Russia rolling for tournament opener

Tournament time brings out the fans and excitement 

Russia Baseball opens postseason play today at 5:00. The Raiders host the Triad Cardinals in the Division IV sectional championship at Russia Community Park. For anyone wondering about the field selection, per OHSAA rules beginning last year, "the first two rounds of the sectional tournament games and the district semi-final game will be played at the higher seeded team’s home field". While Russia Community Park certainly provides an advantage for the home team, it's also one of the most beautiful venues in southwest Ohio and a fitting site for tournament fans from anywhere.

The Raiders still have one final regular season game left, but the team is rolling into tournament play with momentum. Most notably, the Raiders beat league rival Ft. Loramie on Monday 12-2, claiming the Shelby County Athletic League title outright. It was the first time Russia had won at Ft. Loramie since 2018 and kept the Raiders unbeaten in league at 11-0 with a game at Botkins still remaining this Thursday. Monday's victory also improved Russia's overall record to 21-4 and extended their longest winning streak of the season to nine games. 

2024 has been another record breaking year for head coach Kevin Phlipot's roster. The following are individual school records broken so far that we're aware of:

• Hayden Quinter (Senior) - Hits Career
• Brayden Monnin (Senior) - Runs Career
• Braylon Cordonnier (Junior) - Doubles Career
• Felix Francis (Senior) - Stolen Bases Season

The career record breakers have been aided by 92 varsity wins and counting since the seniors first stepped on the ball diamond as freshman. With a few more games, there's surely more revisions coming to the current Russia record board as well.

When Fish Report published our Russia Baseball Preview back in March it was no surprise we predicted success. However, there were question marks concerning pitching depth and replacing a veteran centerfielder. 

The ace of the pitching staff this year has undoubtedly been Braylon Cordonnier, who was deservedly recognized Tuesday as SCAL Player of the Year for a second consecutive season. The depth question has been answered though by a committee of teammates. Most noticeably, throwers like Maddox Goubeaux, Jude Counts, Ben Rinderle and Brayden Monnin. All five guys have thrown over 20 innings this season and allowed two runs or less per game, while also averaging at least one strikeout per inning.

Our centerfield concern? Turns out, it was no concern at all. Felix Francis stepped up immediately to anchor the outfield grass and lead the batting order. His resume includes zero defensive errors and team leading marks in batting average at .452, 38 runs scored, 5 triples and 29 stolen bases. That speed on the bases has also stemmed other glaring statistics. Russia's second batter, Braylon Cordonnier, has been walked a whopping 27 times, which is 16 times more than his next closest teammate. Those extra base runners are also a big reason the Raider's third batter, Brayden Monnin, is leading the team with 30 RBI.

Perhaps Russia's secret to success in 2024 though is something that can't be measured by statistics or scouting. Fish Report has been fortunate enough to watch this team at every home game from our perch in the press box. We've literally had a bird's eye view into the Raider's dugout. We saw this program miss the preseason and four scrimmages due to a state basketball tournament run. Over the last few months we've personally quizzed stars like Hayden Quinter, Jude Counts and Braylon Cordonnier with unfair questions about our lofty expectations, all while they listened calmly and smiled. It's been satisfying watching "quiet guys" like Ben Rinderle, Zeb Schulze, Cooper Unverferth, Micah Grieshop and Adam Hoehne step up with big hits in big moments from the bottom of the batting order. We've been around long enough to know, and will let you in on the program's secret sauce. You ready? It's called 'Culture' and it's been marinating with this group over four years. Unfortunately for Raider opponents, they won't find that stat on the GameChanger baseball app.

Enjoy the tournament everyone.

It's been a memorable regular season for the Russia Raiders