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Fort Recovery players greet Dylan Klenke (24) after he recorded the final out of the Indians' 6-2 win over Summit Country Day at the Division VI regional baseball semifinals at Newton High School.
PLEASANT HILL - Fort Recovery fended off the opening salvo from Summit Country Day, then shut them down.
Caden Grisez kept the Silver Knights scoreless for the next 5 ⅓ innings before Dylan Klenke shut the door to give the Indians a 6-2 win on Tuesday night at Newton High School to advance to the Division VI regional baseball finals.
Fort Recovery (19-8) returns to Pleasant Hill today at 5 p.m. to face Fairview for a berth to a second straight state final four next weekend. The Apaches scored five runs in the bottom of the sixth inning to defeat Cincinnati Country Day in the second semifinal.
"We've got a little experience from last year and have been in these situations," said Fort Recovery coach Kevin Eyink, who guided the Indians to a Division IV state runner-up finish last season. "They're hungry and they're fighting."
SCD scored its runs in the bottom of the first. Jack Phillabaum led off by getting hit by a pitch. Dillon Minton followed with a sacrifice bunt, then Bryce McNair belted a double just out of reach of Gavin Evers and Reece Wendel, scoring Phillabaum. After a Lucas Reder single and a walk to Grayson Houchin, Rylan Gentry hit a fly to left. McNair just got in under the tag from catcher Brodie Hart to make it 2-0 before the Indians got the final out.
Fort Recovery's Brodie Hart tries to tag Summit Country Day's Bryce McNair.
"They got that quick start with two runs, then Caden settled in and we played good defense," said Eyink. "We've been behind before. We told them to 'Keep playing. Keep playing.' "
And the Indians did just that, using a bend-don't break approach. Grisez had just one 1-2-3 inning on the day, coming in the fourth. The Silver Knights had the bases loaded with one out in the second, only for Grisez to get a flyout to center and a groundout to third to end the threat. In the third, SCD loaded the bases again with one out, only for Grisez to strike out Cole Reinhard and then entice Phillabaum to ground back to the mound.
The Indians began to claw their way back in the second as Caden Homan's groundout scored Hart. After SCD pitcher Gavin Miller pitched a scoreless third, Alex Gaerke hit a one-out single in the fourth. Hart was then hit by a pitch with a fly to center allowing pinch-runner Hayden Siefring to get to third. Gavin Evers then tied the game with a single to score Siefring.
Fort Recovery's Caden Grisez slides safely into home during Tuesday's Division VI regional semifinal against Summit Country Day at Newton High School.
The tide completely turned in the fifth. Miller got the first two Indians out before Mason Diller reached on an error. Grisez helped his own cause with a single to left. Diller sprinted around and scored as Grisez went to second when the left fielder bobbled the ball while retrieving it. Gaerke then reached on an another error to put two on for Hart, who singled home Grisez to make it 4-2.
Insurance came in the top of the seventh as Grisez hit a one-out single, followed by Gaerke doubling his teammate home to make it 5-2. Knights coach Andy Poli brought on Phillabaum, who got the second out before Homan singled home Gaerke to make it 6-2.
"We tried to play for one more run for a little insurance," said Eyink. "We got lucky and got two. Great hitting by our guys. Good approach at the plate and battling some of those sliders."
Grisez kept working and got some great defense. In the fifth, Grisez fielded a bunt and got Houcin out at third for the second out, then Austin Siegrist made a jumping catch of a line shot that ended the inning.
In the seventh, Grisez enticed Houchin to fly to center. Then after facing Gentry for over 10 pitches to raise his pitch count to 124, Eyink called on lefty Klenke, who enticed a groundout for the second out. Keller Minton kept SCD's hopes afloat with a walk and went to second on a balk, but pinch-hitter Alex Johnson grounded back to Klenke, who lobbed the ball to Homan to end the game.
"We were in some tough spots for sure," said Eyink. "Caden is just a tough kid. He's going to battle like crazy and give you everything he's got. That's the guy we want in these situations."
Fort Recovery's Alex Gaerke applies the tag to Summit Country Day's Grayson Houchin during Tuesday's regional semifinal at Newton High School.
