'You hate to see it end'

ELIDA – Cinderella's still dancing …and headed the biggest ball of all.Fort Recovery set the stage by scratching out two runs in the first inning, got a heroic pitching performance from No. 2 man Caden Grisez and defused Leipsic's best rally of the game with sound, solid defense in beating the Vikings 5-1 on Friday in the Division IV regional baseball championship at Elida's Ed Sandy Field."We have tough kids. We play in a tough league. This is a testament to the competition we play that prepares us to be in these games," said Fort Recovery coach Kevin Eyink.Fort Recovery was sixth in its league, the Midwest Athletic Conference.The Indians had a losing record and were seeded sixth among the 12 schools in their district draw.They'll be trying to be No. 1 in the state, though, when they head to Canal Park in Akron next Saturday for the Division IV state semifinals.Adhering to that tried-and-true mantra that says, "You can't win a championship if you get beat in the semifinals," both coaches went with their ace pitchers on Thursday. It proved successful, with Leipsic's Tommy Offenbacher pitching a two-hit shutout in the Vikings' 10-0 win over Riverdale and Fort Recovery ace Alex Dues getting the win in a 14-4 victory over Montpelier.For the regional final, Eyink handed the ball to Grisez, and while he may be the No. 2 man in the Fort Recovery rotation, he pitched like an ace on Friday."He came in and did a phenomenal job," Eyink said."He has a good curve, and throws a knuckle-ball in there to keep them off balance, but his fastball was the key. He seemed to be ahead of them and they seemed to be behind a lot of things, so his fastball was really working today."Grisez, a junior right-hander, got out of a slight jam in the first inning and a two-on, two-out jam in the third.His most impressive work, though, came in the sixth.Trailing 4-0, Leipsic mounted its most dangerous rally of the game when Offenbacher and Ethan Zeisloft led off with singles and Trent Siefker drew a four-pitch walk, loading the bases with no outs.Grisez then got Ty Lammers on a pop to second. Fort Recovery gave up a run but got the out when Colin Niese grounded out to short. Grisez induced Nick Schroder into a fly ball to third and the inning was over."We got the first three guys on with two of our hottest hitters coming up," said Leipsic coach Daren Henry."It wasn't for lack of effort. We could have made it real interesting there, but we didn't execute."Fort Recovery's knack for manufacturing runs paid off.A lead-off walk to Troy Homan, a wild pitch, a passed ball and Caden Homan's single got the Indians on the board in the top of the first inning. Grisez helped his own cause that inning with a two-out RBI double."We gave them a couple of runs early, and you can't do that against a good team," Henry said.Troy Homan started Fort Recovery's third-inning rally as well. After being beaned by a pitch, he took second on a wild pitch, raced to third on Caden Homan's hot smash to short, and scored on Alex Gaerke's two-out slow roller to short that went for an infield single. After Grisez walked, Gavin Faller greeted relief pitcher John Dewar with an RBI single to center.Fort Recovery answered Leipsic's lone run in the sixth inning with a momentum-stealing insurance run in the seventh. Reece Wendel started it with a bloop single to center, stole second, took third on a wild pitch and scored on Caden Homan's sharp single to right to make it 5-1.Grisez then nailed down the complete-game win, retiring Leipsic 1-2-3 in the seventh on two fly balls to the outfield and his seventh strikeout of the game.A state semifinalist in 2015 and 2016, Fort Recovery (15-12) will face Jeromesville Hillsdale (19-11) in Friday's 4 p.m. Division IV semifinal in Akron. The second semifinal will pit No. 1-ranked Berlin Hiland (25-5) against No. 4 Russia (27-4), with Saturday's winners returning Sunday at 7 p.m. to decide who wears the 2024 Division IV state crown.While Leipsic did not punch its ticket to the big dance, it was still a banner season for the Vikings, who went 25-3 overall and won Putnam County League, sectional and district titles."You hate to see it end," Henry said. "But we had a great group of kids this season, and we had a great year." Ft. Recovery 202 000 1—5 9 2Leipsic 000 001 0—1 5 0WP—Grisez. LP—N. Schroeder. TOP HITTERS: (FR) Wendel 1B, RBI; C. Homan 2-1B, 2 RBI; Gaerke 2-1B, RBI; Grisez 1B, 2B, RBI; Faller 1B, RBI. (Leip) Offenbacher 2-1B.