Coming off two consecutive losses, Cody Miller (East Tennessee State) provided an immediate spark for Y-D on Tuesday when he led off the night with an opposite-field home run to jumpstart a 3-0 victory over Chatham.
After serving as the Y-D leadoff hitter for the first three games of the season, Miller went 15 games outside of the top spot in the lineup. He made the seamless transition back into the leadoff role on Sunday against Harwich when he delivered a couple of base hits with a run scored. That momentum carried into Tuesday, as Miller drove a 96 MPH fastball from Luke Jackson (Texas A&M) over the right field wall to give Y-D an instant 1-0 lead.
“We knew we were going up against a pretty good arm tonight; [Jackson] was going to have some [velocity] to him, so we needed to be on time for his heater,” Miller said. “I got beat a little bit by that heater with two strikes, but I was able to go out to their short right field porch.”
The homer was Miller’s third of the season, putting him in second place on the team, only behind AJ Soldra (UConn) with four. Among qualified hitters, Miller is also second on the team in batting average, slugging percentage and OPS, along with being tied for the team lead in doubles and RBIs.
Miller exemplified the role of a leadoff hitter in the third inning, getting on base by any means possible and wearing a 95 MPH fastball from Jackson. Miller proceeded to wreak some havoc on the basepaths when he advanced all the way to third on an errant throw by Jackson during a pickoff attempt to first base.
Throughout both his collegiate season and during the summer, Miller has been making an impact with his speed. He stole 27 bases at East Tennessee State this past year and currently leads Y-D with six steals in 19 games. The speed was a difference-maker once again on Tuesday, as Chris Hacopian (Texas A&M) drove Miller in from third base on an infield single to make it 2-0 Y-D.
Although his at-bat resulted in an out, Miller played a vital role in Y-D tacking on another run in the fifth inning. With one out and Yomar Carreras (Rutgers) on second base, Miller capped off an eight-pitch battle with Tate Carey (Michigan) by sending a fly ball to right field that was deep enough to move Carreras over to third. Getting to third base allowed Carreras to score on a wild pitch in the next at-bat to put Y-D ahead 3-0.
Miller wore down Chatham’s pitchers all night, seeing five or more pitches in four separate plate appearances. The three runs that Miller played a crucial role in providing were enough for the Y-D pitching staff, who shut down the Anglers on the way to a 3-0 win.
“Just [wanted] to do what I can to help this team win,” Miller said. “We’ve been struggling the last couple of days, and it’s baseball, so we got to bounce back, and to be able to get this one under our belt, it felt good.”
Miller is draft-eligible for the upcoming MLB Draft on Sunday and Monday, so the standout night against Chatham marked his second-to-last game as a member of Y-D. While feeling ready to make the leap to the next level, Miller is also very grateful for the time that he’s spent with Y-D this summer.
“It’s an exciting week for me,” Miller said. “Sadly, tomorrow will be my last day with the Y-D Red Sox, so I thank those guys for everything they did for me this summer and for allowing me to come up here. There’s nowhere else that you’d rather be; this is the best amateur baseball in the country, and I just really appreciate those guys for letting me come up here and play the game.”
Miller will play his final game with Y-D against Cotuit at Red Wilson Field on Wednesday at 5 p.m.
