Fort’s Caden Grisez pitched a complete game 8-hitter over seven innings. (Press Pros Feature Photos)
Jumping out to an early 2-0 lead, Fort Recovery never scored again after the first to be overcome by Berlin Hiland in the final two innings.
Akron, OH — When one talks about a Family Affair on the high school baseball front, one most likely is talking about Berlin Hiland.
There are four Yoders, three Coblentz, two Troyers, two Beachys, two Hershbergers and two Millers.
And one also would be talking about Division IV state championships.
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The Hawks from Holmes County won their second straight title Sunday night, shattering Fort Recovery’s glass slipper in the finals, 3-2, at Canal Park.
With all the brothers on the Hiland roster, what they did to Fort Recovery was not very brotherly.
It was one that tore hearts asunder if you follow the purple-clad Indians from Mercer County.
Decided underdogs, deeply decided, the Indians led 2-0 early and 2-1 entering the sixth inning, but Hiland pushed across two runs in the bottom of the sixth to do everything but put the polish on the championship trophy.
Fort Recovery put up one last gasp after Hiland relief pitcher Cody Yoder retired six straight Indians. Fort Recovery pitcher Caden Grisez led the final inning with a single.
Gavin Faller failed on two sacrifice bunt attempts and struck out. Reece Evers flied to right and Riggs Tobe grounded out.
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Game, set, match, second place. . .a highly respectable second place for a team folks thought didn’t belong.
It was a case of Fort Recover being unable to recover from a few minutes of agony in the sixth innings, the few minutes it took for Hiland to score the tying and winning runs on a ball that nearly was caught.
Troy Homan led off the first with a ringing double to left center…then scored the first run.
Fort Recovery entered the tournament wearing underdog pants, a 9-12 record and defeats in five of its last seven.
The Indians, though, found their way and found the path to the state finals with seven straight tournament wins. They knew, though, their assignment was like climbing a cliff while wearing beach sandals.
While winning seven tournament games to to get to the finals, Hiland outscored those seven teams 84-9 and posted two shutouts. Their first three wins of the season were shutouts and no team scored more than three runs against them in their first seven games.
It is spelled d-y-n-a-s-t-y. And yet the 16-13 Indians came within one run and within one clutch hit of winning their first state championship.
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“Obviously we’re disappointed, not the outcome we wanted, but these guys played really hard and we can’t be more proud of the effort they put in,” said Fort Recovery coach Kevin Eyink.
“We had a chance against a real good team and we showed again that we can play with anybody,” he said.
Some happy moments in the first three innings…Recovery jumped out to a quick 2-0 lead.
The game began as if both teams were forewarned that there was a one-hour curfew on the game’s length.
Swinging at first pitches was de riguuer. Hiland’s Caden Coblentz swung at the game’s first pitch and singled. The second hitter, Cody Yoder, swung at the game’s second pitch and flied to right.
Coblentz tried to steal second and Fort Recovery’s strong-armed catcher, Riggs Tobe, gunned him out, only the second time this season Coblentz was wiped away attempting thievery.
Fort Recover doubled down on Hiland’s first-pitch single. The Indians’ Troy Homan lashed the first pitch he saw for a double, leading off the bottom of the first. And Fort Recovery made it pay for two runs.
Reece Wendel picked on the first pitch, too, and singled to left. Both runners moved up to second and third and with two outs pitcher Caden Grisez ripped a two-run single for a 2-0 lead.
Then both teams switched modus operandi and displayed defensive dandiness.’’
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First it was Fort Recovery, a sprint and a dive catch by left fielder Reece Wendel with two on and two outs in the second.
Wendel made two above and beyond defensive plays during Fort Recovery’s 2-0 semifinal victory.
Reckless base running cost the Indians a potential third run in the second. Troy Homan is tagged out trying to stretch a double into three bases.
Hiland countered with a double defensive dose. Fort Recovery’s Troy Homan shot one into the right field corner. He tried to stretch it into a triple but was wiped away on two pegs of perfection — right fielder Colin Coblentz to second baseman Kaden Kandel to third baseman Caden Coblentz.
And on the next play Reece Wendel lined one to left and Hiland left fielder Connor Beachy made a diving catch near the warning track, just in front of the left field wall.
If ESPN did High School Top Tens, several plays from this game would be displayed.“There were some great plays in that game, on both sides,” said Eyink.
Matters degenerated in the fourth for Fort Recovery, a gimme run for Hiland.
Brady Yoder led the fifth with a single and was sacrificed to second. Danny Hostetler grounded routinely to Indians second baseman Sage Wendel, with time to wind his watch, he threw wildly past first and an unearned a run scored to make it 2-1.
Then after 10 hits and defensive chicanery, the game took a third twist. Both teams went down 1-2-3 in the fifth inning, the first 1-2-3 innings for both teams.
Hiland’s Colin Coblentz led the sixth with a single. Desperate for the tying run, Hiland coach Chris Dages had his clean-up hitter, Brady Yoder, sacrifice bunt Coblentz to second.
Did it work? Like a rabbit’s foot on a chain.
Fort Recovery pitcher Caden Grisez then issued his first walk on a full count to Kaden Kandel, putting runners on second and first with one out.
Hiland players rush the field after the final out of their second consecutive state title.
Grisez nearly escaped untarnished when he coaxed a pop-up for the second out.
But Grady Monigold said, “Not on my watch.” He drove one to deepest center. Center fielder Troy Homan and right fielder Reece Evans converged at the point of descent, but Evans’ desperate dive was a miss, a tick off his glove, a two-run double to give Hiland a 3-2 lead.
“From the dugout, I couldn’t see what happened on that play, but it would have been a great one if one of them made it,” said Eyink.
And that was it. End of the line. Party over.
“But look what we they did for the team and the baseball program,” said Eyink. “They’ve made it just a little bit better.”
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