Guggenbiller double lifts Indians (04/30/03)

FORT RECOVERY — Delphos St. John’s had more hits and more big scoring opportunities. What they didn’t have, was anyone who could deliver in the clutch.

Dusty Guggenbiller did that job for the Fort Recovery baseball team with a fourth-inning, bases-loaded double and the Indians went on to a 4-2 victory over the Blue Jays Tuesday.

“It was a big hit,” said Guggenbiller. “I was looking fastball and I got one, so I just tried to make contact and put it in play.”

He did more than just put it in play.

The Tribe (10-9, 2-1 Midwest Athletic Conference) trailed 1-0 heading into the bottom of the fourth inning before Mark Knapke and Greg Faller drew back-to-back one-out walks. Nate Sudhoff followed with a single to load that bases, and Mitch Staugler struck out to set the stage for Guggenbiller.

The second baseman smashed a line drive to left-center field, clearing the bases to vault the Indians ahead 3-1.

Fort Recovery got one more run after a leadoff walk and stolen base by Greg Snyder in the fifth inning. C.J. Tobe drove him in with a single to right field, and the Indians stopped an attempted St. John’s rally in the seventh inning for the win.

Tobe went 2-for-3 with an RBI on the day.

Guggenbiller finished 1-for-3 with a double and three RBIs in the contest. He’s come up big in recent contests, also hitting a clutch two-out three-run home run in Saturday’s double-header sweep against Botkins.

“I changed my stance a little bit,” he said. “It’s been helping me a lot.”

“We had clutch hitting,” said Fort Recovery coach Dave Blockberger. “You preach it all the time. It’s nice to see that, especially from a sophomore.”

The runs contributed by Guggenbiller helped support a solid effort on the mound by Eric Rindler, who worked out of jams in the second, sixth and seventh innings to improve to 3-3 this season.

Rindler allowed consecutive singles to Brian Clark, Jesse Kill and Nick Jones to start the second inning, with Clark putting up the first run of the game. With two runners on and still no outs, he retired the next three batters to avoid a disastrous inning.

After Guggenbiller’s double gave him the lead, Rindler again gave up a leadoff single to Ryan Warnecke to start the sixth inning. That rally possibility ended quickly, with Clark and Kill grounding into fielder’s choices and Jones striking out.

St. Johns (7-7, 1-3 MAC) had another opportunity in the seventh inning, even after Rindler retired Blue Jay pinch hitters Kurt Hageman and Mark Mansfield. Pete Collins drew a two-out walk, and Andy Vaske and Brad Hanf followed with back-to-back singles with Collins scoring on the second.

That left Vaske on second and Hanf on third with Warnecke at the plate, but the shortstop hit a hopper to Indian third baseman Greg Faller. Faller stepped on the bag at third to retire Vaske and preserve the Fort Recovery win.

Rindler took the victory, allowing two runs on seven hits in seven innings. He walked one and struck out five.

“He never quits,” said Blockberger of Rindler. “He was around the plate all day.

“He’s seen every situation. He’s been a varsity pitcher for a long time. He doesn’t panic too much.”

“That’s kind of where we’re been all season,” said St. Johns coach Dan Metzger. “We get some runners on, but we can’t string enough together to get a big inning going.”

The Blue Jays’ offense was balanced against Rindler, with no one getting hot against him. Seven different players had one-hit apiece.

Brian Clark took the loss, giving up four runs on five hits. He walked five and struck out four.

The next game for the Indians is at New Bremen Friday at 5 p.m.[[In-content Ad]]