April 21, 2023 at 4:47 p.m.
Thien for the win
Senior’s strikeouts preserve victory over MAC?rival Flyers
Thien for the win
By Andrew Balko-
FORT RECOVERY — A two-out double had the Indians in danger of giving up the slim lead they had gained in the previous half inning.
The Tribe’s pitchers had counted on their defense throughout the game.
With the tying run 180 feet away, Bo Thien took care of the Flyers himself.
Thien’s strikeouts in the bottom of the seventh inning finished off the Fort Recovery High School baseball team’s 3-2 victory Thursday over Midwest Athletic Conference rival Marion Local.
Thien headed back to the mound for the final frame after an infield single had put the Tribe up by one in the bottom of the sixth. The first batter of the inning grounded out to first baseman Daniel Patch, who fielded the ball and stepped on the bag himself. Thien then struck out Jake Topp to record the second out of the inning.
The third batter — Hayden Poeppelman — put the pressure on with a double.
The senior pitcher was up to the challenge. He struck out Damon Cramer, recording the final of his four Ks to secure the victory for the Indians (8-4, 3-2 MAC).
Thien earned the win as he blanked Marion Local while giving up two hits in 2 2/3 innings of relief.
“Defense played a big role in that. I always have trust in my defense,” Thien said. “Knowing that my defense is there allows me to throw the ball over the plate and get ahead in counts. My curveball was working really well tonight, so I was able to fool a lot of the batters.”
The game was tied heading into the seventh inning, but a single from Sage Wendel, a walk from Jackson Ervin and a sacrifice bunt from Thien put the Indians in position to score.
Caden Grisez popped out to the first baseman Colton Ahrens for the second out of the inning, putting all of the pressure on Wyatt Bihn.
“In that at bat I was just trying to put the ball in play,” Bihn said. “That's the best thing to do in that situation, not try to kill the ball. Just put it in play and see what happens.”
Bihn did just that, putting the ball in play in the direction of Griffin Bruns, forcing the shortstop to make a play. The ball was fielded cleanly, but Bihn just narrowly beat the throw for an infield single, allowing Wendel to score the go-ahead run from third base.
Thien’s victory came after a strong start from Troy Homan in which he allowed two earned runs in 4 1/3 innings. He limited the Flyers (4-9, 1-3 MAC) to four hits and three walks while striking out four batters as he, too, benefitted from strong defense.
An example came in the first inning with one out and runners on second and third. Poeppelman hit a hot shot over Alex Dues’ head at shortstop, but Dues was able to leap, pull the ball out of the air and then shovel it to Wendel at second base to end the inning.
“Got us out of that inning and kept them from scoring first and us losing some momentum, so that's a huge play,” FRHS coach Kevin Eyink said. “The rest of the game on defense, everything was in front. We made plays and did a pretty good job.”
The run-saving play allowed Fort Recovery to strike first.
Pitcher Troy Homan led off the fourth inning with a walk and stole second base. Catcher Riggs Tobe executed a sacrifice bunt to move Homan over to third before Wendel’s single up the middle drove him in.
Wendel was playing in only his sixth varsity game after being called up from JV. In the short timeframe, he has recorded four RBIs and five hits for an average of .385.
“It's been pretty fun,” Wendel said. “The move up has been exciting. I've been getting to play different positions every time. Being able to play second now has been pretty fun.”
Against the Flyers, Wendel went 3-for-3 while driving in the team’s first run and scoring the winning run.
“He just all around played great today and that's what we were hoping from him,” Eyink said. “That might be somebody we need to keep in the lineup.”
After only recording two hits in the first four innings against Homan, the Flyers were able to put some pressure on him in the top of the fifth. Bruns led off with a single, followed by a walk from Ian Rindler. They scored on a double by Topps that rolled into the left field corner, giving the Marion Local a 2-1 lead.
The Indians quickly tied the game back up in the bottom of the inning. Grisez led off with a single up the middle and advanced to third on a stolen base and a fly out from Cale Rammel. He eventually scored on a passed ball.
Bryant Meier suffered the loss, giving up one run on two hits in one inning.
The Tribe’s pitchers had counted on their defense throughout the game.
With the tying run 180 feet away, Bo Thien took care of the Flyers himself.
Thien’s strikeouts in the bottom of the seventh inning finished off the Fort Recovery High School baseball team’s 3-2 victory Thursday over Midwest Athletic Conference rival Marion Local.
Thien headed back to the mound for the final frame after an infield single had put the Tribe up by one in the bottom of the sixth. The first batter of the inning grounded out to first baseman Daniel Patch, who fielded the ball and stepped on the bag himself. Thien then struck out Jake Topp to record the second out of the inning.
The third batter — Hayden Poeppelman — put the pressure on with a double.
The senior pitcher was up to the challenge. He struck out Damon Cramer, recording the final of his four Ks to secure the victory for the Indians (8-4, 3-2 MAC).
Thien earned the win as he blanked Marion Local while giving up two hits in 2 2/3 innings of relief.
“Defense played a big role in that. I always have trust in my defense,” Thien said. “Knowing that my defense is there allows me to throw the ball over the plate and get ahead in counts. My curveball was working really well tonight, so I was able to fool a lot of the batters.”
The game was tied heading into the seventh inning, but a single from Sage Wendel, a walk from Jackson Ervin and a sacrifice bunt from Thien put the Indians in position to score.
Caden Grisez popped out to the first baseman Colton Ahrens for the second out of the inning, putting all of the pressure on Wyatt Bihn.
“In that at bat I was just trying to put the ball in play,” Bihn said. “That's the best thing to do in that situation, not try to kill the ball. Just put it in play and see what happens.”
Bihn did just that, putting the ball in play in the direction of Griffin Bruns, forcing the shortstop to make a play. The ball was fielded cleanly, but Bihn just narrowly beat the throw for an infield single, allowing Wendel to score the go-ahead run from third base.
Thien’s victory came after a strong start from Troy Homan in which he allowed two earned runs in 4 1/3 innings. He limited the Flyers (4-9, 1-3 MAC) to four hits and three walks while striking out four batters as he, too, benefitted from strong defense.
An example came in the first inning with one out and runners on second and third. Poeppelman hit a hot shot over Alex Dues’ head at shortstop, but Dues was able to leap, pull the ball out of the air and then shovel it to Wendel at second base to end the inning.
“Got us out of that inning and kept them from scoring first and us losing some momentum, so that's a huge play,” FRHS coach Kevin Eyink said. “The rest of the game on defense, everything was in front. We made plays and did a pretty good job.”
The run-saving play allowed Fort Recovery to strike first.
Pitcher Troy Homan led off the fourth inning with a walk and stole second base. Catcher Riggs Tobe executed a sacrifice bunt to move Homan over to third before Wendel’s single up the middle drove him in.
Wendel was playing in only his sixth varsity game after being called up from JV. In the short timeframe, he has recorded four RBIs and five hits for an average of .385.
“It's been pretty fun,” Wendel said. “The move up has been exciting. I've been getting to play different positions every time. Being able to play second now has been pretty fun.”
Against the Flyers, Wendel went 3-for-3 while driving in the team’s first run and scoring the winning run.
“He just all around played great today and that's what we were hoping from him,” Eyink said. “That might be somebody we need to keep in the lineup.”
After only recording two hits in the first four innings against Homan, the Flyers were able to put some pressure on him in the top of the fifth. Bruns led off with a single, followed by a walk from Ian Rindler. They scored on a double by Topps that rolled into the left field corner, giving the Marion Local a 2-1 lead.
The Indians quickly tied the game back up in the bottom of the inning. Grisez led off with a single up the middle and advanced to third on a stolen base and a fly out from Cale Rammel. He eventually scored on a passed ball.
Bryant Meier suffered the loss, giving up one run on two hits in one inning.
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