DISTRICT CHAMPS

COLDWATER, Ohio — The Wildcats scored two runs in the first inning.
They would not score again.
And with two outs in the bottom of the seventh Saturday, Minster’s Jon Niemeyer hit a slow roller to Fort Recovery pitcher Jackson Hobbs.
The junior pitcher ran off the mound to field the ball, and 62 years of history helped him heave it to Cole Wendel at first base.
Wendel caught the lob with ease for the final out. The routine play gave him, Hobbs and the rest of the Tribe squad a place in Fort Recovery lore.
The Indians’ baseball team scored seven unanswered runs during the Division IV district championship to defeat Minster 7-2, claiming the program’s third district title — and the first since 1953.
Fort Recovery (23-5) advances to the regional semifinal at 2 p.m. Thursday at Carleton Davidson Stadium on the campus of Wittenburg University in Springfield, Ohio. The Indians will meet the fifth-ranked Lehman Catholic Cavaliers, who they defeated 5-1 at home April 13.
When Minster (20-14) plated its two runs — Niemeyer scored on an RBI single by Matthew Trushaw and Josh Nixon crossed the dish on an errant throw by Hobbs attempting to get him at home — the Division IV No. 3 Indians felt on edge.
“That’s the same thing they did with us earlier in the year,” senior Cole Wendel said. The Wildcats scored once in the first inning and three in the third in a 7-3 victory May 1 against the Indians in Fort Recovery. “(It was) almost a repeat.”
“It was rough,” said Hobbs, who felt responsible for the early deficit. “To say the least, I got the first kid out, but things kind of went downhill from there.”
FRHS coach Jerry Kaup said the pressure of playing in the district championship for the first time since 2008 was to blame for the two errors in the frame. Derek Backs also had trouble handling a ground ball at second base.
“Certainly I think the jitters and the nerves showed early,” he said. “We made what I think are uncharacteristic (errors), but when you’re in new territory you have more of a reason to do that.”
But rather than letting Minster pad its lead, Fort Recovery shut it down. Hobbs — he picked up his ninth win of the season — only allowed three hits over the final six innings while striking out two and not giving up a walk. For the remainder of the game, the Wildcats had only six more base runners, none of which advanced past second.
With two outs in the top of the third inning, Minster pitcher Nixon hit Mitch Stammen with a pitch. The speedy FRHS senior then swiped second — he tied his school record with 27 stolen bases in a season — to get in scoring position, and Wendel ripped a 2-1 pitch to the gap in right-center field for an RBI double.
Nixon was behind 3-0 to Hobbs, who tucked the next pitch inside third base, allowing Wendel to score standing up and tie the game.
Freshman speedster Will Homan entered as a courtesy runner for Hobbs, and the youngster came around to score on three straight wild pitches.
“It was huge,” Hobbs said of his team’s three-run effort. Kaup added that he did not tell Hobbs to take on the 3-0 pitch, letting the junior make the decision for himself. “I felt confident coming out (to pitch) with a one-run lead.”
“They were big,” said Wendel, who led the Indians with a pair of hits and two RBIs. “Once we had that first (run) they all came after that. Everybody started relaxing after that first inning. We all started having good at bats like we have all year.”
And those good at bats turned into a bigger cushion for the Indians.
With Nixon out of the game and Trushaw on to pitch in the fifth inning, Stammen hit a dribbler in front of the mound. Trushaw grabbed the ball, and while falling to the ground threw it to JR Nixon at first. The throw sailed over Nixon’s head, allowing Stammen to reach second easily. Wendel hit a single through the right side to drive in Stammen, and two batters later Backs hit a blooper to shallow right field for a 5-2 FRHS lead. Hobbs, who was hit on his elbow guard before Backs came to the plate, scored on a wild pitch to put his team up 6-2.
The extra support gave Hobbs and the Tribe some breathing room.
“It makes it a little easier because it takes away what they can do to try to just get that one run,” Kaup said. “When they have to get three and four (runs) it makes it much more difficult.
“Sure, we knew that our chances of winning were certainly increasing as we got that distance.”
Still, the Indians weren’t going to coast to their first district title game in six decades. They wanted to keep scoring.
The Indians threatened with bases loaded and two outs in the sixth, but MHS reliever Peter Falk got out of the jam by inducing a groundout from Hobbs.
During the next inning, Jacob Homan drilled a 1-1 pitch to left center field, tucking it under the scoreboard for a solo home run. Homan snapped a three-game hitless streak after he tallied hits in 16 of the previous 17 games.
“It was awesome,” Hobbs said of Homan’s second homer of the season. “I am so happy for the kid. He’s kind of been in a little slump, but when he gave us that insurance run in the seventh it was awesome.”
While Homan put an end to his funk, the Indians ended theirs.
“It’s great for the community,” Kaup said. “It’s a great feeling. It’s great for this team to be a leader. Hopefully the program continues to go in that direction.
“I have a lot of respect for Minster’s program and coach (Mike) Wiss. … “We’d like to mimic ourselves after their program. He actually has helped us get better. So has Coldwater. So has St. Henry.
“We use what those people do and we mimic them. We’re not trying to show them up, we just want to hopefully be mentioned on the same page.”