Patience pays off

CELINA, Ohio — In the top of the ninth inning with the bases loaded in a tie game, most players would want to be the hero and hit away.
Not the Indians.
Fort Recovery High School’s baseball team drew five consecutive walks, three with bases loaded, to take a three-run lead and hung on for a 10-8 victory in nine innings over the Celina Bulldogs on Monday at Montgomery Field in Eastview Park.
“Great ball game. Really good ball game,” said FRHS coach Jerry Kaup, whose team moves to 2-1 and hosts the Lincolnview Lancers at 5 p.m. tonight. It will be the fourth of seven games during an eight-day span for the Indians. “They got a couple runs early, then we did some really nice jobs of patience, getting some at bats and getting a nice lead.”
A four-run third inning gave Fort Recovery a 6-2 lead.
“Then we kind of piddled it away,” Kaup said. “We lost that, but we were able to hold on to our mental toughness.”
With the game tied at seven and one out in the top of the ninth inning, Celina pitcher Kole Murlin hit Jacob Homan with a pitch on the top of his right knee.
Then the Tribe got patient.
Reese Rogers worked Murlin to a full count but went down on strikes.
Kyle Schroer drew a five-pitch walk — his fourth of the game — and Chase Bruns did the same to load the bases.
Ross Homan got ahead in the count 3-0, but Murlin battled back to a full count and Homan fouled off the sixth pitch of the at bat. His seventh pitch gave Homan the easiest of RBIs, a free trip to first base and Fort Recovery was on top 8-7. He finished 2-for-3 with a single, a double, two walks and three RBIs.
Then it was little brother’s turn.
Will Homan walked on four consecutive pitches to plate another run. Cade Wendel, who started the game on the mound and was 0-for-5 up until that point, also walked.
Three free passes to first with bases loaded. Three easy runs.
The Indians were on top 10-7.
“We just have to battle and be patient, take what they give us,” said Bruns, who first blew the save opportunity in the bottom of the seventh but ended up getting the win in relief. He allowed one earned run on two hits, walked three and struck out six. “We (did not) hit that good today.”
In the bottom half of the ninth inning, Murlin — Celina’s No. 9 hitter — smashed the first pitch from Bruns over Schroer’s head in left field for a double. Seth Lonsway, an Ohio State University commit who was 3-for-5 with two doubles and three RBIs, hit an RBI single into left center to score Murlin. Justin Keeling grounded out to Jacob Homan at third base for the first out, moving Lonsway to second.
Bruns sat down Isaiah Eichler on strikes as Lonsway swiped third base in the process. Then Bruns fooled CJ Kimmel for the second time in as many at bats, blowing a fastball by him for the final out of the game.
“Proud of the boys,” Kaup said. “Proud of the way we played tonight and I’m proud of how we responded to adversity and kept our mental toughness.”
Rogers pitched in relief of Wendel, facing four batters in the fifth inning. In the sixth inning he struggled to find the strike zone and got touched up for three runs. Eichler had a two-run double up the middle, and Kimmel followed with an RBI single to cut the Bulldog deficit to 7-5.
Bruns entered in the seventh inning after Rogers hit the first batter he face, and promptly surrendered a walk. He notched his first strikeout before allowing a two-run, game-tying double from Lonsway.
A passed ball moved Lonsway to third, and with the potential game-winning run standing 90 feet away, Bruns intentionally walked two batters to load the bases.
“From a coaching standpoint I felt like I didn’t have a whole lot of choices,” Kaup said. “That is a tough situation. You just have to keep playing and hope things go your way.”
Bruns knew what his job was too.
“I just have to get the batter out,” he said. Standing at the plate was Kimmel, who had three singles and a walk. “I knew I had to strike him out and I did.”
Disaster averted. Almost.
Next up was McGohan, who had a double off Wendel in the first inning.
He suffered the same fate as his teammate before him.
“I thought Chase Bruns came in and saved the day for us,” Kaup said. “I thought he pitched wonderfully. Some great leadership with the bases loaded.”