FRHS rolls on to state

ELIDA, Ohio — Between innings, Fort Recovery students were running up and down waiving a purple and white flag.

The Indians wanted that banner.

They knew what they needed to do to get it.

Fort Recovery jumped on top early and built a four-run lead. It squelched the only real Viking threat in the sixth inning.

Moments after he caught a fly ball off the bat of Quin Schroeder to end the game, fans handed the flag over the fence to Troy Homan. He rejoined his teammates and let out a mighty yell while ferociously waving the flag.

He and his fellow Indians will be taking it with them to Akron.

Fort Recovery continued its improbable tournament run Friday night, scoring first and riding another strong effort from Caden Grisez on the mound to a 5-1 victory over the Leipsic Vikings in the Division IV high school baseball regional championship game at Elida’s Ed Sandy Field.

“It’s awesome,” said Homan, who scored twice. “Best fans in the area, without a doubt. I might be biased, but best fans in the area.

“We saw that flag all game and we said, ‘We’re going to win this thing. We’re going to wave that flag.’ And that’s exactly what we did.”

The Indians (15-12) advance to the OHSAA Division IV Baseball State Finals to be contested next weekend at Canal Park in Akron. Making their first trip to the state finals since going back-to-back in 2015 and ’16, they will play fellow unranked squad Hillsdale (19-11) in the state semifinal at 4 p.m. Saturday, June 8. (The Falcons won their regional title Friday with a 3-0 shutout of John F. Kennedy Catholic.)

The other state semifinal pits top-ranked Berlin Hiland (25-5) against No. 4 Russia (27-4), with the winners to play in the Division IV state championship game at 7 p.m. Sunday, June 9.

“I couldn’t be more proud of these guys,” said FRHS coach Kevin Eyink, whose team was 9-11 entering the postseason and now finds itself two wins away from a state championship. “We believed in each other. They believed in each other. They put it together at the right time.”

Fort Recovery set the tone immediately against the Vikings (25-3) with Homan drawing a leadoff walk. He advanced to third on a pair of wild pitches and gave his team a lead it would never relinquish on a single by Caden Homan, who later scored on a Caden Grisez double.

Troy Homan was hit by a pitch to start the third and again took second on a wild pitch to start another two-run frame that included two Leipsic errors and a Gavin Faller single.

“That’s huge,” said Troy Homan. “We’ve been able to do it against Marion. We’ve been able to do it against Montpelier. And we did it again today in the first inning.

“From someone who’s been on the other side of that, when someone scores in the first inning like that, it kills a lot of energy. So when we can do that … it’s huge for our team.”

That support was plenty for Grisez, who at one point struck out five batters in a row. He didn’t allow a runner past second base until the Vikings loaded the bases with no outs in the sixth inning.

Eyink visited the mound after the first two hitters reached base in the sixth and sent Rex Leverette to warm up following Grisez’s walk of Trent Siefker to load the bases. But Leverette was never needed as Grisez induced a fly ball from Zac Lammers, gave up the only Leipsic run on a ground out to Alex Dues at shortstop and got a pop up from Nick Schroeder to third baseman Alex Gaerke to escape the threat.

“Just take a step back, try to keep composed,” said Grisez, who finished with seven strikeouts, reflecting on his mindset. The pitcher helped his cause by going 2-for-3 with a double, a walk and an RBI. “I know their fans, they were getting into it, thinking they were going to come back. Stay composed, one out at a time, strike by strike.”

Reece Wendel singled, stole second base, took third on a wild pitch and scored on a Caden Homan single to add an insurance run in the top of the seventh inning. Grisez then sat the Vikings down in order in their final at bat, with the fly ball to Troy Homan ending the game and setting off a celebration.

The Indians were not expected to make it out of the sectional, let alone be a threat for a state championship. They entered the tournament series as the No. 6 seed in the Northeast 3 District with a 9-11 record and squeaked past Crestview 2-1 in their sectional championship game.

Fort Recovery trailed Parkway 4-2 in its district semifinal before scoring 10 runs in the bottom of the sixth inning. Since then, it has topped Marion Local, Montpelier and Leipsic by a combined 30-8 to advance to the state final four.

“Everyone’s doubted us all year,” said Caden Homan, who went 2-for-4 with two RBIs and a run. “Halfway through the year, everyone’s doubting us thinking we don’t have a chance and this is what we do. We’re going to Akron next week. Unbelievable.”