Sectional sister act

HALIVAND, Ohio — The last time the Indians made the district tournament, Jackie Homan toed the rubber.

Two years later, her sister has taken over responsibilities in the circle and the Indians will once again compete in the district.

Jenna Homan dazzled on the mound and contributed with the bat as the eighth-seeded Fort Recovery High School softball team upset the host No. 3 seed Wayne Trace Raiders 10-2 in the Division III sectional championship Friday.

It was also FRHS coach Carrie Schoen’s first sectional title with the Indians (12-12). Shoen was nearly at a loss for words following the victory.

“It feels pretty good,” Schoen said. “It’s pretty amazing and pretty exciting.”

With the win, the Indians draw a matchup with the fourth-seeded host and fellow Midwest Athletic Conference rival Coldwater Cavaliers in the district opener May 12 at 6 p.m.

Homan, a sophomore at Fort Recovery, led the Indians from the pitcher’s rubber as well as with a bat. She went the distance, allowing six hits, four walks and one earned run. Offensively, she pushed across three RBIs, scored three runs and smacked two hits.

Despite the strong stat line, there were concerns for her near the beginning of the game. During her at bat in the second inning, a foul ball clipped her throwing hand, causing some pain.

“That hurt but I pitched through it,” Homan said. “I just couldn’t let the team down, so I had to just keep fighting through it and trying my best through the pain.”

She also gave credit to the dugout for providing energy to keep her going and her defense for covering for her when she didn’t secure a strikeout — she had seven punchouts.

The Indians’ defense committed three errors in the game, which Schoen said is a considerable improvement from last year and one over average from this season.

Homan also played a large role in each of Fort Recovery’s scoring innings (the fourth, sixth and seventh). The No. 2, 3, 4 and 6 hitters all had their way with Raiders’ pitcher Raegan McGarvey after the first time through the order.

Homan specifically delivered an RBI single in the fourth and the sixth, as well as smacking a ball to center in the seventh that resulted in an error but still earned her an RBI on what would have been a tag up.

Ava Grisez, the No. 2 hitter, got the offense flowing in the third and sixth with a leadoff double and single, respectively. She has been on a heater lately, including two hits and three RBIs in the sectional opener at Fairview on Tuesday.

“I’ve just got to tell myself I can do it every time and go up with confidence,” Grisez said. “I knew it was the tournament, so I had to go up there and get on however I can. … Getting used to (McGarvey’s) speed and timing her up helped a lot.”

Grisez represented the first run for the Indians in the third and the go-ahead run in the sixth.

Schoen and Post both contributed two hits for two RBIs as well. Schoen, who also had two runs, recorded singles in the sixth and seventh. Post smacked a single in the third to tie the game and a double in the seventh.

“A lot of them were struggling with that rise ball,” Schoen said. “The top of the order for them to be able to come out, especially like how they did in the seventh inning, was important. They came through and that was a huge inning for us.”

Wayne Trace (14-6) scored both of its runs early in the game. Its leadoff hitter, Logen Bland, reached base on an error and came around to score quickly on a stolen base, passed ball and a ground out by Ava Zartman.

The second run came in the third inning. Bland got the inning started with a double and made her way to score on a single by Kaitlin Slade.

The Indians have already faced the Cavaliers (16-11) twice this season, falling in both games by scores of 6-2 and 10-8.

Carrie Schoen expects to see Coldwater pitcher Madison Wendel for a third time this season. She also thinks that Homan’s growth throughout the season will be key to the Indians’ success in the district opener.

“I think the big difference between our first matchup and this game is I have a lot of confidence in Jenna,” Schoen said. “She’s got the confidence and I think that’s going to help us tremendously. …

“It’s going to be a good game.”