Helpers to heroes

Gavin Faller, Troy Homan and Sage Wendel have all been to the OHSAA state baseball tournament before.

However, it wasn’t at Canal Park. It was at Huntington Park, home of the Columbus Clippers.

And instead of manning their spots at first base, center field and second base, they were hanging out in the dugout and helping the team out by shagging balls.

Eight years later, they’ve made it themselves.

After serving as bat boys for the 2015 and ‘16 Fort Recovery High School baseball teams that made the state tournament, Faller, Homan and Wendel got their own chance to compete at the highest level of high school baseball in Ohio over this past weekend.

“It’s been awesome,” Homan said. “To be able to experience it with some of my best friends … is amazing. To do this in my last run with Fort Recovery is even better.”

“It’s something you dream about as a kid and don’t think you’ll ever really have the chance,” Faller added. “We have the chance and just seeing the community behind us and how excited they are for us has made it the experience of a lifetime.”

“Back when we were bat boys it was like ‘Dang this is really cool,’” Wendel rounded out with. “Then to finally be here, and actually playing in the state finals just exceeds all expectations.”

For the Homan family, it meant more than just making it to state, but it was Troy getting to follow in the shoes of his older brothers Ross and Will, who both played for the team the last time the Indians made it to state.

As the regular season was coming to a close and the Indians surrendered a 3-0 lead to St. John’s, it started to settle on Michele and Todd Homan that Troy may never get that experience of going to state like his brothers did.

“We were kind of preparing the fact that Troy may never have that feeling and get that feeling that his brothers did,” Michele said. “To see him and his team get there has been overall amazing.”

“We feel very fortunate and blessed that all of the boys get to be there,” Todd added.

They described Troy as Ross and Will’s biggest fans while they were on the team. When it was Troy’s turn to take the field, Ross and Will made the effort to come to as many games as they could, but Will was forced to miss the state semifinal game for a wedding.

Following the 3-1 win over Hillsdale, Troy called Will to celebrate and inform him to get ready to attend the state championship game on Sunday.

“I’ve always had a close bond with my brothers,” Troy said. “To be able to share an important memory as big as this one, it means so much. I’m so excited to see him here at the game.”

Sage Wendel also had relatives on the team, as his cousins Cole and Cade played for the ‘15 team. Cade also played for the ‘16 team and Sage mentioned that he picked No. 14 to wear – Cade’s old number – in honor of his role model.

Sage Wendel poses with his cousins Cade (left) and Cole during the 2015 season. (Photo provided)

 

While Faller didn’t have any relatives on the team, he remembered looking up to the players on the team and the attitudes they brought to practices and games as well as the energy they injected into baseball. Prior to the trip to state, Faller mentioned that he was hoping to inspire the younger generations in Fort Recovery in similar ways that he was just under a decade ago.

So far that’s what the team has done.

“We came up after the game we came up to talk to coaches … (Eyink) gave the head nod and they opened the gate and about 15 little kids came running at me,” Faller said. “When you’re standing on deck they’re all chanting your name and nothing gets you more excited to go up and try and do something for them and get them fired up.”

This season, the Indians have Eli Eyink, coach Kevin Eyink’s son, as a bat boy. Now he’s getting the experience that Faller, Homan and Wendel had eight years ago.

“It’s really cool,” Eyink said. “This might be my only time at a state game. So it’s pretty exciting to be out here going to a state championship game. “

Eyink said he’s learned from the Indians to be a state contender, you need to be a good teammate and a good leader.

While the trio ended up two runs short of their first state championship, they can still look back on the experiences the 2024 postseason brought them and how it all stemmed from the runs in ‘15 and ‘16.

“Those years gave us a taste of what it was like when we were younger,” Wednel said. “It’s just so much more than that now because you did that yourself and you did that as a team together.”