July 23, 2014 at 2:10 p.m.
Tribe sets win record in wild double-header (05/19/03)
FRHS softball
FORT RECOVERY — Who knows whether the games dictated the weather or the weather dictated the games, either way, it was interesting.
The first game of the Fort Recovery softball team’s double-header against the Spencerville Bearcats was a messy one, shrouded most of the way by an annoying drizzle. The second was bathed in a sweet sunshine, and the contest was just as spectacular.
The Indians could hardly have authored a better finish in their final contest on their home field, taking both games — 13-12 and 3-2 — to set a new school record for wins. Both victories came in dramatic fashion with Fort Recovery scoring runs in the bottom of each seventh inning to break ties.
“I like the way they battled back each time they had to,” said Fort Recovery coach Marie Osterholt. “They never gave up. It’s a great group of kids.”
Having played a two-hour and 20-minute marathon which included 24 walks — 18 by the Indians — in game one, both coaches agreed to shorten the second contest to five innings.
The players didn’t oblige, locked in a 1-1 after five innings. They traded runs in the sixth, and after Fort Recovery pitcher Alyssa Tobe sat down the top three batters in the Bearcats’ order in the seventh the Indians had their chance.
The Tribe loaded the bases with no outs, thanks to a hit, an error and a walk, but Spencerville nearly escaped. Renee Evers popped out to second base, and Tanya Thobe hit a similar pop out to the shortstop.
Senior Allison Perkeybile was left to try to win the game with the bases loaded and two outs. The right-fielder was in trouble, with an 0-2 count, but she wouldn’t let the Bearcats’ Jackie Fox get that third strike.
Perkeybile worked the count to 2-2, fouling off several pitches in the process, and finally got a pitch she could handle. She smacked a single to left field to bring in Faller with the game-winning run.
“I was a little nervous,” said Perkeybile. “I was just happy to finish the season — finish my career — with a hit.”
That game-winning hit, coupled with the game-one victory, gave the Indians a 15-8 record this year. They surpassed last year’s win total by one as they recorded just the second winning season in school history.
“I’m just happy we finished off the win,” said senior Sarah Schmitz, who will play at the University of St. Francis (Fort Wayne) next year. “I think it’s cool (to have the record). We were ranked in the state [seventh for two weeks] and this is the first year we’ve had a winning record in the (Midwest Athletic Conference). It says good things about the program, and it’s just going to keep going up from here.”
Perkeybile’s opportunity to forge Indian history nearly never came as Spencerville’s Holly Brooks led off the sixth inning with double. She scored on a sacrifice fly from Rachel Clum for a 2-1 Bearcat lead.
Fort Recovery got a single from Tanya Thobe to leadoff the sixth inning, and Sarah Garman entered to run in her place. Perkeybile put down a sacrifice bunt, but disaster almost ensued as Garman hustled around second and headed to third.
The throw reached third baseman Stephanie Wourms in plenty of time, but Garman kicked the ball out of her glove on the slide to save the game. Tobe popped out to first base for the second out, but Ciera Rammel came through with a game-tying single to left field.
Then in the seventh Julie Faller started with an infield single, and Krystal Rammel reached base on an error.
Schmitz, the next batter, was called out and then returned to the plate on a fouled off bunt. She worked an 0-2 count for a walk, loading the bases for Perkeybile’s eventual game-winner.
“They were two different games,” said Spencerville coach Jim Kuhn, whose team is still in the tournament and will play Parkway this week. “The first one was kind of sloppy, and this one was a well-played game.
“I thought we played well. (Fort Recovery is) a good team.”
The first game lasted nearly twice as long, but was just as exciting in Fort Recovery’s last at bat.
The Indians had Spencerville (12-11) in a deep hole early after a five-run first inning, and looked like it could be headed for a mercy-rule win. Instead, the lead slipped away when Schmitz lost her control in the fourth inning and walked six hitters.
By the time the frame was over, the Bearcats had sent 11 batters to the plate and scored six runs without a single hit to pull within 7-6. They tied it with a run in the fifth inning before Fort Recovery rolled ahead again.
The Tribe scored five more runs in the sixth inning, but once more Spencerville tied the score with three runs in the sixth inning and two more in the seventh.
Ciera Rammel led off the Indian half of the seventh with a walk, and advanced to second on a wild pitch. She held fast as Lisa Grisez flied out to second base and Tobe walked before moving to third on a long sacrifice fly from Julie Faller.
Then Krystal Rammel made her mark on the record-breaking day, ripping a single down the left-field line to score her sister with the winning run.
Krystal Rammel finished as the top Fort Recovery batter in the first game, matching the entire Bearcat squad in hitting as she went 4-for-5 with a double. She scored three times and had a pair of RBIs.
Schmitz had two hits, two runs and two RBIs, and Grisez had a pair of hits and two runs. Tobe drove in a pair of runs, and Ciera Rammel scored twice.
Eight different hitters split the work in the second game, each garnering one hit. Faller, Krystal Rammel and Garman each scored a run, and Evers, Perkeybile and Ciera Rammel had one RBI apiece.
Tobe took both wins, allowing six runs — five earned — on three hits in 3 1/3 innings in the first game. She gave up two runs on five hits for the complete-game victory in game two.
Osterholt complimented her four seniors, the first group she has coached in each of their four seasons.
“Their leadership was phenomenal,” she said. “They helped the younger ones any way they could. It’s a great group of seniors.”[[In-content Ad]]
The first game of the Fort Recovery softball team’s double-header against the Spencerville Bearcats was a messy one, shrouded most of the way by an annoying drizzle. The second was bathed in a sweet sunshine, and the contest was just as spectacular.
The Indians could hardly have authored a better finish in their final contest on their home field, taking both games — 13-12 and 3-2 — to set a new school record for wins. Both victories came in dramatic fashion with Fort Recovery scoring runs in the bottom of each seventh inning to break ties.
“I like the way they battled back each time they had to,” said Fort Recovery coach Marie Osterholt. “They never gave up. It’s a great group of kids.”
Having played a two-hour and 20-minute marathon which included 24 walks — 18 by the Indians — in game one, both coaches agreed to shorten the second contest to five innings.
The players didn’t oblige, locked in a 1-1 after five innings. They traded runs in the sixth, and after Fort Recovery pitcher Alyssa Tobe sat down the top three batters in the Bearcats’ order in the seventh the Indians had their chance.
The Tribe loaded the bases with no outs, thanks to a hit, an error and a walk, but Spencerville nearly escaped. Renee Evers popped out to second base, and Tanya Thobe hit a similar pop out to the shortstop.
Senior Allison Perkeybile was left to try to win the game with the bases loaded and two outs. The right-fielder was in trouble, with an 0-2 count, but she wouldn’t let the Bearcats’ Jackie Fox get that third strike.
Perkeybile worked the count to 2-2, fouling off several pitches in the process, and finally got a pitch she could handle. She smacked a single to left field to bring in Faller with the game-winning run.
“I was a little nervous,” said Perkeybile. “I was just happy to finish the season — finish my career — with a hit.”
That game-winning hit, coupled with the game-one victory, gave the Indians a 15-8 record this year. They surpassed last year’s win total by one as they recorded just the second winning season in school history.
“I’m just happy we finished off the win,” said senior Sarah Schmitz, who will play at the University of St. Francis (Fort Wayne) next year. “I think it’s cool (to have the record). We were ranked in the state [seventh for two weeks] and this is the first year we’ve had a winning record in the (Midwest Athletic Conference). It says good things about the program, and it’s just going to keep going up from here.”
Perkeybile’s opportunity to forge Indian history nearly never came as Spencerville’s Holly Brooks led off the sixth inning with double. She scored on a sacrifice fly from Rachel Clum for a 2-1 Bearcat lead.
Fort Recovery got a single from Tanya Thobe to leadoff the sixth inning, and Sarah Garman entered to run in her place. Perkeybile put down a sacrifice bunt, but disaster almost ensued as Garman hustled around second and headed to third.
The throw reached third baseman Stephanie Wourms in plenty of time, but Garman kicked the ball out of her glove on the slide to save the game. Tobe popped out to first base for the second out, but Ciera Rammel came through with a game-tying single to left field.
Then in the seventh Julie Faller started with an infield single, and Krystal Rammel reached base on an error.
Schmitz, the next batter, was called out and then returned to the plate on a fouled off bunt. She worked an 0-2 count for a walk, loading the bases for Perkeybile’s eventual game-winner.
“They were two different games,” said Spencerville coach Jim Kuhn, whose team is still in the tournament and will play Parkway this week. “The first one was kind of sloppy, and this one was a well-played game.
“I thought we played well. (Fort Recovery is) a good team.”
The first game lasted nearly twice as long, but was just as exciting in Fort Recovery’s last at bat.
The Indians had Spencerville (12-11) in a deep hole early after a five-run first inning, and looked like it could be headed for a mercy-rule win. Instead, the lead slipped away when Schmitz lost her control in the fourth inning and walked six hitters.
By the time the frame was over, the Bearcats had sent 11 batters to the plate and scored six runs without a single hit to pull within 7-6. They tied it with a run in the fifth inning before Fort Recovery rolled ahead again.
The Tribe scored five more runs in the sixth inning, but once more Spencerville tied the score with three runs in the sixth inning and two more in the seventh.
Ciera Rammel led off the Indian half of the seventh with a walk, and advanced to second on a wild pitch. She held fast as Lisa Grisez flied out to second base and Tobe walked before moving to third on a long sacrifice fly from Julie Faller.
Then Krystal Rammel made her mark on the record-breaking day, ripping a single down the left-field line to score her sister with the winning run.
Krystal Rammel finished as the top Fort Recovery batter in the first game, matching the entire Bearcat squad in hitting as she went 4-for-5 with a double. She scored three times and had a pair of RBIs.
Schmitz had two hits, two runs and two RBIs, and Grisez had a pair of hits and two runs. Tobe drove in a pair of runs, and Ciera Rammel scored twice.
Eight different hitters split the work in the second game, each garnering one hit. Faller, Krystal Rammel and Garman each scored a run, and Evers, Perkeybile and Ciera Rammel had one RBI apiece.
Tobe took both wins, allowing six runs — five earned — on three hits in 3 1/3 innings in the first game. She gave up two runs on five hits for the complete-game victory in game two.
Osterholt complimented her four seniors, the first group she has coached in each of their four seasons.
“Their leadership was phenomenal,” she said. “They helped the younger ones any way they could. It’s a great group of seniors.”[[In-content Ad]]
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