May 8, 2018 at 2:29 a.m.
Fort falls in finale
Tribe softball loses 9-2 to Franklin-Monroe
Fort falls in finale
Copyright 2018, The Commercial Review
All Rights Reserved.
FORT RECOVERY — Errors helped the Indians beat the Jets a month ago.
In a tune up before the postseason Monday, the same sort of mistakes proved costly for the home team.
Fort Recovery High School’s softball team committed seven errors in a 9-2 loss to the Franklin-Monroe Jets.
“We were going fine until the fifth inning,” said first-year FRHS coach EJ Stephen, whose team drops to 8-11 on the season ahead of Thursday’s sectional final against the Perry Commodores. “The fifth inning seems to kill us all year long. You go back and look at the books through all the games, the first couple innings are great then it’s like we’re going to settle.”
The Indians followed the script through the first three innings. After stranding a Jet runner at third base in the top of the first inning, the Tribe took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the frame. Brenna Homan legged out an infield single and stole second. She moved to third on a Bailee Tebbe infield single and scored as part of a double steal, during which Tebbe was thrown out at second.
Franklin-Monroe was set up to tie the game in the third inning by loading the bases with no outs, but FRHS sophomore Olivia Homan got a pair of strikeouts and induced a groundout to get out of the jam.
Fort Recovery’s third error of the game allowed the Jets to tie the score in the fourth inning, and they loaded the bases with no outs again in the fifth inning. This time, though, the Tribe wasn’t able to repeat the third inning.
Kinsey Goins hit an RBI sacrifice fly to give her team the lead, and a throwing error on a bunt plated another run. A groundout made it 4-1 Jets before a wild pitch pushed the advantage to 5-1.
“It’s kind of hit and miss with the defense,” Stephen said. “They had their great inning there in the third. They have those great moments and they can’t seem to build on them throughout the game.”
Fort Recovery trimmed the deficit to 5-2 in the fifth as Lydia Wenning beat the throw for a one-out infield single, and two batters later Macy Day drove her in with a triple to right field.
Two errors in the sixth inning led to three more runs for Franklin-Monroe, and another mishap in the field plated another run for the Jets in the seventh.
Belle Cable, the Jets’ starting pitcher, mixed in her changeup nicely to keep the Indians guessing at the plate. As a result, the Tribe often hit soft ground balls or liners to the left side of the infield.
“They covered their outfield and their infield well,” Stephen said. “They have a lot of speed in their infield. We weren’t hitting the ball hard like we usually do.”
Aleigha Jenkins and Tebbe had two hits each for the Indians, as Rachel Thien also had a single.
Fort Recovery, which received the No. 5 seed for the Division IV Wapakoneta District, hosts sixth-seeded Perry at 5 p.m. Thursday in the sectional final. Perry defeated Lima Central Catholic on Monday.
The Indians will be hoping to win their first sectional championship since 2010.
“Just build back on confidence,” Stephen said of what it will take for the Tribe to beat the Commodores. “They have to know they can go into sectional and win this ball game.
“Being at home is going to help a lot. They know they can do it. That’s going to be the big thing. We can’t do it for them. They know how to play the defense, it’s just doing it.”
All Rights Reserved.
FORT RECOVERY — Errors helped the Indians beat the Jets a month ago.
In a tune up before the postseason Monday, the same sort of mistakes proved costly for the home team.
Fort Recovery High School’s softball team committed seven errors in a 9-2 loss to the Franklin-Monroe Jets.
“We were going fine until the fifth inning,” said first-year FRHS coach EJ Stephen, whose team drops to 8-11 on the season ahead of Thursday’s sectional final against the Perry Commodores. “The fifth inning seems to kill us all year long. You go back and look at the books through all the games, the first couple innings are great then it’s like we’re going to settle.”
The Indians followed the script through the first three innings. After stranding a Jet runner at third base in the top of the first inning, the Tribe took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the frame. Brenna Homan legged out an infield single and stole second. She moved to third on a Bailee Tebbe infield single and scored as part of a double steal, during which Tebbe was thrown out at second.
Franklin-Monroe was set up to tie the game in the third inning by loading the bases with no outs, but FRHS sophomore Olivia Homan got a pair of strikeouts and induced a groundout to get out of the jam.
Fort Recovery’s third error of the game allowed the Jets to tie the score in the fourth inning, and they loaded the bases with no outs again in the fifth inning. This time, though, the Tribe wasn’t able to repeat the third inning.
Kinsey Goins hit an RBI sacrifice fly to give her team the lead, and a throwing error on a bunt plated another run. A groundout made it 4-1 Jets before a wild pitch pushed the advantage to 5-1.
“It’s kind of hit and miss with the defense,” Stephen said. “They had their great inning there in the third. They have those great moments and they can’t seem to build on them throughout the game.”
Fort Recovery trimmed the deficit to 5-2 in the fifth as Lydia Wenning beat the throw for a one-out infield single, and two batters later Macy Day drove her in with a triple to right field.
Two errors in the sixth inning led to three more runs for Franklin-Monroe, and another mishap in the field plated another run for the Jets in the seventh.
Belle Cable, the Jets’ starting pitcher, mixed in her changeup nicely to keep the Indians guessing at the plate. As a result, the Tribe often hit soft ground balls or liners to the left side of the infield.
“They covered their outfield and their infield well,” Stephen said. “They have a lot of speed in their infield. We weren’t hitting the ball hard like we usually do.”
Aleigha Jenkins and Tebbe had two hits each for the Indians, as Rachel Thien also had a single.
Fort Recovery, which received the No. 5 seed for the Division IV Wapakoneta District, hosts sixth-seeded Perry at 5 p.m. Thursday in the sectional final. Perry defeated Lima Central Catholic on Monday.
The Indians will be hoping to win their first sectional championship since 2010.
“Just build back on confidence,” Stephen said of what it will take for the Tribe to beat the Commodores. “They have to know they can go into sectional and win this ball game.
“Being at home is going to help a lot. They know they can do it. That’s going to be the big thing. We can’t do it for them. They know how to play the defense, it’s just doing it.”
Top Stories
9/11 NEVER FORGET Mobile Exhibit
Chartwells marketing
September 17, 2024 7:36 a.m.
Events
250 X 250 AD