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Fort Recovery players gather to greet Alexis Grisez (right) after hitting one of her two home runs in the contest.
HOUSTON - It was a back and forth battle in every sense of the phrase during Thursday's Division VI softball sectional final between Fort Recovery and Houston. A 6-0 Indians' lead turned into a 10-6 Houston lead, and eventually it was 11-11 entering the bottom of the seventh.
But all it takes is one pitch. A lead off, first-pitch home run from Lauryn Crim gave the Wildcats the dramatic 12-11 win, while Fort Recovery's season came to a tough end at 5-19.
"From the first game (an 18-1 loss at Anna) to now, they are a completely different team," said a positive Fort Recovery coach Alyssa Lewis. "They have total resilience and pride. They've showed up at the plate and in the field this year. The confidence has been boosted, and it makes me more excited for next year."
It was the visiting Indians who struck first in the top of the opening frame. A leadoff walk and two singles set the stage for Courtney Klenke with the bases loaded. She lined a ball to right field that found some grass and drove in the first two runs.
Alexis Grisez stepped to the plate a batter later still with ducks on the pond. The Indians' top power bat came through big time with a shot over the center field wall for a grand slam. Despite being the road team, the early six-run lead made Fort Recovery feel right at home.
Grisez stepped in the circle in the bottom half and shutdown the Wildcats' leadoff hitters. Unfortunately for the Indians, it was only a matter of time before the Houston bats picked up.
Fort Recovery's Layla Armstrong gets ready to throw to first base during Thursday's district game at Houston.
Still trailing 6-0 at the bottom of the second, the Wildcats sent 12 to the plate to take the lead back. It all started with back to back hit by pitches, and two walks later the first Houston run came across. RBI singles from Claire Holscher and Marissa McDermit eventually tied the game at 6-all. Miley Sowers, batting for the second time in the inning, gave the hosts a 7-6 lead on a double, while Isabella Schultz made it a two-run lead on a two-bagger of her own.
The third inning saw Houston add two more on another McDermit single and it stayed a 10-6 game until the fifth. A lead off double from Mara Wendel paved the way for Grisez to help her own cause again.
The junior hit it the same spot as her first inning blast and Fort Recovery was right back in the game at 10-8. A quiet bottom half of the fifth was just what the Indians needed and the bats came back up.
Fort Recovery's Courtney Klenke (7) reacts after tagging out Houston's Olivia Maier on a stolen base attempt during the Division VI sectional softball final in Shelby County.
Another lead off hit, this time from Kayla Gaerke, brought the tying run up. While Klenke could not tie the game, she did draw Fort Recovery closer with an RBI single to center field. Houston grabbed some of the momentum back in the home half when an error brought McDermit home on her triple to the gap, and the score sat at 11-9 entering the seventh.
Grisez led off the seventh, but never saw a pitch and was intentionally walked. Jayden Wyerick fought through a two-strike count and roped a double to left field that brought Grisez home and made it a one-run game while she stepped into second base.
It was up to Gaerke as the lineup flipped over, and she needed just two pitches to tie the game at 11 on her single. While the momentum stalled out due to a miscue on the base paths, the Indians looked primed and ready to fight.
However with Crim's aggressive approach, the game ended on one swing with a blast to left that just got over the fence. The Wildcats and their fans went nuts, and the Indians were left to walk off the field.
Grisez took the loss on the mound and gave up 12 earned runs, but more than made up for it with her bat. She finished three-for-three with six RBI on the day, while three Indians finished with multi-hit days.
"She was hitting her spots, they just were not getting called," Lewis said of Grisez on the mound. "But she stepped up at the plate. The first grand slam got us going and that is what we needed. She rocked it tonight."
Makenna Vondenhuevel got the win for the Wildcats in her complete game effort. They now move on to play Springfield Northeastern next back in Houston. McDermit led the hosts' lineup with a three hit day.
