2023 Russia Baseball Preview

The celebrating is over and it's back to work for the Russia Baseball program

March weather in Ohio usually isn't ideal for spring sports. Such was the case this past Saturday when most area games for Opening Day were either postponed or canceled. For the Russia Baseball program, weather wasn't the reason Saturday's opener with Piqua was canceled. Rather, it was the result of Russia's basketball program enjoying a long tournament run that ended on March 17th in the state tournament. Eleven of fifteen multi-sport athletes on the varsity basketball roster will play varsity or JV baseball when the Raiders open the season this week.

Russia is the defending Division IV state baseball champions in case you missed the news last June. That's a memory likely to go unmentioned this year by head coach Kevin Phlipot, who returns for his 8th season with 147 career wins and seven starters from the state final roster. When the Ohio High School Baseball Coaches Association released their 2023 D-IV preseason state poll on March 20th, the Raiders were absent from the list of top 42 teams voted on by the 32 pollsters. Perhaps that's bulletin board material if you need serious motivation or maybe it's a blessing if you're concerned with unwanted pressure.

Below is a recap of what Russia needs to replace from 2022 and a preview of what to watch in the months ahead.

The program graduated five seniors from their championship team that finished 25-7. Most notable was the SCAL Player of the Year, Grant Saunders, a flame-throwing pitcher that went 7-0 and designated hitter who led the team with a .462 batting average. Additionally, the team has two huge holes to fill with the departures of catcher and 4-year starter Aiden Shappie, along with Jared Poling who was a tall target as starting 1st-baseman. Finally, Patrick Bohman and Sam York both provided strong support roles off the bench that most casual fans probably didn't realize.

Xavier Phlipot, Zane Shappie, and Ross Fiessinger lead the Raiders

This year three seniors are back and all three for their third varsity seasons. If 2020 hadn't been eliminated by the pandemic, the trio likely would have enjoyed four-year varsity careers and maybe a few marks on the school record board from all their success. Leading the way is Xavier Phlipot, arguably the top returnee in the Shelby County Athletic League. Xavier is a veteran shortstop and pitcher, that latter position resulting in a record of 9-0 last year including a complete game win in the state title game. Xavier hit the ball well too with a .340 batting average last season from the second spot in the batting order. Next is the anchor in centerfield, Zane Shappie, a speedster who patrolled both power alleys and everything in between without a single error in 2022. His best performance at the plate came when the Raiders needed him most in both state tournament games. As the #7-hitter, Zane went a combined 3-for-6 with 3 RBI, all three of those 'ribbies' coming at critical moments. The final senior is the proverbial workhorse of the pitching staff and that's Ross Fiessinger. Ross tied for last years team lead in pitching starts with 11 and included in his 5-3 record were six decisions against D-II and D-III teams. When he did pitch against D-IV one of those wins was a no-hitter which clinched Russia's share of the SCAL championship.

Hayden Quinter scored 31 runs and batted .419 as a sophomore

The junior class returns five players and adds one newcomer. At the head is Russia's top returning batter in Hayden Quinter who led the team last year in several offenses categories including hits with 44. He's one of the toughest players on the team too, manning the hot corner down at 3rd-base and wearing the gear as catcher when necessary. Brayden Monnin is back as last years leadoff hitter with speed and power, second on the team in extra base hits with 11. He's also a utility guy versatile enough to play every position in the field. Jude Counts blossomed his sophomore season at the plate batting .327. One of his highlights was a go-ahead three run homer he blasted versus Lima Shawnee that turned into a game winner.

Next in the class are two 6'-5" juniors that recorded limited innings on varsity last year, but could shine this season. One is Felix Francis who was restricted to mostly pinch running, scoring eight times despite just two plate appearances. The other is southpaw Ben Rinderle who aims to make his varsity pitching debut at some point. Ben has bulked up this school year and might even crush a few fastballs at the plate too. Lastly, outfielder Adam Hoehne has a varsity jersey after playing a full schedule of junior varsity the last two seasons.

Opponents will be facing an experienced Braylon Cordonnier on the mound

The sophomore class is talented and one player that needs no introduction is Braylon Cordonnier. As a freshman Braylon's bat made headlines with a .407 average, three triples, and a grand slam. This season it could be his pitching arm making highlights so stay tuned. Three more classmates added to the roster late last season were Vince Borchers, Micah Grieshop, and Zeb Schulze. There's likely not room in the starting group for all three, but if any of them proves they can hit varsity pitching, look for their name on the lineup card. 

Finally, if you're one of those people that likes speculation about incoming freshman - only time will tell. The jump from 14U travel baseball to high school varsity is always daunting. That said, Russia's annual success at all grade levels means Coach Phlipot rarely needs to rebuild and usually just reloads.

Fans wanting to catch the Raiders this week can watch them at Russia Community Park in their only preseason scrimmage hosting Minster on Tuesday, March 28th. They open the regular season on Thursday with a road trip to Fairlawn and then travel to D-II Lima Shawnee on Friday. On Saturday they will face D-III backyard rival Versailles at the home of the Dayton Dragons in Day Air Ballpark. Folks heading to Dayton for the action can purchase tickets at the following link. 

Jude Counts and the Raiders will be home to scrimmage Minster on Tuesday