FR, Tobe baffle chilly Wildcats

FORT RECOVERY — The Indians woke up early Saturday in 30-degree weather and a blustery northern wind to work on a baseball field that was under water. Their reward, a victory and the Heat Dragon.

The Fort Recovery fans delivered the 50,000 BTU heater to the home dugout in the middle of the third inning, and the Indians put a freeze on Houston’s scoring opportunities on the way to a 6-0 victory.

The second game of the scheduled double-header was called off because of the bitter cold temperatures.

“It’s cold,” said Fort Recovery coach Dave Blockberger. “It wasn’t like there was even a ball game going on. All you were worried about was staying warm.”

So, did the extra heat in the Tribe’s dugout help them on the field? Well, after the heater arrived starting pitcher C.J. Tobe did not allow another base runner, retiring the final 13 batters he faced in the one-hit shutout.

Coincidence? Probably, but it was a great effort by Tobe either way.

The senior had Houston’s batters off balance the entire game, allowing just four base runners overall. He gave up his only hit in the third inning — a double to Cody Lawson — but quickly got out of trouble.

Trailing 4-0, the double had the Wildcats threatening to close the gap with runners on second and third and two outs. Instead, Tobe struck out Derick Rose for the second time in the game and was on his way.

He struck out the No. 4, 5 and 6 hitters in a perfect fourth inning and cruised to the win. Only one ball — a fly out to center fielder Eric Rindler — left the infield in the final four innings.

Tobe baffled the Houston hitters with his off-speed pitches throughout the game as he racked up nine strikeouts. On the rare occassion that he did throw heat, the Wildcats simply looked shocked to see a fastball.

Not bad for a pitcher whose season was in jeopardy just a few weeks earlier because of shoulder problems.

“C.J. pitched a great game,” said Blockberger. “He was in control. It was good to see him out there.”

Tobe helped himself with some quick scoring after recording a 1-2-3 first inning. Greg Snyder opened the bottom of the frame with a single to center field and Dusty Guggenbiller sacrificed him to second base with a bunt.

Then came Tobe, who ripped a double over right fielder Joe Poppelman, who was playing far too close to the infield despite a powerful right to left wind. Snyder scored on the play, and Tobe scored after walks to Greg Heitkamp and Greg Faller and a fielder’s choice from Nathan Sudhoff.

The Indians (2-2) added two more runs in the second inning with Rindler starting the push with a one-out infield single. Snyder walked, both runners moved up on stolen bases, and Guggenbiller again came through, this time with an RBI grounder to shortstop Shawn Feathers.

Feathers misplayed the ball, leaving Snyder at third and Guggenbiller on first to set up the next run. Snyder hit the plate on a perfectly executed double-steal for a 4-0 lead.

Fort Recovery would load the bases again in the second, but Houston escaped when Sudhoff popped out to pitcher Dan Griffith. Still, the four runs were more than enough for Tobe, and the Tribe tacked on a couple more in the fifth inning for good measure.

Tobe was also the team’s top hitter, going 3-for-3 with a run and an RBI. Rindler was 2-for-3 with a run and an RBI, and Snyder went 2-for-3 with a pair of runs.

Most importantly, Rindler led a big day of production from the bottom of the order. The final four Indian hitters accounted for four hits, three runs and a pair of RBIs.

“This was nice,” said Blockberger, pointing to the bottom half of the scorebook. “(Friday) night (in a 5-2 loss to Crestview) we were 0-for-14 in our bottom four spots. It’s nice to see them get a couple of hits.”

The Indians play at St. Marys today at 5 p.m.[[In-content Ad]]