FR short on experience

There are lots of questions. The answers will come as the season continues.

The Fort Recovery baseball team brings back just one pitcher who won a game last season, Greg Kahlig.

The junior has been a stand out, pitching the Indians to the district finals in each of the last two seasons. He finished 2008 with 70 strikeouts in 52 2/3 innings, and opened this season last week with a 16-strikeout effort in a win over Jackson Center.

He had a 2.73 ERA last season and was responsible for nearly half of the Tribe's wins.

"He's looked good already," said FRHS coach Shane McKibben, who is in the second year of his second stint leading the Indians. "He's been really sharp. He's gotten stronger. He's throwing the ball really well. He's pitched a lot of big games and he'll be pitching the big games again this year. He's nice to have, as a coach, to fall back on."

Who else will pitch for the Tribe?

"That's the key, because right now Greg is the only guy with a varsity win on our roster," added McKibben, whose team lost senior pitchers Curt Heitkamp (three wins), Bobby Rammel (three wins) and Clint Tobe to graduation. "Right now we need two, three, four, five to step up.

"The first innings these guys see will be at the varsity level."

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That is because Fort Recovery didn't have enough players to field a junior varsity team last season. So some of the developmental aspects of the program was lost.

The most experienced pitcher other than Kahlig returning from last season is senior Frank Thien, who started just one game and threw only 8 2/3 innings. Others who saw at least five innings of work last year are A.J. Backs and Cody Fiely.

Toby Metzger, a senior who missed most of the 2008 season because of a knee injury, will also see time on the mound. And so will almost everyone else.

"Of the 11 guys we've got, all 11 of them have been working on the mound," said McKibben. "Nine of them will probably see innings. And early in the season, we need guys to throw strikes. ... Once they get in for the first time, I don't know how these guys are going to react once the pressure is on. That's a big concern right now."

As much as the pitching is a question mark, the hitting is a concern as well with only one player - Thien - who hit better than .250 in 2008.

Thien is the returning leader in every significant offensive category after having team highs of 27 hits and 14 RBIs last season. He hit .397 to go along with 13 runs, nine stolen bases and seven doubles.

Despite missing last season, Metzger does bring with him a proven bat. He hit .373 with 25 hits and 17 runs as a sophomore, and was the only player with multiple hits in the Indians' season-opening win over Jackson Center.

Behind those two the next best returning batting average for a player who had double-digit at bats last season is Cody Fiely's .250. McKibben also said Brady Kahlig has improved significantly after hitting .178 a year ago.

"The big thing last year was timely hitting," said McKibben. "That's what it's going to take."

When Kahlig is on the mound, he will have Metzger and Fiely at shortstop and third base respectively. Nathan Keller, who hit the game-tying triple in last season's district semifinal game, will be at second base. Nathan Fortkamp and Frank Thien are both working at catcher, and either could also play first base along with A.J. Backs.

The outfield has Travis Hart in left field, Ryan Schoen in center and Brady Kahlig in right. And Ethan Schoenherr, who McKibben calls the fastest player on the team, will also be in the mix for time in the lineup.

While noting that the summer season didn't go so well for the Tribe, McKibben says he is optimistic. He hopes to see his team continue the success that has brought six sectional titles in the last 10 seasons, including three straight, and back-to-back trips to the district title game.

"So we're trying to build some tradition here," he said. "It's starting with some tournament success.

"I never put a win-loss record (out there). Like any coach says, we want to be playing our best baseball at the end of the year."[[In-content Ad]]