Offense absent in loss

MINSTER — The Wildcat offense came in streaks.

The Tribe’s was all but absent.

Fort Recovery High School managed just one hit and gave up four or more runs twice in a 10-0, six-inning loss to the Minster Wildcats on Saturday at Four Seasons Recreation Park.

“That was not the way we wanted to send (senior) Brenna Homan off,” said FRHS coach Ryan Thien, whose team finished 17-11 (4-3 Midwest Athletic Conference) after having its chance for the program’s first conference championship in more than a decade come up short. “We wanted to send her off with a win.”

A victory would have made a three-way tie for the MAC championship with Minster and Coldwater, but Minster’s win gave the Wildcats (19-8, 6-1 MAC) the outright crown and its third consecutive league title.

Minster, which on May 6 clinched at least a share of the conference championship, jumped on Fort Recovery in the bottom of the first inning.

After Savannah Bergman got hit by a pitch, Lyndi Hemmelgarn followed with a single ahead of a two-run double from Hannah Oldiges. Mikaela Hoskins also had an RBI single as the Wildcats sent 10 batters to the plate and scored four times.

“It was huge,” Minster coach Rob Hemmelgarn said. “For about the last two weeks we’ve been having to play come from behind … It’s exciting to come back and win it that way, but it’s taking its toll on me.

“I told them, ‘Let’s establish the tone early.’”

Minster made it 5-0 in the fourth inning before walking off in the sixth with five more runs, including a two-run home run from Lilly Barhorst, the No. 9 hitter in the Wildcat lineup. Alexis Bishop also had a two-run single in the game-ending inning.

Homan, Fort Recovery’s lone senior, was the only Tribe player to reach base. She hit an opposite-field single through the left side of the infield to lead off the fourth inning and break up Rachael Hoying’s no-hit bid. She advanced to second on a fielder’s choice but didn’t advance any further.

Two innings later, Homan walked — Hoying’s only other blemish on her stat line — and stole second but again was left there.

Fort Recovery had only two ground outs and one strikeout in the game. The other outs were either line drives caught by outfielders or pop flies all over the field.

“Their coaches had us played perfectly,” Thien said. “We were hitting solid line drives right at their players. Then when we’d hit a little blooper it would go foul by five or six feet.

“(Hoying) was a good pitcher, don’t get me wrong, but they had us played very well.”

“Outfield was huge today,” Hemmelgarn said, referring to Barhorst in left field, Bishop in center and Alayna Albers in right field. “Outfield was definitely the MVP today.

“We knew what Fort Recovery was going to bring; we’ve kind of watched their hitters the last few weeks.

“Their hitters did what their tendencies were and our outfield was prepared and they made some big plays.”

Tribe starting pitcher Jackie Homan was charged with the loss, giving up eight runs — six earned — on seven hits with four walks and four strikeouts in five innings. After Homan loaded the bases in the bottom of the sixth inning, Sophie Pearson entered in relief and wasn’t able to get the Indians out of the jam.

Fort Recovery, which had its postseason hopes dashed in the sectional final on Thursday, finished with 13 or more wins in back-to-back seasons for the first time since winning MAC titles in both 2003 and ’04. It is also the most wins in a season since the 2004 team went 18-8.

And the Indians lose just Brenna Homan, the team’s leadoff hitter and the conference’s leader in career stolen bases with 86.

“There’s a lot of great kids on this team,” Thien said. “Great kids, great parents and great coaches. We’ve definitely turned a corner over the last couple of years. I really thought that this was the team that was going ot put us on the top, especially with Brenna leading.

“I think the goal stays the same; we compete with every league team. We’re definitely hoping to build on this season. It’s going to be a lot of production we have to fill at the top of the order there. We just have to hit all the way through the lineup.”