Tribe edged in nine

FORT RECOVERY — Cale Rammel had been on fire.

He was already 3-for-3 with a double and a run before his triple to right-center field with two outs in the bottom of the seventh inning tied the game.

He returned to the plate in the bottom of the ninth, again with two outs. This time, he needed a hit to tie the game.

The Trojans were finally able to retire him.

Regan Christ managed to get Rammel to pop out to first baseman Carson Tegtmeyer as Arcanum knocked off the Fort Recovery High School baseball team 6-5 in nine innings in a grueling battle just days before both schools begin tournament play.

“We’re disappointed with the outcome, but we did a lot of good things,” said FRHS coach Kevin Eyink. “I think preparing for tournament, this is where we want to be. We hit the ball really well today. … Offensively, I think we’re where we want to be heading into the tournament.”

The Indians (11-12) had a two-run lead twice — 3-1 after two innings and 4-2 through six — only to have Arcanum (18-5) pull ahead with a three-run top of the seventh. Rammel’s triple brought home Landon Post to extend the game, and the teams remained tied heading into the ninth inning.

Tegtmeyer’s lead-off single got the Trojans going in the top of the ninth. And the visitors had two runners on after an errant throw to try to cut down Tegtmeyer — he finished 3-for-5 with two runs — at second sailed into center field. Another fielder’s choice, a walk to load the bases and a sacrifice fly by Caden Thompson gave Arcanum the run it needed.

Fort Recovery had the opportunity to push the game into the 10th inning, or win it, as Alex Dues was hit by a pitch to start the bottom of the ninth. Landon Post reached base on an error and took second without a throw, giving the home team runners on second and third with no outs. But Dues froze on a Caden Grisez grounder to second baseman Nate Kessler, and by the time he made a decision, it was too late. Kessler tossed to third and Thompson put on a tag for the first out of the inning as Dues tried to scramble back to the bag.

The Trojans retired Grisez at second base on a Tucker Overman grounder, and Rammel’s pop out ended the game.

“We’re very fortunate to win this game, that’s for sure,” said Arcanum coach Randy Baker, whose team is seeded third in the Division III Southwest 3 District and awaits the National Trail/ Dixie winner in Wednesday’s sectional title game. “But we battled. I thought we came out very flat. … We made some really bad base-running mistakes too. … The reason we won this game is because we stayed in it. We didn’t hang our heads. We kept battling. … That’s what we do. I’m very proud of the guys.”

Christ had given up the triple to Rammel in the seventh inning but then induced a grounder from Daniel Patch for the third out, securing extra innings. He was untouched the rest of the way, tossing a one-two-three eighth inning and then staying clean in the ninth despite the hit batsman and error.

He got the win as he limited the Indians to one run on two hits in three innings. Evers, who recorded an RBI single in his first career at bat to put the Tribe up 4-2 in the sixth inning, suffered the loss, giving up one run on a hit and three walks in two innings. He followed Grisez (two runs in four-plus innings) and Sage Wendel (three runs in three-plus).

The FRHS pitchers combined for eight walks, while the only free base the Trojans allowed was on the hit batsman to start the bottom of the ninth inning.

“That’s something we’ve talked about," said Eyink. "Our pitchers, when we’re getting tired, we’re not finishing and we’re leaving everything up and outside, and that put us in a bad spot today.”

The Indians, who also got three hits from Patch and two apiece from Post and Thien, were set to be back at The Battlegrounds to play New Knoxville on Monday before hosting Lima Central Catholic for a Division IV sectional opening-round game at 5 p.m. Tuesday.