Fort softball wins sectional

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FORT RECOVERY — The Indians needed to get through the fifth inning.

Leading by four in the first tournament game it hosted, the Tribe was on the verge of seeing its advantage shrink to just one.

Kaylyne Trent drew a leadoff walk. Kelsey Wells reached on an error. And just like that the Commodores were poised to cut into the deficit.

Olivia Homan struck out Ayree Moniz. She did the same to Annabell Plaugher. Riyann Wise hit a soft grounder back to Homan for the third out.

Danger averted. The Commodores never had a better chance the rest of the way.

Fort Recovery High School’s softball team continued its unexpected turnaround Thursday, beating the Perry Commodores 10-2 to win the Division IV Wapakoneta District sectional title.

It is the first sectional championship for Fort Recovery since 2010.

“It is amazing,” said Taylor Thien, who had one hit and drove in a pair of runs. “It’s probably the best we’ve ever played as a team.”

The fifth-seeded Indians (9-11), who have more wins this season than the last five years combined, advance to the Wapakoneta District semifinal at 5 p.m. against No. 2 seed Parkway. The Panthers beat Ridgemont 14-4 in five innings.

First-year head coach EJ Stephen is just glad her team got out of the fifth inning without giving up any runs despite the Commodores (10-10) being in perfect position to get back in it.

“I like that the fifth inning didn’t produce a lot of runs,” she said, noting the middle innings have seemed to be the time of most games the Indians fall apart defensively. “It was real good to see they could do it. Even though it was the fifth inning they got through it.”

In the home half of the frame with the Tribe leading 3-2, Macy Day hit an inside-the-park home run to double the margin. The Indians plated another run on a wild pitch, and Plaugher’s throw from the backstop to Wells, the pitcher, was off target and another run came across to make it 6-2.

Thien’s two-run single in the fifth made it 8-2, and Lydia Wenning ripped a two-run triple in the sixth to complete the scoring.

“Showed up big today,” Stephen said of the Tribe offense, which had four extra-base hits, including a pair of triples. “Our No. 1 hitter (Hannah Knapke) had to take off hitting tonight because of her knee. Everybody else came up big.”

Freshman leadoff hitter Brenna Homan led the team with three singles, as Rachel Thien added a double and a single with three runs. Day also had an infield single as three Indians had multi-hit games.

Generally a team to lose the error margin, the Indians capitalized on seven Perry errors — two each in the second, third and fourth innings. Both mistakes during the third led to a pair of unearned runs, and one of Fort Recovery’s three runs in the fourth was unearned.

The Indians took a one-run lead in the first inning. Brenna Homan singled following a 10-pitch at bat, and got in scoring position by stealing second. A wild pitch moved her to third, and one out later Bailee Tebbe tripled to right center to plate Homan.

Fort Recovery led 3-0 after three until Perry scored its only runs the next half inning. Plaugher reached on an error and scored on an errant throw off the bat of Wise. Dakota Scarberry got the Commodores within one on a single to right field. A third FRHS error put runners at the corners with two outs before Day tracked down a fly ball in center to halt any more runs.

The Indians extended their lead in the bottom of the fourth before being put on the ropes a half inning later.

“A lot of mental, being in the right state of mind,” Thien said of what it took to reach the district level for the first time in almost a decade. “Once we got it going it was hard to break down. We just kept going.”

And the thought of advancing further than any of the previous four classes before her?

“It has to sink in for a while,” Thien said with a wide smile. “It’s great. It feels really good right now.”