Another new regional semi opponent for Russia

The Raiders district championship last week extended their winning streak to 13 games and their streak of run rule victories to four (Picture by Amy Spradlin)

Russia Baseball (25-4) is back in familiar territory at the regional tournament for the seventh consecutive year. For the fifth straight year Raider fans will be mostly unfamiliar with their semifinal opponent. This Thursday at Princeton High School in Cincinnati that opponent is Northmor, a public school 55 miles north of Columbus and located in Galion, a city in Crawford, Morrow and Richland counties. In case you were wondering about those other semifinal matchups for Russia in previous seasons; In 2023 it was Berne Union, 2022 Southeastern, 2021 Fisher Catholic, 2019 and 2018 Cincinnati Christian, and 2017 Ft. Loramie.

Senior Grant Bentley (Picture by Don Tudor)

Northmor (23-7) got over a proverbial hump last Wednesday after loses in the district finals the previous two years. The Golden Knights won just their second district championship in school history, the other coming in 1995 when they advanced all the way to the Division IV state tournament. Head coach Buck Workman took over the program in 2001 and has accumulated 292 wins during that time. One big reason for his success this postseason is a trio of pitchers in senior starters Grant Bentley and Drew Hammond, along with sophomore reliever Trevor Brubaker. Bentley was recognized recently as the Knox Morrow Athletic Conference Player of the Year. He received the same conference award in basketball this past March while totaling 1,420 points during his playing career. Hammond has plenty of athletic talent too, and will take his baseball talent to the University of Findlay in the fall to continue his career on the diamond. Brubaker made an impressive freshman debut last year with a 4-3 record and 1.11 earned run average. There's been no sophomore jinx either, as his win-loss record this year is tops on the team at 8-1 with a 1.13 ERA. Bentley is 5-1 with a 1.01 ERA and Hammond is 6-2 with a 1.93 ERA. Northmor wrapped up their regular season schedule this past Tuesday, dropping a meaningless 5-4 tune-up game to D-II regional qualifier Clear Fork. Hammond and Brubaker were among the six pitchers used in limited action by the Golden Knights. The one pitcher that didn't appear was Bentley, making him a likely candidate to start against Russia. 

Much like Northmor, Russia head coach Kevin Phlipot (198 wins in nine seasons) has a plethora of multisport athletes making history with their athletic achievements as well. Near the top of that list is ace pitcher and junior Braylon Cordonnier. The Marshall University commit recently garnered back-to-back Shelby County Athletic League Player of the Year awards and has already been to five state tournaments combined in baseball, basketball and golf. Senior Hayden Quinter was named SCAL Player of the Year in basketball this past winter and this Thursday will aim for his 103rd career win in baseball since stepping on the field as a freshman. Sharing those 103 wins is senior teammate Brayden Monnin, who was a key member of five state tournaments combined in baseball, basketball and cross country. Then there's senior Felix Francis who's been to five state tournaments himself in baseball, basketball and golf. Francis is also quietly having one of the best years in Russia baseball history, already breaking single season school records for runs scored and stolen bases, while currently being tied for single season triples and only six hits shy of matching the single season hits record. All four of the above mentioned Raiders were selected as 1st-Team All-SCAL honorees a couple weeks ago.

Our Fish Report projected starting line-up for Northmor versus Russia

If you're a Russia fan heading to the game, sources tell us the parking lot pep rally starts between 2:00-2:30 for first pitch at 5:00. If you're a Northmor fan reading this, Raider fans want you to know they're the friendliest tailgaters on the planet. For easiest entrance to the stadium, purchase your tickets online at https://www.ohsaa.org/tickets. Ticket-takers will accept cash at the gate if necessary. For folks who can't make the trip, you can listen live on ScoresBroadcast.com or WTGR.com 97.5FM. Both stations will also be broadcasting the 2:00 regional semifinal between Bradford and Troy Christian. There's a YouTube channel streaming the action as well at the following link. Stadium workers do not intend to clear the park between games, but will request that fans attending the first game leave seating space to allow the second game fans open seats. Only if necessary will they clear the stands and ask those in attendance to leave the park and purchase a new ticket for admission. Lastly, fans might like to know that state-ranked #3 Northmor will be the home team occupying the 1st-base dugout, while #4 Russia will be the visitors in the 3rd-base dugout. The winner will be the home team on Friday for a 5:00 finale versus the visitors from either unranked Bradford or Troy Christian.

A classy Russia program gave Fish Report an extra district championship medal last week for our season long coverage of Raider Baseball