build momentum after Engebretson followed with a clean third inning that included three consecutive outs. The game changed in the fourth as Noblesville capitalized on extra opportunities to extend the lead. A sacrifice fly, RBI groundout, and back-to-back singles helped the Millers push across four runs in the inning to open up a 6-1 advantage. Fishers continued to fight offensively, getting singles from Dawson Gustin, Landon Sanders, and Stiefel over the next couple innings, but the Millers consistently worked out of trouble with timely strikeouts and limited the Tigers to just one run. Noblesville added three more runs in the fifth after several hit batters and singles extended another rally. Despite the tough inning, the Tigers still flashed some strong moments defensively, including a line-drive double play started by Sanders at first base that helped stop additional damage. John Frank also came in and competed well in relief late in the game, recording key outs and a strikeout against a lineup that had been swinging the bats all day. Stiefel finished the game 2-for-3 with the Tigers’ lone RBI, while Walker, Gustin, and Sanders each added hits. Fishers also turned a double play and continued to battle through the final out despite the difficult matchup. While the season ended earlier than the team hoped, this group showed resilience all year long, continuing to compete inning after inning and improving throughout the season. The JV2 Silver Tigers were 3-9 at one point of the season and turned things around in the second half of the season to finish 10-10-1.