The Daily Standard
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By TOM HAINES and COLIN FOSTER
The Daily Standard
COLDWATER - After Marion Local upset Minster for the second straight year, Fort Recovery mustered a huge rally to end Parkway's cinderella run and meet the Flyers in the Division IV baseball district final.
Marion got to Midwest Athletic Conference Pitcher of the Year Louis Magoto to win 7-1, and the Indians stormed past the Panthers 12-8 in the second district semifinal Wednesday at Veterans Field.
The Indians and Flyers will face off at 5 p.m. Friday. Marion won the first meeting 6-5 on April 18.
Fort Recovery's Riggs Tobe tries to apply a tag as Parkway's Kolt Harner comes into home in the third inning of the Division IV district semifinals at Veterans Field on Wednesday. Harner was safe after Tobe lost the ball.
The Indians trailed from the third inning on, after a handful of defensive mistakes allowed Parkway to put up three runs.
The Panthers were six outs from an improbable run to the district final when it unraveled.
Reliever Apollo Thomas walked the first two hitters he saw in the sixth, then slipped coming off the mound to field a bunt, allowing everyone to reach safely. Riggs Tobe then lined a single into right field to score a run, keeping the bases loaded, and Alex Dues drew another walk to tie the game at 4.
Thomas threw a wild pitch that put Fort Recovery (12-12) ahead for the first time, then hit Troy Homan with a pitch, and that was the end of his night. Parkway coach Neil Schaffner brought in Braxton Ford, who induced a ground ball to third base, but the throw was wide of home as another run scored.
"Towards the end, that big inning they had, we just couldn't stop the momentum," Schaffner said. "That's any sport, when momentum gets on your side. We were trying to find an answer to get it shut off, but we just couldn't shut off the momentum in that big inning."
Caden Homan's bloop into right field bounced past Carson Kirby for a two-run double. Ford then walked two batters in a row, bringing in another run.
He struck out Gavin Faller for the first out of the inning, gave up a sacrifice fly and an RBI single, then uncorked a wild pitch that scored another run before Schaffner came back out. This time it was Caiden Berry's turn, and Berry struck out Dues to end the inning.
The first 10 batters reached and scored for Fort Recovery in the sixth.
"It was a team effort," Fort Recovery coach Kevin Eyink said. "Everybody did something to make that inning happen - even the guys in the dugout, having that energy and staying in the game. Mason Diller comes in and pinch-runs, then gets a hit. It took everybody."
Parkway's Xavier Samples catches a pop-up against Fort Recovery.
But with its back to the wall, Parkway (8-13) put up a fight of its own. Ben Bates worked a one-out walk, Thomas doubled to the fence in left, and Devon Crouch reached on a slow chopper as Bates scored.
Jacoby Triplett then scored Thomas on a fielder's choice, beating out the throw to first to prevent a game-ending double play. Ford reached on an error, and Eyink came to the mound to pull Dues.
Dues went 6 2/3 innings and gave up eight runs, striking out six.
"He threw well," Eyink said. "Parkway's got good hitters. They hit the ball well."
Berry then slammed a two-run double over the head of Reece Evers in right field, Xavier Samples walked and Fletcher Smith hit a grounder through the right to load the bases. After giving up 10 runs in the sixth, Parkway brought Kolt Harner to the plate as the tying run.
Harner, who hit a three-run double in the seventh to win the sectional final last week, looped a line drive into centerfield, where it hung up enough for Troy Homan to make the catch and end the game.
"They didn't give up," Schaffner said. "They could've laid down, that game could've been 12-4. But they kept believing in themselves, and they didn't give up until the last out.
"That last swing, against St. Henry it got down, and this time it didn't," he added. "But I'm really proud of these guys."
Berry and Thomas each had two hits for the Panthers. Tobe and Caden Homan had two hits apiece for Fort Recovery, with Homan hitting two doubles and driving in four runs.
Parkway's season ends after beating MAC rivals New Bremen and St. Henry to reach the district tournament.
"We've got seven seniors, and the last three years, they've grown up and done a great job for our program," Schaffner said. "Getting us in a spot to be in the district - it's been seven years since we've been in the district, and before last year, it was seven years since we'd had a winning season. A lot of it's those guys. They've been the heart and soul of our team the last couple years, and they're going to be missed."
Minster batter James Niemeyer and Marion Local catcher Ethan Heitkamp wait for the pitch.
The Flyers are back in the district final for a second straight year.
They took down the MAC co-champs to get there.
Parker Hess pitched a complete-game, four-hitter and went 2-for-4 with a triple and three runs scored in leading the fourth-seeded Flyers over the top-seeded Wildcats for a second straight postseason.
Last year, Marion edged Minster 3-2 in the sectional final. Wednesday, the Flyers scored the final seven runs. The majority of their damage was done against the conference pitcher of the year.
"I'm confident in my team's ability, but that's a really good team in that other dugout over there," Marion Local coach Mitch Hays said. "We knew it would be a fight. Fortunately, it went our way tonight.
"We've seen a lot of good pitching this year," he added. "I just feel like there's not too many teams that will throw pitchers at us where we can't barrel balls. Now, whether we can get them down or not is always the biggest key. But getting balls in play is always my biggest goal."
Hays also mentioned early defensive struggles, but the Flyers got that fixed after a rocky first inning.
Marion threw the ball all over the yard in the inning, which resulted in Minster's first run. James Niemeyer got aboard with a two-out single. He kept plugging all the way home after the ball was thrown away by the first baseman on an infield single by Adam Rindler. Hess avoided further damage with his third strikeout of the first inning.
The score was tied at 1-all during Marion's second turn at-bat. Damon Cramer, who delivered a two-out double, advanced to third on a single by Griffin Bruns and scored after conference pitcher of the year Louis Magoto uncorked a wild pitch.
Two-run singles by Bruns and Ian Rindler made the score 5-1 Flyers after 3-1/2 innings. The bases were loaded thanks to a single by Hess, a walk and a hit batsman.
Cramer blooped an RBI single to right field for his second hit of the game in the fifth, which extended Marion's advantage to five runs.
Hess recorded a strikeout after Minster loaded the bases with two outs in the fifth. After retiring Minster's lineup in the sixth, Hess opened the seventh with a triple and scored despite looking to be pegged in a rundown. Minster dropped the ball on the tag at home plate. The Wildcats had two on base in the seventh when Hess ended the game with his fifth strikeout.
Marion Local's Parker Hess rounds second as Minster shortstop Tyler Stueve looks for the ball.
After the game, Wildcat coach Mike Wiss tipped his cap to Minster and then gave another to Marion for a well-played game.
"Parker Hess did an outstanding job on the mound," said Wiss, whose team knocked off Marion during the regular season on their way to splitting the MAC title with Versailles. "He had us a little bit off-balance by keeping the ball down in the zone. Today, Marion Local was pretty darn good. Give them credit. But I told our guys when we walk to the bus, you keep your chin up. You went 21-6. That's a helluva baseball season."
Cramer and Bruns each added two hits for the Flyers, who were defeated by St. Henry in last year's title game.
"We're just going to keep playing our game," Hays said. "We're going to try to hit balls hard in play and put more runs on the board than they do."
