Tribe, Trojans split doubleheader

FORT RECOVERY — A slew of hits gave the Indians a win in the first game of the season.
A host of defensive miscues helped the Trojans take the second.
Fort Recovery High School’s baseball team opened its season Saturday by splitting a doubleheader with the Arcanum Trojans.
The Indians (1-1) won the first game 8-1 behind three-hit, three RBI efforts from brothers Ben and Jacob Homan. Arcanum (1-1) benefited from four first-inning errors to win game two 6-3.
“We had great pitching,” said FRHS coach Jerry Kaup, whose team travels to Celina at 5 p.m. today. “We had good hitting in the first game. We hit some balls in the second game, just not that hard. They were on the line but they were soft.
“We just have to clean up our defense, not give so much away and get better.”
Junior Hunter Boughman got the Indians on the board in the first inning with a sacrifice fly to score Ben Homan, and he had an RBI double off starter Cole Burrell in the third for a 2-0 Tribe advantage
Homan, he was 3-for-4, ripped a double in the fifth inning to score Cade Wendel, and brother Jacob followed two batters later with an RBI single through the left side to drive in his younger brother.
“They are good hitters,” Kaup said of the Homans.
After Arcanum finally got on the board in the top of the sixth inning to make it 4-1, both Ben and Jacob Homan had two-run singles in the bottom of the frame for the eventual final score.
“We understand how baseball works, but when we go up to bat we really think we can get a hit every time,” Kaup said. “They had good counts where they were looking for something and got what they were looking for.”
Senior Jackson Hobbs got the win on the mound, scattering two hits over seven innings while allowing one unearned run and one walk.
“I thought he was very good on the mound,” Kaup said.
Arcanum put the ball in play in all but two of its 26 plate appearances, but couldn’t find holes in the Tribe’s defense. The Trojans left a runner on second in the first, fifth and sixth innings.
“I thought we hit the ball really well in the first game,” Arcanum coach Randy Baker said. “Hobbs is a really good pitcher. We hit the ball right to guys. I thought we were on it pretty good.”
The Trojans jumped on the board early in game two, making the most of four errors in the span of three batters. Conner Pohl drew a two-out walk off Jacob Homan. Austin Baker hit a grounder to Reese Rogers at third base, and his throw got by Boughman at first. Charging from right field to back up the play, Ross Homan’s throw to the plate was off the mark and allowed Pohl to score.
Two batters and two errors later Baker came around for a run and the Trojans had a 2-0 advantage.
“Second game (we) put the ball in play,” Randy Baker said. “They booted a couple balls and we got a couple runs there.”
Homan settled down after that, retiring 15 of the next 17 hitters, allowing just a walk in the third inning and a single in the fifth.
Meanwhile, the Indians got a run back in the third when Hobbs rifled an RBI single through the left side of the infield to score Wendel.
Two more errors in the top of the seventh helped the Trojans score four more runs, with Pohl drilling a two-run single up the middle. Hunter Saunder also had a bases-loaded sac fly.
“We fell off quite a bit between the second and sixth innings,” Baker said. “Got the leadoff guy on in the seventh and made things happen.”
Pohl entered in the fifth in relief of Nathan Kubik, and appeared as if he was going to shut the door on the Indians by striking out the first two batters he faced.
An error and a walk got runners on first and second for the Tribe, but Pohl left them stranded by getting Chase Bruns to go down on strikes.
Hobbs — he had two hits in the second game after going 0-for-2 with two walks in game one — ripped a two-out double off Pohl in the bottom of the seventh for the eventual 6-3 margin.
“He is showing more patience this year so he’s probably going to take more walks because opposing teams are throwing more pitches off the plate,” Kaup said. The Indians had 12 hits in the first game and just three in the second. “We’re hoping we have a lineup where the guys behind him can follow through and then when it is his turn to shine he will be able to connect.
“I think he had a great day. I think some of our other kids had great days. We just gave too much away.”
Kubik notched the win, allowing one earned run on two hits with three strikeouts and one walk. Homan suffered the loss, giving up six runs — two earned — on three hits in seven innings with a trio of strikeouts and one walk. Pohl surrendered two earned runs, walked three and had six punch-outs in two innings of relief.