Post pushes Tribe to district

FORT RECOVERY — Garrett Faller and Kody Shinabery both singled to start the bottom of the sixth inning.

Cobe Wendel followed with an RBI single to make it 4-2, and Owen Schoen drew a walk off a new Royal pitcher to load the bases.

Cole Grisez tied the game.

Ryne Post won it.

Post hit a go-ahead single to cap a five-run sixth inning and stopped the Elmwood offense in the top of the seventh to lift the Fort Recovery High School baseball team past the Royals, 6-4, in Friday’s Division III sectional final.

“I’m pleased with how determined we were to try to find a way to win a baseball game,” said FRHS coach Jerry Kaup, whose fourth-seeded team advances to the Elida district semifinal against top-ranked and Midwest Athletic Conference rival Coldwater at 2 p.m. Thursday in Elida. “We had so many opportunities for two-out hits and we didn’t get the job done.

“I am pleased with the determination to find a way, I guess.”

As Fort Recovery (12-11) trailed 4-1 heading into the bottom of the sixth inning, Wendel’s RBI single chased Elmwood reliever Dylan Gerkins from the game. Tyler St. Clair, the Royal catcher, took the gear off and went to the mound. Schoen worked an eight-pitch at bat to get his free pass to first base before Grisez ripped an opposite-field double to right field, bringing home Faller and Shinabery.

Post then ripped a single to right-center to score Schoen and Grisez for the Tribe’s only lead of the night as seven straight Indian batters reached base in the frame.

Hanging on to a 6-4 advantage, Post, who ended with three hits and threw two innings of relief, sat the Royals down in order in the seventh inning to cap the come-from-behind win.

“Ryne Post came in, three hits, win the baseball game at the end pitching … he did a fabulous job, a terrific job,” Kaup said. “Star of the game.”

While the Indians were able to get key hits in that sixth inning, that wasn’t the situation early on.

Fort Recovery had a chance to break a 1-1 tie in the fourth inning with two runners in scoring position but Elmwood left fielder Cole Burton made a running catch to end the threat. 

One inning later, the Indians had bases juiced with two outs but Royal shortstop Jonathan Duvall snagged a Joe Homan grounder up the middle and stepped on second to thwart the chance.

“Gosh, we had those opportunities for two-out base hits just to score some runs to get ahead in the ball game and they made a great play,” Kaup said.

Elmwood jumped ahead 3-1 in the fifth inning with a pair of runs, including a bases-loaded hit by pitch. St. Clair made it 4-1 Royals with a squeeze bunt in the sixth before the Tribe’s big offensive showing.

“I can’t say it was destiny that it was going to happen but I was determined to coninue to play through whatever was happening,” Kaup said. “We just hope that the determination we have maybe outlasts them.”

Fort Recovery now meets Coldwater, which defeated Van Buren 2-0 in its sectional final, in the district tournament for the second consecutive season. The Cavaliers defeated the Indians 8-1 on their way to finishing as the runner-up in the state tournament.

In their regular season meeting, Coldwater got a 2-0 road win against Fort Recovery.

“We have a tremendous challenge ahead of us,” Kaup said. “They know us very well. They are our friends. They are a great team.

“We are going to show up. We are going to play the game. We understand it’s a challenge but we’re going to show up.”