Parkway fights off FR

ELIDA, Ohio — Marie Osterholt kept her post-game comments brief.
There wasn’t much left to talk about. Her team’s play on the field said it all.
“I’ve just got one thing to say. I am very, very proud of you guys,” the Fort Recovery coach said after her team filed back into the dugout. “You played a hell of a game. That was a great ball game.”
Although the Indians walked away with a 4-2 loss Wednesday, they made top-seeded Parkway sweat it out until the final pitch. The Panthers needed a home run in the top of the seventh inning to take the lead and a strikeout from star pitcher Emily Crowell in the bottom to end the game after the Tribe had brought the tying run to the plate.
Just a week ago Fort Recovery (9-13) was in the midst of a four-game losing streak. And in its final game before the tournament, it gave up five unearned runs Monday in a 10-0 loss to Wapakoneta.
But the Indians, who rallied from a six-run deficit to win the sectional title over Coldwater last season, brought their A game to the tournament again.
“They just played fantastic,” said Osterholt. “Their focus was there. They came out to win. They played a strong seven innings and never quit. They just did a great job.”
The game was tied heading into the final frame, in which pinch hitter Taylor Walls led off with a single to center field. Fort Recovery pitcher Andi Sutter induced a fly ball from Olivia Smith for the first out of the inning, but then Crowell singled to left to set the stage for Kylie Snyder.
The sophomore, who shared the team lead in RBIs going into the game, drilled a line drive to left-center field. Sisters Olivia and Janelle Schwieterman both gave chase, but all they could do was watch the ball zip over the fence for a three-run homer.
“When you don’t get those first runs in there, then you start pressing a little bit. It gets harder,” said Parkway coach Mark Esselstein, whose team improved to 17-2. “Thank God Kylie waited on that one and drove it. … I think she might want to move to Elida just to play on this diamond, because she’s hit two home runs here.”
Down three runs with just three outs to work with, the Indians refused to go away.
Janelle Schwieterman led off the bottom of the seventh inning with a double to left field, and she stole third base on the third strike to Taylor Guggenbiller. Sutter drove in Schwieterman with a ground out, and Stacy Gehle kept the game alive when she reached first base on an error.
Karissa Will fought to a 2-2 count against Crowell by fouling off several pitches, but the Parkway ace painted the outside corner for a called third strike to end the game.
“They kept playing all the way through,” said Osterholt of her team’s effort in the final at bat. “That’s the sign of a great team.”
Fort Recovery had to fight to stay in the game as the Panthers had runners on base in every inning.
The Tribe got a running catch from Janelle Schwieterman in center field in the first inning, and she then threw to Will at second base for a double play. Sutter struck out back-to-back batters to end the second inning.
In the third Taylor Guggenbiller tracked down a wild pitch and flipped back to Sutter, who tagged out Peyton Heitkamp as she tried to score from third. And Sutter induced pop ups to end the fifth and sixth.
“There were times in other games where we would get a little shook up,” said Osterholt. “But they were so focused tonight. They knew what they had to do. They made the plays.
“Andi did a great job. She kept them off balance and got them swinging. It was just one pitch.”
Parkway’s only run before the seventh came following Megan Ketcham’s one-out double in the fourth. She advanced to third on a ground out from Lindsey Walls, and scored on and infield single by Khelley Adams.
Usually a one-run advantage is enough for Crowell, who entered with a 0.74 ERA. But the Tribe came right back after Kendra Brunswick was hit by a pitch in the bottom of the fourth. Janelle Schwieterman drove her in with a triple over the head of Smith in right field.
Schwieterman finished 2-for-3 with a double, a triple, a run, an RBI and a stolen base to go along with her strong play in center field. The only other hits came from Taylor Guggenbiller and Kendra Brunswick.
“She’s just a fantastic kid and a fantastic player,” said Osterholt of Schwieterman. “She goes all out all the time.”
Crowell got the win for the Panthers as she limited Fort Recovery to four hits. She had at least one strikeout in every inning, finishing with 13 while not allowing a walk.
Along with the Snyder home run, Crowell, Morgan Cron and pinch-hitter Taylor Walls each had two hits. Parkway racked up 10 hits and three walks in the game, but struggled to get runs across the plate most of the way.
“It’s one of those things where we hit some balls good, but they made plays,” said Esselstein. “We ran ourselves out of a couple of innings. A couple of times we just needed a good out somewhere to get a run in. … But the longer that game went, the more confidence Fort got.”[[In-content Ad]]