The memorable semi-final between local teams in 2023…when JRussia’s Jude Counts scored the winning run for the Raiders in the bottom of the eighth. (Press Pros Feature Photos)
While Russia will long remember Division IV semi-final win in the 2023 baseball state tournament, it’s one that St. Henry would like to avoid duplicating in this year’s Division VI semi-final.
Akron, OH – St. Henry baseball coach Mike Gast will not soon forget his first trip as head coach to the OHSAA state tournament in 2023.
Publisher Sonny Fulks writes OHSAA and Ohio State sports for Press Pros Magazine.com.
A year in which pitcher Devin Delzeith would go 11-0 during the regular season, while breezing through the conference schedule. It was also a team that did all the things right that help you win the close games in stressful situations.
That is, until they came to the OHSAA Final Four in Akron, with the captivating matchup with defending state champion Russia, who had knocked out favored Lincolnview and much-talked-about pitcher Landon Price the year before. Even when challenged during the regular season, St. Henry had always found a way to get a runner on, get that runner into scoring position, and get him in with the game on the line.
Incredible performance under stress…Russia’s Xavier Phlipot delivered again, and improved his career record to 23-2, with a 0.77 earned run average.
That is, until they ran into Russia that day, June 8, 2023, and pitcher Xavier Phlipot. In one of the most remembered and talked about Division IV pitching duels in years, both Delzeith and Phlipot would surrender just 4 hits for the game, pitch shutouts through seven innings, and take their respective teams to extra innings.
“St. Henry was a team that could run that year, and we threw out a couple of their runners early in the game,” said Russia coach Kevin Phlipot this week. “That was a part of their game that we took away.”
But there were precious few opportunities to run, thanks to the efforts of Delzeith and Phlipot, who each struck out 5 and walked 1. Between the two teams, they combined to leave just 8 men on base for the game.
It came down to the eighth inning, when Russia leadoff hitter Jude Counts put down a bunt between home plate, third base, and the pitcher’s mound to lead off the inning. St. Henry’s Delzeith couldn’t make a play on the ball and Counts reached base.
With one out, Counts would reach second base on a wild pitch, something unexpected from the strike-throwing Delzeith that day.
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Then teammate Cooper Unverferth struck out for the second out, heightening the anticipation with Xavier Phlipot coming to the plate to hit, and a chance to help his own cause. And that he did, singling to right field to score Counts for the winning run. Jubilation for Russia, seeking back-to-back titles the following day against Berlin Hiland, and devastation for St. Henry, who saw their entire year of expectation come unraveled for their lack to a few base hits and some urgency on offense.
St. Henry’s Devin Delzeith matched Russia’s Phlipot nearly pitch-for-pitch into the game’s eighth inning.
“We were a little tight that day,” Gast said this week about taking a team to the Final Four for the first time. “Hopefully, we’ll be in a better position this year.”
“I barely even remember the end of the that game,” said Russia third baseman Hayden Quinter. “When Counts scored I kind of blacked out over how he did it. I was just aware that we had won.”
The roster for St. Henry has now flipped in the three years hence, but Gast remembers; and Quinter and company who played for Russia that day remember more the 14-4 lashing they took at the hands of Berlin Hiland in the championship final, two days later, 14-4.
And in that final Russia scored four times in the fourth inning to tie the game at 4-4, only to uncharacteristically have Hiland score nine times of their final three at bats to blow out the Raiders’ chance for a back-to-back title.
It’s true that the tournament giveth, and the tournament taketh away, and experience is the one great advantage if you can harness that advantage
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St. Henry believes that its a different team now, no doubt.
Berin Hiland probably believes that its consistency and confidence is its advantage, having won back-to-back in 2023 and ’24, and their third title in nine years to go with a win back in 2016.
They meet Thursday afternoon at 1 pm in the second semi-final at what’s now called Credit Union Park (no longer Canal Park), knowing….
Titles have never come easy.
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