Waved away

COLUMBUS, Ohio — The Tribe was hoping for a different outcome.
The venue, the location and the opponent were the same.
And the machine that is the Green Wave will be playing for yet another state title.
The Fort Recovery High School baseball team allowed four unearned runs Friday in a 7-3 loss to the Newark Catholic Green Wave in the Division IV state semifinal at Huntington Park.
The Indians (22-10) had been in this situation before. They lost 4-0 to the Green Wave (23-10) in this game last year. With different expectations, the loss to the defending state champion was a bitter pill to swallow.
“It is a lot tougher being my last ball game,” said FRHS senior Ross Homan, who was one of six Tribe players held hitless. Fort Recovery had six hits compared to 11 for the Green Wave, who advance to the state championship game at 7 p.m. tonight against the Triad Cardinals, who defeated Cuyahoga Heights 6-0.
“We respect them,” he said. “It is a good team. We made mistakes and we’re going to pay for it.”

Newark Catholic broke a 3-3 tie in the top of the fifth inning, during which Tyler York hit an RBI double off Fort Recovery starter Nick Thwaits. With runners on second and third, Jordan Mumey laid down a squeeze bunt that relief pitcher Jackson Hobbs had trouble fielding. Caleb Clagget scored on the play to make it 5-3 Green Wave, who then scored two more runs on a throwing error.
Nick Cavinee (three) and Jon Erhard (two) both had multi-hit games. The Green Wave had a hit from every spot in the lineup but their cleanup hitter.
“They had the leadoff hitter on six out of the seven times, and when you do that, that increases the chances of scoring by about 60 percent,” FRHS coach Jerry Kaup said.
Thwaits didn’t pitch poorly; the Green Wave simply caught up to his fastball and put it in play.
The FRHS sophomore flamethrower touched as high as 88 MPH on the radar gun. He lasted 4 1/3 innings and gave up six runs — three earned — on eight hits. He struck out four, walked three and was able to get out of a couple of jams.
Newark Catholic had runners on the corners with no outs in the top of the second inning but didn’t get any runs. During the fourth, the Green Wave had runners on first and second with two outs when Thwaits struck out Jack Wollenburg as the defending champs threatened to break the 3-3 tie.
“He threw well,” Kaup said. “He threw well, we just didn’t give him enough support in the background.”
Thwaits had the cushion too, thanks to an effective first inning by the Tribe.
He led off the home half of the first inning with a single through the left side, and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by Cade Wendel. Jacob Homan drove him in with a double down the left field line, Hunter Boughman hit an RBI single and Homan slid head first into home ahead of a throw that NCHS catcher Mitch Lohr couldn’t snag.
Kaup was happy with the start, being able to jump on the Green Wave, who had only given up one run in their previous six postseason games.
“We were,” he said. “We got two runs with two outs and we were able to get on top of them, which is important in a ball game.
“But we gave it back. We just gave it back.”
Newark Catholic responded with three runs in the top of the third inning thanks to an error and a two-run single by Cavinee.
Fort Recovery tied it up in the home half of the frame on an RBI single by Hobbs. The Indians had the chance to plate a couple more, but aggressive base running got players thrown out at third and at home.
In the fourth inning, Chase Bruns drew a one-out walk and Will Homan walked after brother Ross popped out, but Thwaits — he had half of the Tribe’s six hits — bounced out to the second baseman.
Then the Green Wave came to bat in the fifth and took the lead for good, marking an upsetting end to the Tribe’s season in the state semifinal once again.
“It is hard to get here,” Kaup said. “We are happy to be here but we are going to be disappointed about this one. We are going to feel like we gave this one away.”
“We were in it the entire time I think,” said senior Kyle Schroer. “But then the four-run inning took the wind out of us. We made mistakes and they capitalized.”
And for the players, the seniors who reached the final four in consecutive years, it is a memory they will have for a lifetime.
“I don’t know what to say but it’s been a lot of fun,” said Ross Homan. He smiled as he echoed the statement to his teammates in the hitting cage under the stands. “It’s stuff you tell your kids.”
“It is special,” Schroer added. “It is extremely hard to get to Huntington Park two years in a row. It’s extremely tough. For this team, to be where we were five years ago, to come here twice in a row is pretty special.”