Seven Divisions in Baseball.. Much Ado About Nothing

Critics were concerned about a watered-down state tournament this year. In fact, Division-VII will showcase four of Ohio's top programs. (Photo by Luke Gronneberg | Sidney Daily News)

Zeb Borchers and the Raiders tuned up with 

a scrimmage hosting Graham on Monday. 

Russia's senior class will soon close out a

remarkable run of success the past four years.

When the Ohio High School Athletic Association expanded football from six divisions to seven divisions in 2013, the pigskin purists initially scoffed. The same can be said when basketball went from four divisions to seven this past season. Now folks are hollerin' about baseball! Calm down. Marion Local was winning football titles before 2013 and still are today. Russia has also been a recent regular at the state final four on the court and the diamond, including this weekend. Winning state championships will always be really, really hard. Ask former Russia basketball coach Spencer Cordonnier if that gold trophy his Raiders hoisted in March was given just for participating. Turns out, all those grandpas complaining about extra divisions and high school sports being better in the good ole days is much ado about nothing. 

The Division VII Baseball State Tournament pairings at Canal Park in Akron is exactly as it should be. When the action starts on Thursday at 1:00 PM state-ranked #1 Tiffin Calvert meets #6 Newark Catholic. Calvert was a small school state semi-finalist in both 2022 and 2023. Their opponent from Newark will be making their 18th trip to the final four and has nine titles. The 4:00 PM game will be #2 Minster versus #8 Russia. The Wildcats are appearing for the sixth time and previously earned three championships. The Raiders are returning for their seventh time in school history and have hauled home 1st-place hardware twice. Rest assured, none of the state media panel will need to open their Rand McNally's to find those schools on the map.

That latter matchup will surely create a parade of vehicles with orange M's and gold R's across US 30 on Thursday. Fans from both Minster and Russia always show up in full strength for baseball. However, the most common wisecrack in local coffee shops this week has been suggesting the game be played in Ft. Loramie. That'd be the halfway point between both communities they explain. It would also save burning all that expensive gasoline for the six hour round-trip commute. True, but the Redskin's ballpark wouldn't contain the 5,000 people that might enjoy stadium seats. That attendance figure is at least how many spectators saw the Wildcats and Raiders battle in 2017, at the D-IV state championship game at Huntington Park in Columbus. Minster beat Russia 2-1 in a thriller, on a walk-off base hit in the bottom of the seventh inning. This 2025 rematch is anticipated to have all that same drama. Even despite the fact it's in D-VII.

Russia's one run against Minster in 2017 came when Hunter Cohee scored on an Evan Monnier single. Area experts believe one run will likely decide the winner on Thursday.

Finally, one fact is certain in Akron when it comes to Minster coach Mike Wiss matching wits with Russia coach Kevin Phlipot. This will be a business trip and the business is winning. It's safe to assume the Minster and Russia skippers expected their programs to be in this position when the season started. It's also unquestionable the crowds for both schools would enjoy nothing more than a state semifinal victory over their powerhouse neighbor. When the brick dust settles between the Wildcats and Raiders, half of the Canal Park stadium is going to be disappointed. Nothing wrong with that. However, it'll be no surprise to Fish Report if the losing coach also tells his players to smile because it happened. Nothing wrong with that either. Because baseball culture like Minster and Russia share is one of the biggest reasons they're back in the state tournament. Regardless of how many divisions OHSAA gives us.

As seen above, Mike Wiss and Kevin Phlipot played a full schedule of games in 2020 after baseball was cancelled across the country. That dedication was a life lesson for their players even bigger than winning.