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Division IV Team Of The Week: Week 7 - Russia

RUSSIA - How good has pitching been for Russia this season? There have been five no-hitters and a pair of one-hitters during a 21-4 campaign.

Strong performances on the mound was part of four wins in helping the Raiders earn Prep Baseball Division IV Team of the Week recognition. Russia defeated Piqua 15-5, Graham 5-3, Marion Local 7-4 and Botkins 14-2.

“We had quality pitching in all our games from four different starters,” noted head coach Kevin Phlipot, whose team picked up win number 21 on the season on Monday with a 13-2 victory over Fort Loramie.

Sophomore lefty Cooper Unverferth, junior southpaw Ben Rinderle, junior RHP Braylon Cordonnier and Maddox Goubeaux, a sophomore left-hander, all started and earned wins last week with senior Brayden Monnin coming on in relief to pick up saves versus Graham and Marion Local.

“I’m happy with the depth of our pitching staff,” explained Phlipot, who has seen senior Jude Counts toss a pair of no-hitters this season. “We have five guys with over 20 innings pitched and a team ERA of 2.00.”

Phlipot, who led Russia to a state championship in 2022 and a runners-up finish a year ago, reached one team goal on Monday with the Raiders improving to 11-0 in the Shelby County Athletic League.

“Our goal this season was to win the SCAL outright, which we did this evening,” Phlipot said on Monday night. “We also are trying to win our seventh consecutive district title.”

Cordonnier, a Marshall commit, is a big part of the success in his third season as a starter. A pitcher and shortstop for the Raiders, the 67th-ranked junior in the state is batting .446 with 16 extra-base hits and 27 walks. Senior Felix Francis has also come up huge this year for the fifth-rated D-IV team in Ohio with a .452 average, 38 hits, 38 runs scored and 30 stolen bases.

Tournament play begins tonight against Trial with the final league game on tap Thursday at Botkins.

“Starting pitching is the key to making a long postseason run,” Phlipot concluded. “If our pitchers can attack the strike zone, I like our chances.”

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