Indians rally past Cavs from six down

ELIDA - There seems to be no quit in the Fort Recovery softball team.

Facing a 7-1 deficit, Fort Recovery rallied with seven runs in the final three innings with Josie Guggenbiller delivering the game-winning hit in an 8-7 come-from-behind win over Coldwater in Division III sectional final action at Elida's Dorothy Edwards Field.

Fort Recovery now returns to the field on Wednesday for district semifinal action at Bath against Archbold at 5 p.m.

The Indians' mental mistakes and defensive errors helped Coldwater jump in front of Fort Recovery 7-1 through 41/2 innings before the Indians righted the ship and mounted a comeback.

"I'm so proud of the girls. They just kept battling and working to get the runs we needed and never gave up," said Fort Recovery head coach Marie Osterholt. "They kicked it in gear and whittled away at the lead and got the job done."

Coldwater head coach Jeff Kerr liked what he saw from his team early, but was disappointed the Cavaliers didn't sustain the momentum from the early innings.

"Our bats went cold and you can't give teams extra outs like we did today," said Kerr. "I think that we relaxed a little bit when we got out in front like we did and didn't play as sharp as we did when we started the game. We relaxed and then they grabbed the momentum. That was the difference in the game."

Trailing by six runs entering the bottom of the fifth inning, Fort Recovery chipped away at the Coldwater lead by scoring three runs to make it 7-4. The Cavaliers pulled Brooke Gillis from the mound and inserted Amanda Post, who struggled to find the strike zone.

Andi Sutter pulled the Indians to within one run at 7-6 following a two-run double that plated Shelby Brunswick and Josie Guggenbiller.

Post walked Carly Staugler to open the bottom of the seventh inning, picked up a strikeout and then gave up a single to Kendra Brunswick and walked Shelby Brunswick to load the bases with one out. Kerr recalled Gillis out of the dugout to replace Post, who walked four, and face Josie Guggenbiller.

Guggenbiller, who had two hits in her last two at-bats, calmly stepped to the plate and ripped a shot to leftfield with Staugler and Brunswick sprinting around to score the tying and game-winning runs.

"I felt confident up there and just told myself that I could do it," said Guggenbiller. "Felt comfortable and told myself that I am a senior, so I may as well just save the day. We never gave up today and just stuck with it."

Guggenbiller finished the day with three hits, including the walk-off winner for the Indians.

"She told me to put her down in the sixth position. No pressure and she came through," said Osterholt. "First time this year that we have had a comeback like this. Feels great, so proud of the girls."

Sutter got the win on the mound for Fort Recovery despite a tough start.

"Andi knows that she has to get the job done for us and she did it again," said Osterholt. "She got off to a tough start, but she hung in there and got better as the game went on and gave us a chance to make a comeback."

Sutter threw two scoreless innings to finish the game for the Indians (12-13) with four strikeouts.