Carson Miller's no-hitter silences Canal Winchester dugout
· Yahoo Sports
LANCASTER – Canal Winchester’s dugout did everything they could to get into Carson Miller’s head. They were chirping at him the entire game.
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Miller noticed, and in hindsight, maybe the Indians should have kept the smack-talk to themselves because it only made Miller that much more determined to shut them up.
Miller did that and more by tossing a complete-game no-hitter. I game that Golden Gales had to win, Miller was electric on the mound, and his teammates backed him by banging out 10 hits to help propel Lancaster to a 7-0 Ohio Capital Conference-Buckeye Division win in front of a huge crowd on Youth Night at England Field.
The victory sets up a huge showdown on Monday at Newark (17-3). The Gales (16-4) and Wildcats both stand at 12-1 in the conference. It’s a winner-take-all game for the conference championship.
Even though Miller heard all the talk coming from the Canal Winchester dugout, he made sure never to let himself lose focus on the task at hand.
He finished with 12 strikeouts, including six in the final three innings. All the chirping made him even more determined.
“I definitely feed into the chirping of the game, and it gives me extra motivation,” Miller said. “It got heated a little bit, but I love these types of games. “Throwing a not-hitter means a lot. I had no clue going into the seventh inning that I had one going, but it also helps you have people making plays all over the place, so it’s easy to pitch. It’s just a great feeling. We all knew this was a must-win game.”
Lancaster coach Corey Conn said Miller’s competitive spirit showed out.
Corey – “What an incredible performance by Carson. It was awesome, and you got to see that competitor come out in him, which we love. We knew this wasn’t going to be an easy game. This was a must-win, and for him to come out and pitch the way he did, I was extremely proud of him. He is such a fiery competitor, and at times, (Canal Winchester) was trying to get into his head, but he seemed to thrive on it. Nothing they said was going to change him because he was locked in the entire game.”
The Indians managed only three base runners. Two by walks, and the other game on a strikeout that got past the catcher in the fourth inning, which allowed the runner to reach first base. He then stole second and went to third on a botched pickoff play at second. With nobody out in the inning, Miller struck the next batter out, got a ground out, and popped out to leave the runner stranded.
Lancaster did its part at the plate, scoring a run in the first, two in the second, and one more in the third inning before plating three insurance runs in the sixth inning.
The two runs in the second inning came on a big, two-out two-run single from senior Coleson Ross, giving the Gales a 3-0 lead.
“I went up thinking not to try to do too much,” Ross said. “Stay straight, stay in the middle of the field, and do it for my team because that’s what it’s all about. As soon as we crossed the gate to get to the field, it was game time. We were locked in and ready to go. You can’t be unfocused because teams like Canal will take advantage of that. We were locked in, and we played for each other. It was a whole team performance. Knowing we had to win each league game in the last two weeks, there was never any pressure on us because I know who we are and what we have as a team.”
Brody Broeckel and Jack Pompey led the Gales with two hits each. Levi Greiner had a two-run double in the sixth inning. Cam Griffith and Ben Thimmes had one hit and an RBI each, while Miller and Cade Meyer both singled. Brayden Montgomery had a sacrifice bunt and reached base twice on walks.
Tom Wilson is a sports reporter for the Lancaster Eagle-Gazette. Contact him at 740-689-5150 or via email at [email protected] for comments or story tips. Follow him on X at twil2323.
This article originally appeared on Lancaster Eagle-Gazette: Lancaster senior Carson Miller fires a no-hitter in huge OCC win over CW