Your 2022 Raiders and Redskins baseball preview..

If the baseball gods allow Russia at Ft. Loramie to open the 2022 schedule on Monday, it's fitting that these two tradition-rich programs give fans their first look of what could be another special season for both schools. The Redskins have a centerfield banner under their scoreboard that proudly reminds folks of their three state titles in 2007, 2010 and 2018. For the Raiders, last year they celebrated their 50th anniversary of Shelby County's first state championship in 1971. You can bet both teams believe this year they have the talent to be playing on June 11th at Canal Park in Akron. But as Yogi Berra once said, "in baseball, you don't know nothing".

Russia's 2021 team met and posed with the state champs from 1971 (Picture by Cindy Saunders)

Ft. Loramie's fifth-year head coach and 1989 alum Jeff Sanders (79-13) might have a lot to figure out the early part of his schedule. Graduated from last year's 27-5 team are six of nine Redskin starters that appeared in the state semi-final game, including All-SCAL 1st-team honorees Jake Sanders, Darren Hoying and Player of the Year Mack Fortman. Returning though are two 2nd-team honorees, beginning with senior pitcher Derek Meyer who got the win against Russia in last year's regional championship 7-1, when the southpaw came on in relief and threw 5-1/3 innings of no-run, two-hit ball. Also, back is Evan Eilerman, an experienced and rangy shortstop that batted over .400 as the fifth batter in the lineup. 

But in case you're thinking this might be a "rebuilding year" for Ft. Loramie, Coach Sanders has a staff that began preparing for this situation long ago. Participation in baseball is not an issue for the Redskins and to make sure the 2022 roster spots were earned, the 2021 program featured two JV teams that no doubt made everyone better. Then, when last summer rolled around and Ft. Loramie's ACME team got into the postseason, Sanders took time to coach his future stars when he just as easily could have been enjoying the off-season elsewhere. 

Ft. Loramie's boys of summer learned the expectations of playing for Coach Sanders

These next few months you'll certainly read about the successes of Derek Meyer and Evan Eilerman, but look forward to also seeing names like Clint Hilgefort, Owen Pleiman, Ty Ruhenkamp and Taran Fleckenstein just to name a few. When the Ohio High School Baseball Coaches Association pre-season poll came out a week ago, Ft. Loramie was ranked #7. By the end of May, expect the Redskins to be higher than that.

Your 2022 Ft. Loramie Redskins

Russia's 2021 might have surprised a lot of area baseball folks, except for Raiders head coach and 1997 alum Kevin Phlipot, now beginning his seventh season with 122 career victories. Among the highlights were a school record 26 wins and an appearance in the regional championship. Not bad for a team that included one senior starter and an early record of 2-3. Credit to Phlipot, who the year before took it upon himself to organize and coach 29 games with the same boys in June, July and August when Ohio cancelled spring baseball and many programs cancelled summer baseball too due to COVID-19. While some baseball experts last year thought Russia's success might be a year away yet, the Raiders won't surprise anyone with their talent in 2022.

The biggest hole in the lineup when the season starts comes from the graduation of 2nd-baseman Drew Sherman, who led the team with a .450 batting average. However, top returnees include a couple senior stars in team MVP and speedy catcher Aiden Shappie, along with Walsh University bound flamethrower Grant Saunders, who recorded 115 strikeouts last year and just missed 2019 alum Daniel Kearns single season record of 125.  

Russia returns their entire pitching staff, including Grant Saunders who was 8-2 last season

The Raiders also have a trio of juniors that earned All-SCAL recognition last year starting with 1st-team honoree Xavier Phlipot, a crafty 8-win pitcher, longtime shortstop and a solid batter that rarely strikes out. Zane Shappie is a 2nd-team honoree that anchors the outfield in center and is a dynamo on the base paths with an on-base percentage over .500. Finally, Ross Fiessinger is an Honorable Mention pitcher that quietly recorded five W's highlighted by his win in the championship game of the St. Henry Invitational. Other returning starters include senior Jared Poling, as well as sophomores Brayden Monnin and Hayden Quinter.

Your 2022 Russia Raiders

It's polite to say the Redskins and Raiders are friendly rivals. While there's definitely a mutual respect between the two programs, the friendly adjective is debatable when both teams face off on the ball diamond. Fans will get the pleasure of two regular season games that are always crucial when it comes to the league battle. If we're lucky, we might also get another tournament matchup that typically turns into a classic talked about for years afterward. It's Russia vs Ft. Loramie. Enjoy!

Russia and Ft. Loramie always gets down and dirty in a fun way