Stars hang on, split with Tribe

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FORT RECOVERY — The Starfires struggled offensively in the opener.

It would have been easy for the difficulty at the plate to continue in the second game.

It didn’t.

Marcus Teeter scored on a wild pitch and Collin Shaffer hit a sacrifice fly in the top of the ninth inning as the South Adams High School baseball team held on to earn a doubleheader split with the Fort Recovery Indians on Saturday.

“That is the kind of game you don’t want to play in, but you know it makes you better when you play in a game like that,” said SAHS coach Brad Buckingham, whose team won 14-12 after a 6-2 loss in the first game. “Our kids battled. They didn’t give up. They just kept fighting back.”

Fort Recovery (7-3) trailed 11-6 in the bottom of the seventh inning and scored five runs to send the game into extras. And as the Starfires (3-4) took a 12-11 lead in the top of the eighth, the Tribe fought back again to send it to the ninth inning.

“They kept hanging in there and we couldn’t stop them,” said Kaup, who earned his 100th career victory in the first game. “They just kept getting a number.”

“Even when it looked like we had no chance they came back and still tied that ball game in the seventh inning.”

Ethan Schoen had an RBI single, and Nick Thwaits drew a bases-loaded walk to highlight the Tribe seventh.

In the top of the eighth, SAHS catcher Mark Clary drew a two-out walk and later scored on a Braxton Haight single. In the home half of the frame, FRHS pinch-hitter Max Klingshirn had a leadoff walk, moved to second on a wild pitch and reached third on an error. With Clary now on the mound — he was behind the plate for the previous 14 innings — a mishap on a pickoff attempt plated the game-tying run for the Tribe.

“That is tough,” Buckingham said of Clary moving to the mound. “He’s been great behind the plate. Great effort coming out there and doing the job.”

Fort Recovery got a runner to third with one out in the top of the ninth before Clary shut the door to notch the win.

South Adams outhit Fort Recovery in game two 13-6.

The Indians broke through in game one with three runs in the third inning. Ben Homan had a single and Nick Thwaits followed with a double. Reese Rogers singled, and another throwing error gave the Tribe a 3-0 advantage.

One inning later, Thwaits — he finished the day with two doubles and a triple — ripped a full-count pitch to the corner in left field. Starfire left fielder Corbin Blomeke didn’t see the ball off the bat, and Thwaits was able to pick up a two-run triple.

South Adams scored both of its runs in the sixth inning. A wild pitch plated Nic Stuber, and Terry Dawn scored on an RBI single from Joe Stuber.

“We were not sharp at all game one,” Buckingham said. “Couldn’t throw strikes with consistency. We couldn’t move runners. Lots of things we like to say are a part of our program and our game, we couldn’t do.

“It was pretty frustrating. It was still a 6-2 game. To come out of here with a split after that is good.”

Joe Stuber finished the day with two singles and three RBIs for the Starfires. Teeter and Grant Besser, who took the loss in game one, tallied four hits at the plate.

Besser allowed three unearned runs on four hits while striking out eight and walking three in three innings. His counterpart Reese Rogers went the distance to get the victory, giving up two unearned runs on seven hits. He had seven strikeouts and two walks.

Thwaits had a team-high four RBIs for Fort Recovery. Rogers had two singles in game two as the only other Tribe player to record a multi-hit day.

Cade Wendel suffered the loss for Fort Recovery. He gave up two earned runs in 1 1/3 inning of relief. Clary threw two innings, struck out three and issued one walk to get his relief victory.