FR baseball debuts at No. 1

FORT RECOVERY — On Saturday, the Indians made program history with their 12th straight win to open the season.
Monday, the Fort Recovery High School baseball team was recognized for its play on the field.
In the first OHSAA coaches’ poll released Monday, the Indians (13-0, 2-0 Midwest Athletic Conference) are the top-ranked team in Division IV. They received 19 first-place votes out of a possible 30. The team’s 276 points are higher than any other team in the state regardless of division.
Cincinnati Country Day is ranked second in Division IV, 98 points behind the Indians after receiving three first-place votes, and Paint Valley is third with 174 points.
“I think it’s an honor to be recognized by your peers,” said FRHS coach Jerry Kaup, whose team routed South Adams 16-3 Monday for its 13th straight win (see related story). “We realize of course there are some other teams in the top 20 that are very good, but we like to think that we can play on the field with them.
“Not going to downplay it … we’re honored. We know it’s a precarious position, but if we can stay on the perch for as long as we can, we’ll be very thrilled.”
Junior Jackson Hobbs, who is leading the team with a .485 batting average and a .676 on base percentage, is also happy with the recognition he and his teammates are getting.
“Right now it’s awesome,” he said before Monday’s game against the Starfires. “I didn’t think we’d be this good. We had a great team last year (the Indians were 20-5) but we lost some good seniors.”
Senior Mitch Stammen said he was surprised when he found out the Indians were ranked No. 1.
“It was disbelief at first,” said Stammen, who set the school record for stolen bases in a season with 32. Through 13 games, the senior has already swiped 16 and has been thrown out only once. “It’s surreal. It’s a pretty good feeling.”
He also feels the Tribe deserves to be the top team in the state.

“It’s the best start Fort Recovery has ever had and we’ve been working our butts off for it.”
Stammen was also part of the FRHS football team’s historic playoff run in the fall. It finished with the most wins (seven) in school history, the program’s first playoff appearance and post-season victory. He said being part of both is a good way to end his career at Fort Recovery.
“It’s just a fantastic year,” he said. “Football is in the fall, this is in the spring … just ending the year off with a bang, it’s really nice.”
The Indians are no strangers to the top of the polls, either. In 2014, the Tribe peaked at No. 2 in week three after it rattled off 13 straight wins following a loss in the season opener.
The state’s top ranking this season comes as the Indians lost the middle of the batting order from the 2014 squad. Elijah Kahlig, Blake Boughman and Jacob Muhlenkamp all graduated, but the Indians have still been able to produce just as they did last season.
Fort Recovery batted .325 as a team last season, and so far it is hitting 40 points higher. The Tribe has already scored 120 runs, an average of 9.23 runs per game, which is more than two runs higher than last season.
But it’s the two other parts of the game that Hobbs says are the reason the Indians have gotten off to such a hot start.
“Pitching and defense,” he said. “Our defense is really good right now. We’re not making very many errors. We’re making all the routine plays and even some outstanding plays. When pitchers throw strikes and we make plays good things are going to happen.”
Cole Wendel is leading the team in wins (four) and earned run average (0.33), despite allowing the most walks (12). He also has a dozen strikeouts. Jackson Hobbs and Chase Bruns all have three wins, with Hobbs leading the team in strikeouts with 20.
Kaup agrees with Hobbs in his assessment of the key to the Tribe’s success.
“I think we’ve had good pitching and consistent defense,” he said. “We started at a higher level this year — we came in with more experience and we could go from the foundation we’ve been building the last couple years and push it farther.
“It’s really come to fruition this spring where the ball has kind of bounced our way a couple times. We’ve played good ball.”