Shelby County boys in Ohio spotlight again

The sign says it all (Picture via Facebook)

This Saturday the Shelby County Athletic League will be well represented in the 96th Annual Boys Cross Country State Championships at Fortress Obetz and Memorial Park just outside of Columbus. Botkins and Russia are two of just 20 teams that earned six-foot wide starting boxes in the Division III race. They'll also be joined from the SCAL by individual runner and sophomore Titus Young of Anna, making his first state appearance for the Rockets. Botkins won the D-III Southwest Regional Championship last Saturday at Troy in a thrilling tiebreaker against runner-up Cedarville. Russia captured 3rd-place to grab one of the top four qualifying team spots and Anna's Young secured 7th-place overall, nabbing an individual qualifier for finishing in the top 16.

It's no surprise to see Botkins back on Ohio's biggest stage. This weekend will mark the sixth straight state meet for the boys team, who are state-ranked 6th coming into the finale. Head coach Ryan Gutman, now in his 16th season, and former longtime coach Dave Mielke reported some interesting history on social media after this year's rare regional title:

Fast forward to last Saturday. Botkins was led to victory on the Troy levee bank by seniors Carson Brown and Collin Doseck. Brown was the individual runner-up in 16:20 and Doseck wasn't far behind in 9th-place with a 16:49. The rest of the Trojan's roster is underclassmen and rounding out the top five scorers were sophomore Lucas Arnold, junior Ryan Koenig and sophomore Wesley Manger. Their sixth runner, who broke the tie with Cedarville's sixth runner, was junior Carson Heuker. Less than one second behind was the final Trojan, freshman Wesley Gutman in 17:55. It's been quite a postseason for the Botkins boys racking up championship hardware from the county meet, district meet and regional meet. One more history note. The highest the Trojans have ever finished in 11 state appearances is 4th. That was back in 2022 when Carson Brown and Collin Doseck were budding sophomores.

This fall tallies six sports seasons in a row that Russia boys teams have celebrated advancing to state tournaments

Once upon a time, Russia cross country fans had an annual standing hotel reservation in Columbus for the first Saturday in November. That's back when their boys teams advanced to the state meet nine consecutive years from 2006 through 2014. Over the next nine years the program qualified just two individual runners in 2015 and 2021. Sometimes small school talent pools can resemble the ocean, with high and low tides, and it appears the sea is starting to rise once again in Russia. The resurgent Raiders have been energized by third-year head coach Zach Bell. Once a running Raider himself, Coach Bell was a freshman alternate on that last team that went to state 10 years ago.

2014 was the last year the Russia boys went to state. It was also the first of three times in SCAL history that three boys teams from the league all qualified.

Much like their rivals from Botkins, the 2024 state-ranked #15 Russia team features senior leadership with a boatload of rising stars. Steering the ship is senior Jacob Schmitmeyer who paced the Raiders on Saturday in 16:43 for 4th-place overall. Nipping on Schmitmeyer's heels was first mate and sophomore Samuel Phlipot in 16:59 for 15th-place. The other three scorers were sophomores Keagan Baldridge and Eli Schmitmeyer, along with freshman Evan Smith. The sixth and seventh Raiders were freshman Quinn Hoying and sophomore Owen Sargent who finished in 18:27. This stealthy group has all the feel of perhaps Russia's return to glory days. If so, they might point to the program's best ever 3rd-place finish in 2007 as the beacon to surpass.

What else to watch in D-III: 

• Keep your eye on Mount Gilead senior Will Baker in the D-III boys race. Baker leads the heavily favored Indians who won the Pickerington regional last Saturday. Baker was individual medalist in a blazing 15:08.21 which makes him a threat to break the course record in Obetz.
• The state-ranked #1 Minster girls have won three straight D-III titles and seven of the last eight. They've also been on the podium as champions or runner-up nine consecutive years and have a total of 16 gold trophies and 6 silvers. Leading the Wildcats to the regional championship last Saturday in Tiffin was junior Maria Niekamp in 2nd-place with a 18:39 and sophomore Claire Bohman in 4th-place with a 18:46.

D-III Boys start time: 10:00am
D-III Girls start time: 10:45am

Live results: 

• https://milesplit.live/meets/574747

Boys Individual Records D-III:

• SITE: Fortress Obetz, Obetz (2020-present) Braden Yingst, Lima Perry 15:29.4 (2021)
• SITE: National Trail, Hebron (2011-19) Sam Prakel, Versailles 15:16.62 (2012)
• SITE: Scioto Downs, Columbus (1985-2010) Brian Hesson, Caldwell 15:20.4 (1992)

Girls Individual Records D-III:

• SITE: Fortress Obetz, Obetz (2020-present) Paige Steinke, Anna 17:46.1 (2022)
• SITE: National Trail, Hebron (2011-19) Addie Engel, Catholic Central 17:46.9 (2019)
• SITE: Scioto Downs, Columbus (1985-2010) Stephanie Morgan, Barnesville 17:27.3 (2007)

The mindset of Russia volleyball at tournament draw

Russia's strength of schedule has created a lot of excitement this season

Raider Nation likes their new home

The Russia Raiders volleyball program will wrap up a roller coaster regular season this coming week with games at Newton (13-6) on Monday, followed by their finale hosting state-ranked #1 Ft. Loramie (19-1) on Tuesday. Fish Report has been with them the entire way, broadcasting every home game from their new gymnasium and Dave Borchers Memorial Court. 

This afternoon is also the OHSAA tournament draw when head coach Aaron Watkins and his team will chart their path on the tournament trail. Fish Report spoke to Coach Watkins after Russia's win last Thursday against Botkins to ask about the coming week and postseason. Listen to his thoughts to our questions that night, click here!

Coach Watkins expects his team will have the mindset for a tournament run

Southwest District Boys Golf Preview

The Division III Southwest District Boys Golf Tournament is set. 12 teams and 12 individuals from non-qualifying teams will tee off Monday at PipeStone Golf Club in Miamisburg. From the field, just two teams and two individuals will advance to the state tournament. The Shelby County Athletic League will be well represented at PipeStone and if recent history means anything, there's a great chance we'll see a SCAL school at state.

Botkins, Russia and Ft. Loramie will account for 25% of the qualifying teams at the district tournament. Those three programs have all been to the state tournament in the past six years. Ft. Loramie qualified in 2018, 2019 and 2020. Botkins went in 2019 and 2021. Russia also made their first appearance ever in 2023.

The 2024 Sectional Champs (Picture via X)

Hottest of them all right now might be the Botkins Trojans. Head coach Brett Meyer's squad won the sectional tournament at Shelby Oaks in Sidney back on September 17th by eight strokes over Russia. Eight strokes also happens to be the same number Ross Dietz shot under par that day when the senior rifled an eye-popping score of 64 for individual medalist honors. Dietz is a two-time league Player of the Year, two-time state qualifier and just recorded perhaps the greatest round ever at the Sidney sectional. Standing in Dietz's shadow this year is teammate Carson Heuker. The junior and all-league honoree is having another solid campaign and registered the seventh best score of the field at sectionals with a 77. Lastly, a trio of Botkins freshmen is led by another all-league honoree in Treg Meyer, with classmates Will Dietz and Will Monnin not far behind.

The 2024 SCAL Champions (Picture via X)

The Russia program just keeps reloading. Coaches Paul Bremigan and Terry Daugherty's team won their third consecutive outright SCAL championship this season going unbeaten at 12-0. The Raiders also ran their league record during that three-year span to 35-1. A big key to all that success has been seniors Braylon Cordonnier, Vince Borchers and Dom Francis. Back in August, Cordonnier broke the 18-hole school record when he shot a 2-under 70 in the Ft. Loramie Invitational at Arrowhead. Borchers is a three-time all-league honoree that came up huge at the sectional tournament with a 78, second best on the team that day. And the veteran Francis will join Borchers as the only two Raiders on this year's team to play in their third district tournament. If all that wasn't enough, a couple juniors named Leo Counts and Michael Voisard can out-shoot the seniors on any given day. Counts did exactly that at sectionals with a 75 which wound up being the third best score of the entire competition.

The 2024 Ft. Loramie Invitational Champions (Picture via X)

Ft. Loramie understands tradition and consistency as well as anyone. The Redskins will make their 10th straight appearance in the district tournament under head coach Brad Turner and assistant coach Erin Turner. The team was 3rd-place at the sectional tournament, just five strokes behind Russia. Senior Beau Schafer and junior Jack Cotner have been arguably the best 1-2 punch in the SCAL this season after finishing fourth and fifth respectively in the all-league recognition. Schafer was individual runner-up at sectionals with a 1-under 71, which matched the last Redskin to have a sub-par round at sectionals when graduate Adam Ballas had an identical score back in 2021. Cotner has three junior classmates in Dawson Tennery, Wade Holthaus and Chase Bornhorst who round out their lineup. The entire group also carries the confidence of having beat both Botkins and Russia at invitationals in August and September.

Outside of the those three league rivals, the SCAL will also have Jackson Center's Blake Noble competing in Miamisburg. Noble was the top individual from a non-qualifying team at the Sidney sectional when the senior shot a score of 76. Finally, in Division II, Anna senior Jose Pulfer was also the top individual from a non-qualifying team when he shot 78 at sectionals in Springfield. Pulfer now advances to the D-II district tournament at PipeStone on Tuesday. For more information on the tournaments go to the following link: https://www.ohsaa.org/Southwest-Sports-Tournaments/Golf-Boys

Russia Volleyball Preview

Volleyball fans can listen to every Russia home game this season on Fish Report

This weekend opens the high school girls volleyball season and Fish Report is proud to be the official voice of the Russia Raiders!

Russia finished 2023 with a record of 16-11 and fell in the Division IV regional finals to the eventual state champions from New Bremen. It marked the seventh consecutive year the Raiders advanced to the regional tournament. Graduated from that squad are Roni Poling, Carley Scott, Emma Dapore and Samantha Bell. Both Poling and Scott were All-SCAL honorees.

The 2024 Raiders debut in the newly expanded Division VII with several veterans and a wealth of young talent for head coach Aaron Watkins, now entering his ninth season with 145 wins. Their roster includes:

• Middle Hitters: Emma Muhlenkamp (senior) and Hazel Francis (sophomore)
• Outside Hitters: Brooklyn Meyer (senior), Celeste Borchers (sophomore) and Aryana Cordonnier (freshman)
• Rightside Hitter: Claudia Hoehne (junior)
• Defensive Specialists: Ava Baugher (senior), Ella Phlipot (senior) and Violet Armstrong (sophomore)
• Setters: Izzy Chapman (junior) and Ava Gibson (sophomore)
• Libero: Kourtney Phlipot (junior) and Lily Francis (sophomore)

A brand new gymnasium is only weeks away from being Russia's new home court. Until then, the old Clair C Naveau gym will host the first several games on the schedule. Folks from out of the area or unable to catch the exciting action in person can hear the home matches all season long on Fish Report. Thanks to our sponsors below we'll have broadcasters bringing you the play-by-play for all nine games. Fans wanting to listen can just click the 'Streaming' tab at the top of this page. Airtime will typically begin at the conclusion of the junior varsity match. Russia opens the season this Saturday hosting Fort Recovery with the JV match at 10:00 and the varsity to follow.

The voice of Russia sports needs an assist

Russia Local School is finishing up a massive addition before their new gymnasium greets volleyball and basketball fans this fall and winter

The 2024-2025 Russia High School sports seasons are about to begin! Perhaps the most exciting news for Raider fans and teams is the approaching debut of a brand-new gymnasium! Fish Report is also excited to announce we’re on board to air live play-by-play action from the gym with our own team of talented and experienced broadcasters!

Tonya Hammonds is the area's only female color commentator and Tim Kearns is a veteran play-by-play announcer for high school volleyball

Brandon Koverman called 85 high
school sports contests last season

We’ll be covering most home varsity contests for volleyball, girls basketball and boys basketball. Fans will ALWAYS be able to listen for FREE on our Fish Report audio channel. We’re also currently exploring opportunities to simulcast our live audio with streaming video from another source. If that happens, fans unable to attend the games in person will have TWO options for following the Raiders online.

To assist with broadcasting expenses, Fish Report is currently requesting advertising sponsorship. We anticipate calling 30-35 home varsity games. For $10 per game, your business or message will be promoted several times during each broadcast. At the conclusion of each sports season, we would invoice you a sum total based on the number of games called. We also have single game opportunities available for $25 per game. Advertising sponsorship is available for both Russia supporters and their rivals.

If you’d like to reserve your spot or have questions, please email csfish1620@gmail.com.

The trio of Dave Ross, Craig Fiessinger and Ken Francis are set to call the Russia girls basketball opener hosting Sidney on Friday, November 22nd

Raiders will reunite for softball and more

Russia Alumni's 2023 All-Tournament Team was a fun honor for a chosen few

The 24th Annual Russia Co-ed Alumni Tournament runs August 9th-11th. The event combines slo-pitch softball, "ice cold drinks" and camaraderie with Russia High School Alumni. It's also the biggest fundraiser of the year for the Russia Park Board, which uses proceeds for improvements and maintenance to beautiful Russia Community Park.

Tournament drawing takes place July 24th and the entry fee of $150 per team is exactly the same as 2023. Individual and combined classes of Raider alumni (and sometimes a variety of non-Russia teammates) will open the tournament on Friday with 20 teams. Those 20 will be separated into five pools of four teams. Each team will then play the other teams in their pool, guaranteeing three games for everyone. After the pool play is over, the top two teams from each pool will advance to a single elimination tournament. To earn Sunday's championship title, #1-seeded teams will need to win three games in the bracket and #2-seeded teams will have to win four. If all that sounds confusing, you can read the entire list of rules, click here.

A couple notes and quotes directly from the Russia Park Board:

• It requires a lot of time and effort to keep this annual tradition rolling. We ask that you please sign up to be a concession or beer stand volunteer. We all appreciate it!
• Come hungry! Along with the Park Board’s world famous hot fires, some other tasty items on the menu this year will include the traditional shroom burgers, fried bologna, and fried chicken tenders! Of course, there will be a freezer full of popsicles and delicious ice cream cones for the kids!
• Don’t want to be surprised by a ruling on the field? Increase your knowledge of the game and take a glance at the rules of the tournament.
• Back by popular demand, the whacky and wild dinosaur race will take place Saturday night on Diamond 2 at approximately 8:00 pm. Calculate the odds and place your bets!
• As always, if you have a question, please reach out to one of the friendly Park Board member
Trevor Sherman: 937-638-1583
Aaron Condon: 937-638-8724
Mitch Bergman: 937-726-3593
Trevor Monnin: 937-726-6635
Mitchell Hoying: 937-638-3183
Zach Sherman: 937-726-5419
Colin Puthoff: 937-622-0050

Have fun Raiders and try not to pull any muscles!

The 2023 Champions from the Class of 2011

The 2023 Runner-Up from the Class of 2023

Russia vs Hiland Preview: The only thing certain is the past

The Raiders need just one more gold medal for a complete 2024 set

Here we go again!

Russia is back in the Division IV State Tournament for a third consecutive year! This Saturday at 7:00 PM the Raiders play at Canal Park in Akron for the fifth time in three seasons. During that span, there's no other away venue the team has appeared at more times than the Double-A affiliate of the Cleveland Guardians. The once unimaginable and overwhelming statistics surrounding Russia's run is something Raider fans may never see again. Actually, I believe I made a similar statement last year. 

Since last Friday's regional championship over Troy Christian, a variety of folks have approached me and simply asked, can Russia do it? The word "it" translates to beating state-ranked #1 Berlin Hiland in Saturday's semifinals. You might recall, this is the same Hiland program that beat Russia last year in the state finals. That game was tied 4-4 after four innings and the Hawks scored 10 unanswered runs to make the final a 14-4 run rule. Russia threw their top four available pitchers, but couldn't stop the Hiland bats and their 15 hits. The Raiders also managed just three hits of their own against two flame-throwing pitchers names Will Schlabach and Isaak Yoder. Will and Isaak are now Hiland alumni, but since I'm mentioning last year, let's take a look at that Hawks box score from 2023 and analyze the differences between last season versus this season.

Players Gone

I put red lines through all five departed Hiland seniors. I'll also do the math and tell you those graduates accounted for 8-of-11 RBI, along with all seven innings pitched. Russia graduated three seniors as well, including their top two batters in the lineup that day and one pitcher that appeared in relief. Those three Raiders combined, totaled one base hit and gave up one earned run in the game.

Stiff Competition

In 2023 Hiland finished with a record of 30-1, the one loss coming on the back end of a doubleheader versus a D-II school. In 2024 so far, Hiland has tallied a record of 25-5. Four of their five losses are one-run defeats to bigger divisions and there was one four-run loss to a D-II school. Russia's final record in 2023 was 26-7. In 2024 they're currently 27-4 with three losses to bigger divisions and one 2-0 loss versus D-IV Marion Local in the second game of the season.

Hitting & Pitching

Last year Hiland scored an average of 8.87 runs per game. They also gave up an average of 1.74 per game. This year they're scoring 7.56 and giving up 1.66. Does that mean the Hawk bats aren't as hot this season, but maybe the pitching is a little better? Except, Hiland won the regional tournament with scores of 13-2 and 18-0. This year Russia is averaging an additional 2.35 more runs than last year and giving up a microscopic 0.02 more runs to their opponents. The Raiders won their regional tourney games 6-2 and 12-3. 

Top Talent

Hiland has replaced those two previously mentioned state final pitchers with senior Finn Schneider (6-1) and junior Caden Coblentz (8-1). Russia's top two hurlers are senior Jude Counts (7-1) and junior Braylon Cordonnier (7-0). When it comes to previewing the Hawks batting line-up this weekend, the box score on the right is their regional final blowout last Friday. The first four batters are leading the team averages with Caden Coblentz (3B) hitting .369, senior Cody Yoder (CF) .478, junior Colin Coblentz (RF) .402 and senior Brady Yoder (SS) .363. The Raiders top two hitters on the season are Braylon Cordonnier going 42-for-84 at a .500 clip and senior Felix Francis swinging 45-for-100 at .450. Speaking of Russia batters, it's worth noting that seniors Hayden Quinter and Brayden Monnin are wrapping up four-year varsity careers with an eye-popping statistic. Hayden has recorded close to 450 at-bats and Brayden isn't far behind with around 410. It's safe to say that dynamic duo has literally seen it all when it comes to fastballs and curveballs.

History Lesson

Both Hiland and Russia have a common lineage named baseball. This weekend marks Hiland's seventh trip to the state tournament with titles in 2023 and 2016 (D-III), and runner-up finishes in 2017 (D-III), 2008 and 2000. The only year they came home empty-handed was 2012. Russia is making their sixth trip to state and they've always brought home hardware. In 2022 and 1971 it was gold trophies, and silver ones in 2023, 2017 and 1975. The two-year rivalry between the Hawks and Raiders will also likely conclude this season, as it's almost certain that realignment to seven divisions in 2025 will have Hiland in D-VI and Russia in D-VII.

Road Trip

Finally, it's possible there's a few lukewarm Russia fans getting bored with the third straight June of pre-game tailgates and the limelight of baseball's biggest stage. Those same folks might be contemplating the 200 mile drive to Akron, and whether to watch your state-ranked #4 Raiders in person or streaming on the internet from home. If that's your dilemma this weekend, allow me to remind you of a similar situation in 2022. Unranked Russia earned a Saturday morning title shot versus #3-ranked Lincolnview, with an unbeaten starting pitcher headed to The Ohio State University. It was 51 years since the Raiders last state championship and the critics were everywhere. However, head coach Kevin Phlipot's squad roughed up the future Buckeye and shocked Ohio with an unforgettable 10-4 victory. Rest assured, anyone who caravanned from zip code 45363 remembers how incredibly special that moment was. Who knows, maybe the stars will line up again on Saturday evening at Canal Park. We're not referring to the stadium light poles in prime time either.

Oh, and that's just the semifinals. See you in Akron.

Perhaps Braylon Cordonnier was asking his teammates last Friday in Cincinnati if they're ready for their second state title this weekend in Akron (Picture via Russia Baseball Facebook)

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

Two SCAL and two WOAC teams in D-IV district finals

Russia's Hayden Quinter and his senior classmates will be playing for a berth to their fourth consecutive regional tournament (Picture by Luke Gronneberg | Sidney Daily News)

Just six baseball teams are still alive in the Division IV Southwest District. After the dust settles Wednesday evening, only three of the six will advance to next week's regional tournament. Joining them will be the winner of Wednesday's Central District finale between state-ranked #3 Northmor and #17 Fairfield Christian. The following is our preview of the three games that include teams from the Shelby County Athletic League and Western Ohio Athletic Conference.

The Division IV Southwest Region courtesy of MaxPreps Ohio

Russia (24-4) vs Felicity-Franklin (7-12)

This game will be broadcast by Fish Report from Miamisburg High School with airtime at 4:50 and first pitch at 5:00. Russia is state-ranked #4 and Felicity-Franklin is unranked. The Raider's tournament trail so far has included two wins in run-rule fashion against teams from the Western Ohio Athletic Conference. Most recent was Monday's victory versus Twin Valley South 13-3 in six innings. Over half of Russia's 10 hits in that semifinal came from batters #2 through #4 in the lineup. Junior Braylon Cordonnier led with three hits and continues to be an opposing pitcher's nightmare. In his first plate appearance, the left-hand swinger sparked the scoring by driving an outside strike down the opposite field line for a RBI double. Senior Hayden Quinter, who earlier this season became Russia's all-time career hits leader, used his first at-bat to single in the Raider's second run of the game. Finally, senior Brayden Monnin extended his hitting streak to 12 games with two more knocks on Monday. One of those knocks was a two-run homer to left field, which was his second dinger of the season. Perhaps the most exciting hits for Raider fans though, are the ones coming from the bottom of the lineup. During the team's current 12-game win streak, Coach Kevin Phlipot has consistently gotten production from the #6 through #9 batters, and on Monday it was senior Ben Rinderle leading the way with two hits.

Felicity-Franklin comes into the district final as an obvious underdog and that's likely fine with head coach Donnie Hall. The Cardinals advanced to this same round last season before bowing out against Southeastern. Their seven wins total might not impress anyone, but their four wins in the month of May should. The most impressive of those wins was Monday in a 13-3 run-rule upset of Fayetteville-Perry. Junior Grady Jowers earned the complete game victory, pitching six innings, allowing three earned runs, just one walk, and striking out nine batters. The Cardinal's team tallied a mammoth 15 hits, as every player in the lineup except one recorded a safety. Cleanup batter and junior Logan Harless led the hit parade with two doubles, a single and three RBI. Jowers statistics at the plate included a double and three RBI. Also, while Jowers is Felicity-Franklin's top pitcher, he won't be available on Wednesday due to OHSAA pitch count rules. We expect Harless or possibly sophomore Lane McElfresh to take the mound for the home team and oppose Russia's ace Braylon Cordonnier.

Tucker Miller has done it all for Bradford this season on the mound and at the plate (Picture by Dale Barger | woacsports.com)

Bradford (18-9) vs Newton (23-6)

A rematch of two Western Ohio Athletic Conference teams takes place at Hardin-Houston Local School on Wednesday at 5:00. Rewind to April 26th when Bradford hosted Newton and the Railroaders won 8-4. At the time it was a big conference game that left both teams with 5-1 records in the WOAC. In the final standings however, Newton finished tied for 2nd-place and Bradford 4th. That's all history now, but it's worth noting Bradford threw senior ace Tucker Miller that day and Newton went with a young combination of starting freshman Cole Alexander and sophomore reliever Austin Tippie. At Monday's district semifinal, Miller threw five innings in a 10-5 win over Cedarville, which expectedly makes him unable to pitch on Wednesday and likely means head coach Derrick Skinner will go with senior Landon Wills. State-ranked #10 Newton topped Tri-County North on Monday 10-4 and started Tippie, while also getting relief work from Alexander and their ace of the staff, senior Ty Schauer. Reportedly, Indians head coach Jordan Kopp kept Schauer under 50 pitches, making him available to go in the finals.

Regardless of pitchers, this game should be a good-ole fashioned showdown between two local rivals. Miller leads Bradford (and maybe Ohio) at the plate with an eye-popping .600 batting average. He's racked up 54 hits in 90 at-bats, including 10 doubles and four homeruns. Senior teammates Garrett Trevino, Wills and Trey Schmelzer are pretty good too, all hovering around the .400 mark. Newton can swing the bats for average too with Alexander and Tippie leading the way at .375 and .338 respectively. The Indians will be the home team in this one and we expect fans from both communities to show up in full force.

Ft. Loramie (21-6) vs Troy Christian (9-15)

State-ranked #8 Ft. Loramie already won two games earlier this year at the site of the district final on Wednesday in Versailles. The Redskins swept Van Wert and hometown Versailles at the Zac Richard Classic back on April 13th. Head coach Jeff Sanders, a MVBCA Co-Coach of the Year, also assembled one of the toughest regular season schedules in the area. That might explain Ft. Loramie's success in postseason, topping Catholic Central 7-1 and Covington 5-1. In the district semifinal game on Monday, All-SCAL honorees Roger Hoying and Will Hoying, made the most of their six plate appearances. Combined, the seniors reached base five times and knocked in three runs. Additionally, it's no surprise leadoff batter Mavrick Grudich led the team with two of Ft. Loramie's seven hits and had his own RBI. Speaking of the senior Grudich, he's the Redskins ace pitcher as well and spent Monday playing shortstop. Junior Gabe Hart took the mound and was brilliant with seven innings pitched, the one run being unearned, five hits, one walk and eight strikeouts. We expect Grudich on the hill to face Troy Christian.

The Eagles had a respectable record of 7-7 at the end of April, but May was absolutely brutal for head coach Tony Ferraro's program. Troy Christian lost their final eight regular season games. All that matters at the present though, is the #11-seed Eagles two tournament wins over #8-seed Lehman 7-6 and #5-seed Southeastern on Monday 4-0. That blanking of Southeastern was especially impressive considering the Trojans were a regional finalist last year. Leading Troy Christian at the plate all season has been cleanup batter Camden Koukol. The senior is the second-best hitter in the entire Three Rivers Conference with a .452 average. Also, keep your eye on junior Judah Simmons with a .352 average. Simmons is the ace of the pitching staff as well, but threw all seven innings on Monday. That means the Eagles will have to decide between seniors Carson Dyer or Andrew Knostman to start.

Happy Wednesday baseball fans.

Two SCAL rivals on another possible collision course?

District Baseball Preview

The 2024 SCAL champions after last Thursday's win at Botkins

OHSAA district baseball tournaments begin on Monday with the higher seeded teams hosting their opponent in the semifinals. For Southwest Division IV fans, 12 teams are battling for three spots to the southwest regional tournament next Thursday at Princeton High School in Cincinnati. Joining them at the regional will be one winner from four teams playing in the central district. Below is the entire brackets for all 16 teams courtesy of MaxPreps. We'll preview the top half of the bracket to start the week.

Northmor vs Mechanicsburg (Central District)

Top seeded Northmor (21-5) is located in Galion, about a hour north of Columbus. The Golden Knights are also state-ranked #3 in today's latest coaches poll. Northmor advanced to the district tournament by winning their sectional final over #12-seed Madison Christian 1-0. Pitcher Drew Hammond led his team with six innings pitched, allowing just one hit, four walks and struck out 10 batters. He also doubled and scored the game's only run in the bottom of the 6th inning off a Jack Bowdre RBI single. Relief pitcher Trevor Brubaker got the save after striking out the side in the 7th inning.

Mechanicsburg (19-5) is a #4-seed and state-ranked #11. Their school is located 30 minutes west of Columbus and will make the long drive to Morrow County for today's semifinal. The Indians topped #14-seed Ridgedale last Tuesday 12-0 in five innings. The eighth batter in the order, Connor Shultz, had three of his team's eight hits. Pitcher Lane Poland got the complete game victory allowing one hit, four walks and struck out five batters. Poland also knocked in his team's first run and finished with two RBI.

Fairfield Christian vs Elgin (Central District)

Fairfield (20-7), located in Lancaster, is the #2-seed and state-ranked #17. The Knights topped #10-seed Shekinah Christian 2-0. Both runs in that sectional championship last Thursday came in the bottom of the 6th inning when sophomore Brayden Stem drilled a two-run double to centerfield. Sophomore pitcher A.J. Holbrook went all seven innings and allowed only three hits with no walks and nine strikeouts. Fairfield was ousted in last year's district semifinals by Northmor and finished with a 20-5 record.

Elgin (15-8) is the #5-seed from Marion and will have a 90 minute bus ride to legendary Beavers Field in Lancaster. The Comets knocked off #3-seed Berne Union last Thurday 5-2. Elgin got the scoring started in the second inning when Trey Morgan hit a bases loaded double to score three runs. Teammate Nash Lust had three of his team's nine hits and Brody Wood had two hits including a RBI triple. Starting pitcher Stephen Castillo-Carey went 6-2/3 allowing two runs on ten hits and four walks with two strikeouts. In the bottom of the 7th inning, Berne Union scored their final run and loaded the bases with two outs. The Comets responded by sending Wood to the mound and he struck out the final batter for the save.

Felicity-Franklin vs Fayetteville-Perry (Southwest District)

#3-seed Felicity-Franklin (6-12) is located east of Cincinnati and will make a 30 minute trip north to play #2-seed Fayetteville-Perry (8-17). Felicity-Franklin upset #1-seed St. Bernard last Wednesday 8-6. There was all kinds of excitement for the Cardinals, including a steal of home by Jona Carnahan and a triple play 6-4-3-2 in the 6th inning. St. Bernard had the bases loaded in the bottom of the 7th when relieve pitcher Lane McElfresh struck out the final batter. Starting pitcher Grady Jowers went six innings and gave up just two earned runs on three hits and four walks with five stikeouts. Felicity-Franklin used six hits, five walks and four hit batters in the victory. 

Fayetteville-Perry run ruled #5-seed Ripley-Union-Lewis-Huntington 11-0 in five innings. Senior Clay Holden led the Rockets with two hits, including a double and three RBI. Junior Caleb Fehring also had two hits and recorded two of his team's six stolen bases. Junior pitcher A.J. Roy and Braedyn Crone combined on the pitcher's mound for three hits, six walks and 10 strikeouts.

Russia vs Twin Valley South (Southwest District)

#1-seed Russia (23-4) hosts #23-seed Twin Valley South (5-12). The Raiders are state-ranked #4 and run ruled #24-seed Triad last Wednesday 10-0 in five innings. Russia also played the following day in their final regular season game and wrapped up the Shelby County Athletic League with a perfect 12-0 record. When the Miami Valley Baseball Coaches Association All-Area Awards came out over the weekend, junior Braylon Cordonnier was named Player of the Year. Cordonnier was joined on the list by senior teammates Felix Francis, Jude Counts, Hayden Quinter and Brayden Monnin, along with Co-Coach of the Year, Kevin Phlipot.

Twin Valley South is hot when it counts, winning four of their last five games. The Panthers most recently thumped #16-seed Fairlawn 14-1 in five innings last Wednesday. Freshman clean-up batter Dustin Miller was the spark plug going 3-for-3 with a double, four RBI, and two stolen bases. Miller also pitched a complete game scattering six hits and five walks with four strikeouts. Senior Cais Kingsley had a couple hits and two stolen bases as well. The Panther's team stole a whopping nine bases in the game.

In 2023, #2-seed Russia survived an upset from #3 Newton in the District Semis

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