Indians win sectional title

FORT RECOVERY — Mitch Stammen scored on an RBI groundout by Jackson Hobbs in the bottom of the first inning.
It was the only run the Indians needed, but Hobbs drove in four more later in the game for good measure.
Oh, he shut down the Tigers on the mound too.
Hobbs went 3-for-3 with five RBIs and kept Waynesfield-Goshen to just two hits as the Fort Recovery High School baseball team routed the Tigers 12-0 in five innings Wednesday to win the Division IV sectional championship.
The Indians (21-3), who set a new school record for wins in a season, advance to the district semifinal against Midwest Athletic Conference foe Marion Local at 7 p.m. Wednesday in Coldwater. The Flyers defeated Crestview 4-1 in Maria Stein, Ohio. Fort Recovery defeated Marion Local 13-2 in five innings Tuesday.
“They are a good, solid team,” said Waynesfield-Goshen coach Riley Huffer, whose team fell to 7-12 on the season. “I knew we were going to struggle coming into the game. Hopefully our boys can see how they played and that makes them want to get to that level.”
Hobbs recorded back-to-back strikeouts to open the game, retiring the first five batters he faced. In the bottom of the first, Tiger starter Trey Crumrine lasted just six pitches and was forced to leave with a shoulder injury.

Cheyne Tate came in for relief, and Hobbs bounced a 1-1 pitch to Lake Turner at shortstop to drive Stammen in from third.
It was the only run necessary for Fort Recovery to secure back-to-back sectional championships.
But the Tribe kept scoring, tallying seven runs in the third inning and four in the fourth.
Hobbs and Jacob Homan hit consecutive singles to lead off the third, and Derek Backs walked to load the bases for Kyle Schroer.
The junior hit an infield single to drive in Will Homan — he was the courtesy runner for Hobbs — and two batters later Ben Will drove in Homan for a 3-0 FRHS lead.
Schroer finished 2-for-3 and had two runs. Eight of the nine positions in the lineup scored.
Chase Bruns hit a two-run single and Stammen walked to load the bases again, chasing Tate from the bump. With Turner on the mound, Cole Wendel also walked — he did so three times, twice with the bases full — to set up the first of Hobbs’ pair of two-run singles.
Wendel’s three walks gave him 59 for his career, breaking Steve Diller’s record of 57 set from 1998 to 2001.
Fort Recovery had five hits in the seven-run third, but it also drew four walks. It finished with eight, walking at least once in every inning.
“We had been teaching them all year to attack a baseball, and now we’re saying ‘patience, patience, patience,’” said FRHS coach Jerry Kaup. “That sometimes is a little hard to do.”
Kaup also stressed the importance of drawing walks, especially during tournament time. A free pass often times can be the difference between winning and losing a close game.
“We will take what they give us, and they were giving us bases on balls,” he said. “That’s not a glamour statistic in baseball, but it can be very effective.”
Hobbs did his damage at the plate, pushing his batting average to a team-best .444. But he was just as dominating on the mound.
The junior only allowed two hits — one in the second inning and again in the fourth. He struck out seven, didn’t allow a walk and faced three over the minimum 15 batters.
“He kept us off balance all game,” Huffer said. “We struggled at the plate. He didn’t throw too much hard stuff. It was all off speed. He did a heck of a job.”
“He had total control on the mound tonight,” Kaup said. “He certainly was in control of this game from the get-go. The hitting part he loves to do; that’s the fun part. The pitching is the work, and he’s very focused.”