After a fumbled ground ball, Benjamin York races to first base and makes the out. (Press Pros Feature Photos By Julie McMaken Wright)
The Russia Raiders did the little things right to blow out Arcanum 9-2 for their seventh in their last eight games. Brody Phlipot pitched five innings, giving up just two hits and no earned runs.
Russia, OH – Looking for moonshots, splashy plays, and a pitching staff full of blazing fastballs?
Alan Brads is a contributing columnist and writes sports at large for Press Pros Magazine.
You can pass right on by Russia High School. But here’s what you’ll miss: Fundamental defense, savvy baserunning, dependable catching, hitting for contact, and a whole lotta pitchers that throw a whole lotta strikes.
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Arcanum got front row seats to all that and more in a 9-2 loss to Russia, and became the latest victim of Russia’s rock solid play that’s earned seven wins in the last eight tries.
Maddox Goubeaux returned to the mound from injury for the Raiders (9-5, 7-1), but after a couple of solid innings, Brody Phlipot pitched the last five, allowing just two hits and no earned runs.
What did Russia do to dismantle an otherwise high-flying 11-5 Arcanum team? Well, that’s the wrong question. With the Raiders, it’s less about what they do, and more about what they don’t do.
Russia didn’t compound early mistakes. Goubeaux’s reappearance on the mound looked bleak early. He gave up a walk, an RBI double, and a single to the first three batters.
Brody Phlipot pitched five innings, giving up just two hits and no earned runs.
But Goubeaux reeled it in, striking out the next two, and forcing a groundout to escape the top of the first down 1-0.
It could’ve just as easily spiraled out of control, but the Raiders pulled up out of the nose dive before irreversible damage could be done.
“We got in a hole there, but I love the way we responded,” Russia Coach Kevin Phlipot said. “We finally put enough pressure on the other team.”
Russia didn’t make unforced mistakes. First inning error aside, the routine plays looked routine. And what Coach Kevin Phlipot calls “50/50 balls” in the infield, were more like 80/20 balls.
Russia didn’t waste opportunities. The Raiders stole 14 bases and didn’t get caught once. You can’t teach speed, but you can learn awareness and sports IQ. The Raiders have it in spades.
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“We’re just athletes here,” left fielder Micah Grieshop said about finding every available mental advantage. “You can see it in basketball, it translates to baseball.”
Senior Braylon Cordonnier made the heads-up play of the game during Russia’s five-run fourth inning. After reaching first base on a dropped third strike that skidded to the backstop, Cordonnier caught Arcanum’s infield napping, and dashed an extra 90 feet to an uncovered second base.
Braylon Cordonnier is safe at home playing dodge ball with Arcanum’s catcher.
Russia didn’t strike out. There’s something to be said for putting the ball in play. Arcanum retired just four batters on strikes, three of which were in the scoreless fifth inning.
“We had six hits combined in our last two games, and we won both of them,” Phlipot said. “With playing that type of ball, we need to do the little things like getting productive outs.”
There’s plenty that Russia does well, but arguably the thing this team does best is not beating itself.
If you want to beat them, you’ll have to earn it for seven innings, don’t expect any freebies, and don’t offer any freebies. If you give a Raider a base, he’ll take two.
Russia’s clinic on taking advantage of mistakes began in the bottom of the second. With two outs one run in, and a runner on second, Grant Bergman dribbled the ball to first base. Arcanum’s starting pitcher, Bishop Cartwright, covered first base but dropped the toss that would’ve ended the inning. Ben York scored the go-ahead run from second. Bergman swiped second, and Quinn Hoying brought him around with a single.
Zeb Schulze was one of many that made the slide into home plate to score for the Raiders.
Where Russia had escaped an early jam, Arcanum let minor damage snowball into a 3-1 deficit.
Cordonnier added a fourth run in the next inning when a wild pitch landed behind Ben York’s ankles with the bases loaded.
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All the while, Brody Phlipot was quietly and methodically retiring Trojans on the other side. Arcanum didn’t put a runner in scoring position in the third, fourth or fifth inning. Phlipot might not dazzle with the fastball, but he got ahead in the count with his curve, and forced hitters to swing defensively, with full faith in his supporting cast to finish the job.
Micah Grieshop hit a single and had two runs.
“My curveball was working so I was leaning on that a lot,” Phlipot said. “I was just consistently throwing strikes and trusting the guys behind me. They make me confident because I know if someone hits it, they’ll probably make a play.”
Like everything else Russia does, it might not be flashy, but it works.
“[Brody] was outstanding,” Coach Phlipot said. “He isn’t gonna get you on the velocity, but it’s not about how hard you throw. Just throw strikes and mix it up. Play to your advantage with whatever your strengths are.”
Just by reading the box score, you might think Russia got lucky by the number of harmless balls put in play, but it’s not luck, it’s having an edge at every position. It’s Phlipot’s precise pitches forcing routine grounders. It’s Cordonnier’s accurate decision-making with the ball in the glove. It’s Zeb Borchers sliding on his knees to snag a would-be base hit, and diving to steal another. The little things add up.
The bottom of the fourth proved the value of the details on defense. NAME Borchers hit an infield single to third, the throw to first was tardy, and worse, failed to connect. Hoying scored from second.
A wild pitch gave Borchers safe passage to second. A dropped third strike put him on third, and Cordonnier on second thanks to his awareness.
Micah Grieshop skids into home adding another run to the Raiders score.
Zeb Schulze slapped a grounder to second baseman Seth Fearon, who declined the easy out at first and threw home. The throw was in time, but Borchers slid around the tag to score.
Then Micah Grieshop stepped to the plate with one out, and offered the Trojan defense a chance for redemption with runners on second and third. He hit a ground ball to second, and Fearon again opted to throw home, but this time threw offline. Cordonnier and Schulze both scored to make the lead 8-1.
A sac fly drove Grieshop in before the inning mercifully ended with the bases loaded.
That’s what innings look like when you miss on the little things. The next half inning? Phlipot still on the mound, popout, flyout, walk, strikeout, change sides. That’s what innings look like when you hit on the little things.
The details add up fast. Tonight they added up to a final score of 9-2. When it comes to the small stuff, the fundamentals, Russia is batting 1.000.
Arcanum catcher Bryce Kramer missing the contact of Braylon Cordonnier who slides into home safe.
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