Evers, Indians rout Bulldogs

FORT RECOVERY — Dillan Evers didn’t give up a hit until the fifth inning.

By then, his team had staked him a four-run lead.

The Bulldogs didn't break through until he was no longer on the mound. At that point, though, the game was all but final.

Evers threw five scoreless innings, Kendrick Wendel paced a Tribe offense that racked up 11 hits and the Fort Recovery High School baseball team shook off late runs for a 9-4 victory against the Celina Bulldogs on Monday in the team’s season opener.

“We’re happy to play,” said FRHS coach Jerry Kaup, who noted it had been more than 670 days since his team last took the field after the 2020 season was canceled because of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. “We’re tickled to play.

“I can’t say enough about the effort that we got from Dillan. He was masterful tonight, he really was. He’s going to be really important for our success, especially if he throws that way.”

Evers, a 6-foot, 4-inch senior righty, allowed just one hit in 5 1/3 innings while issuing just one walk and striking out six. The only real trouble he got in was in the fifth inning.

David Kramer drew a one-out walk, then Zach Stein followed with a single to left field. But Evers, who at one point struck out four consecutive batters spanning the second and third frames, got out of the jam with a groundout to third base and a fly ball to center.

“Just pounding the zone,” Evers said of what was working for him. “They were swinging. (Defense) was making plays.”

The first time through the order, Fort Recovery (1-0) threatened — it had runners on second and third in the opening frame — but wasn’t able to push across a run. In the third inning, however, Wendel ripped a double to right-center field to score Cobe Wendel and Evers.

Landon Post and Ryne Post both hit RBI doubles an inning later, staking the Indians to a 4-0 lead before Kendrick Wendel’s RBI single in the fifth. He added an RBI sacrifice fly as part of a four-run sixth to complete his two-hit, four-RBI day.

“Kendrick is a good hitter,” Kaup said. “His effort is second-to-none. He gives us everything he has playing defense (but) hitting is what he really enjoys so he’s going to try and make that the most important part of his game.”

Brock Dues relieved Evers with one out in the sixth inning, and Celina (1-2) promptly loaded the bases on singles by Zach Hirsch and Dylan Fiester as well as a walk by Brandon Staugler. But Dues fanned Quade Gilmore and induced a pinch-hit dribbler back to the mound to get out of the jam.

Celina broke through in the bottom of the seventh, scoring four unearned runs. Consecutive walks and a fielding error loaded the bases for the Bulldogs, then Blayn Aller drove in a run on a fielder’s choice. Three batters later with bases loaded and the Indians needing one more out to get to complete the shutout, Derek Lochtefeld had trouble fielding a Feister fly ball in deep right field and three more runs scored for Celina.

Dues hunkered down and threw three straight pitches by Gilmore, sitting down the Bulldog for the third time on strikes.

“In that seventh inning he gave up some runs,” Kaup said of Dues. “You have to think, we bobbled around a ball at shortstop … and we dropped the ball in the outfield. We basically had already given them five outs and he was still pitching.

“He was throwing fine; absolutely fine. “It’s not his fault. He calmed down and he just went after the last guy and did a great job.”

Ryne Post hit a double and two RBIs from the leadoff spot for Fort Recovery, which also got a hit and two runs apiece from Cobe Wendel and Evers. Bo Thien collected a pair of singles as well.

“I’m happy with what we were able to do this evening against a really good Celina team,” Kaup said.”