Russia falls to Hiland in D-IV baseball state final

Russia pitcher Xavier Phlipot and catcher Cooper Unverferth celebrate getting out of a jam in the sixth inning of their 1-0 victory in eight innings over St. Henry in the Division IV semifinals at Canal Park in Akron. Jeff Gilbert/CONTRIBUTED

Russia pitcher Xavier Phlipot and catcher Cooper Unverferth celebrate getting out of a jam in the sixth inning of their 1-0 victory in eight innings over St. Henry in the Division IV semifinals at Canal Park in Akron. Jeff Gilbert/CONTRIBUTED
Sports
By
June 10, 2023
X

Russia High School’s quest for a second straight state baseball championship ended with a 14-4 loss to Berlin Hiland in the Division IV final on Saturday at Canal Park in Akron.

Russia rallied from a 4-0 deficit, tying the game with a four-run fourth, only to give up six runs in the fifth, three in the sixth and one in the seventh.

Hiland (30-1) won its second state championship and first since 2016. Cody Yoder and Nick Yoder each had three hits for HIland.

Hiland pitchers struck out 13 batters and limited Russia to three hits. Zane Shappie, Braylon Cordonnier and Brayden Monnin drove in runs for Russia.

Russia finished the season with a mark of 26-7. This was its fifth trip to the championship game. It won the state title in 1971 and 2022 and was runner-up in 1975 and 2017.

Russia advanced with a 1-0 eight-inning victory against St. Henry on Thursday.

In Other News
1
Which Dayton-area high school grads are in the college football...
2
Having regained his health, Terry Francona excited to return to dugout...
3
Bengals begin prep for Titans, former offensive coordinator
4
Ohio State-Tennessee: First look at the Volunteers
5
Burrow: Privacy ‘violated in more ways than one’ in home burglary

About the Author

Follow David Jablonski on facebookFollow David Jablonski on twitter

David Jablonski covers the Dayton Flyers and other sports for the Dayton Daily News, Springfield News-Sun and Journal News.