NOBLESVILLE – The top-ranked Fishers Tigers’ season-long mantra has been, ‘keep going until we run out of time.’

On Monday night, the Class 4A Tigers lived up to those words, fending off the No. 14 Noblesville Millers 5-3 at Donald J. Dunker Field with a late two-run surge in the top of the seventh to clinch their second straight sectional championship and second in program history.

“It’s what we’ve talked about all year. We’re never out of it. Even in the losses we’ve had, other than the one at McCutcheon, we’ve had runners in scoring position to either tie the game or take the lead,” Fishers head coach Matthew Cherry said. “This is what our guys have been the past two years. They’re never out of it until the final out.”

Senior Ben Burton epitomized the Tigers’ forward-focused determination in the decisive final inning, lacing a 2-1 offering into deep right field for a clutch one-out, one-run triple to break a 3-all tie.

Miami (Ohio) recruit J.J. Woolwine padded the margin 5-3 with an RBI-groundout to score Burton, and Navy commit Matthew Wolff sat the host Millers down in order in the bottom of the seventh to nail down the Tigers’ first of four postseason goals.

“That was real intense. Giving up the lead after having it the whole game, giving up momentum, having a huge crowd out here, it was nuts,” Wolff said. “Cherry pulled us out in front of the dugout (after the sixth) and we just talked. He said, ‘be the team we’ve been all year.’”

The Tigers (25-7) were resilient throughout despite an emotionally charged night and an inspired Millers team following the tragic school shooting at Noblesville West Middle School three days prior.

With tremendous community support on hand, the Millers (21-11) played in front of nearly 4,000 fans during their 6-3 sectional semifinal victory against Hamilton Southeastern in the morning, and many returned as Noblesville attempted to claim its first title since 2014.

The Millers entered the sectional finals on a 10-game winning streak, and as Fishers starter Grant Richardson, an Indiana recruit, struggled with his command early, an opening presented itself.

However, Richardson never lost control, leaving six runners stranded through the first three innings. The left-hander issued four walks in the first two innings, including back-to-back free passes to lead off the bottom of the first, but each time he extinguished the threat with three consecutive strikeouts.

The Millers loaded the bases in the bottom of the second, but Richardson retired three straight and posted four strikeouts in a row – carried over into the third – to finish with 10 punch outs through five innings pitched.

“He’s really good. When he pounds the zone he’s even better,” Cherry said. “We have a lot of confidence in him to get the strikeout to get out of the inning.”

Richardson scattered four hits and walked six, and he was charged with one run in the bottom of the fifth when Marietta commit Jacob Thieman drove a bases-loaded sacrifice fly to left field to cut the Millers deficit 3-1.

Richardson ended the inning with a strikeout before the bullpen took over after the senior threw 116 pitches.

“He got himself into a little bit of a hole, but seeing him bounce back just like that was amazing,” Woolwine said. “I know with him you can never be too worried. He’s a stud.”

The Tigers backed their hurler with a run in the top of the first as Wolff battled through a seven-pitch at-bat to drive in Houston commit Craig Yoho with a two-out single. Fishers’ first six hitters worked their at-bats against Noblesville starter Clay Holtzworth, ramping up the right-hander’s pitch count to 35.

A one-out RBI-single by Huntington recruit Alex Jamieson, followed by an RBI-double from Nick Lukac put the Tigers ahead 3-0 in the top of the fourth, forcing the Millers to turn to their bullpen with Holtzworth reaching nearly 90 pitches thrown.

Millers’ senior Jackson Ramey, who relieved Holtzworth in the top of the fifth, stymied the Tigers initially by retiring five straight, while the Noblesville order charged back.

Down 3-1, the Millers plated two runs in the bottom of the sixth, sending eight batters to the plate.

Noblesville tied the game with a two-out rally. Indiana recruit Reese Sharp led off the inning with a walk. Northwood commit Taylor Owens walked with two outs and Indiana commit Cooper Miles, a sophomore, made it 3-2 with a single to left field.

The Millers loaded the bases five times in the game, and with runners on the corners in the bottom of the sixth, a throwing error to first base on a grounder by Mark Goudy knotted up the score 3-3.

However, the Tigers’ pitching trio of Richardson, Alex Klotz and Wolff combined to strike out 13 batters.

“We had a lot of chances, but we didn’t cash in and you have to do that against a good ball club,” Noblesville head coach Justin Keever said. “The guys battled back. It’s a long game and we got into their bullpen. We had an opportunity to punch through and take the lead, but we weren’t able to do that.”

Wolff left the bases loaded and stranded the Millers 11^th runner with a strikeout to close the inning. Wolff pitched 1 1/3 innings with two strikeouts and a walk to collect his second win of the year.

“When Noblesville got those runs, their crowd just erupted,” Woolwine said. “It was a little nerve-racking to be honest. They got momentum going their way, but the second we got back to the dugout, it’s game changer. We’re shifting the momentum back our way. Doing everything we can to flip the switch and get back on top.”

The Tigers answered with a one-out single by Jack Roudebush, which setup Burton’s late-game heroics.

A converted middle infielder, Burton, a Franklin recruit, got ahead in the count before turning on his pitch, rocketing the ball opposite field to bring pinch-runner T.J. Ratliff home from first base.

 “That was the biggest hit in my entire career,” said Burton, who also secured the final out of the game with a line-drive catch in left field. “I can’t thank anyone else but my coaches for that one.”

Cherry and his teammates were quick to redirect the credit back to their senior.

“It’s going to make me cry a little bit. Huge opportunity for Ben Burton. He changed positions this year for us, wasn’t real happy about it in the beginning, but man, he made the catch at the end and stuck with us,” Cherry said. “He’s had huge hits for us all year. That triple was the biggest one.”

Wolff protected the lead with a perfect bottom of the seventh, inducing two pop ups and a strikeout before the Tigers celebrated their repeat with the second dogpile in as many weeks after claiming back-to-back Hoosier Crossroads Conference titles in the regular-season finale nine days earlier.

“It’s definitely special. Talking about winning the conference back-to-back and now the sectional is just huge,” Wolff said. “It’s the second time in program history. We just have to make it past regional now. That’s the goal.”

The Tigers are now set for a regional rematch with No. 10 Zionsville. The Eagles won their third consecutive sectional on Memorial Day and will play the Tigers in the Lafayette Jefferson Regional semifinal at Loeb Stadium on Saturday at 11 a.m.

Zionsville defeated Fishers in the regional finals a year ago, but the Tigers swept the Eagles to seize the HCC title during their three-game regular-season series finale.

“I saw them out in right field scouting, so they’re going to be a great opponent. It’s going to be a great game,” Wolff said. “It’s the next biggest game of the year now.”

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