JEROMESVILLE — The Hillsdale baseball program is two wins away from the first state baseball championship in school history.
The Falcons are headed back to the Final Four after making it all the way to the state title game in 2019.
This year’s cast of characters rolled into the Division IV state semifinals after blanking Warren JFK 3-0 during Friday’s Division IV regional final at Louisville High School’s Andy Aljancic Field.
That verdict sends Hillsdale into Saturday’s 4 p.m. clash with Fort Recovery at Akron’s Canal Park.
No. 1-ranked Berlin Hiland challenges No. 4 Russia in the other semifinal. The two winners will play for a state title on Sunday at 7 p.m. at Canal Park.
The Falcons will take a 19-11 mark into the Final Four.
“We’ve battled through some tough times toward the end of the year and we’ve figured it out,” Hillsdale manager Jason Snow said. “We’re just playing clean baseball right now and that’s what we have to continue to do.”
Gavin Casdorph tossed a five-hit shutout, Braylen Jarvis had a single and triple and Brock Bower and Aiden Hoffman pounded out a pair of hits to capture the regional championship.
Hillsdale, the 24th-rated team by the OHSBCA and 27th by Prep Baseball, dominated Ashtabula St. John 16-1 in the district finals after rallying past Mapleton 9-6 in the semifinals.
The Falcons edged Hartville Lake Center Christian 2-1 in a tight regional semifinal.
Next up is a date with perhaps the biggest Cinderella story left in Ohio high school baseball, Fort Recovery.
Here’s a closer look at the other three teams remaining in the Division IV state tournament, courtesy of Bruce Hefflinger at the OHSAA website.
Fort Recovery
The sixth-place finisher in the Midwest Athletic Conference is a state participant after entering the postseason with a 9-11 record.
Caden Grisez had a five-hitter with seven strikeouts and Gavin Faller and Grisez each produced a double in a 5-1 win over Leipsic in the regional finals.
Alex Dues allowed one earned run, Troy Homan and Faller both had three hits and Reece Wendel scored four runs in a 14-4 win over Montpelier in the regional semis for the unranked Indians, which last went to state in back-to-back seasons in 2015 and 2016 when Homan was the batboy.
Wendel is the top hitter on the team with a .301 batting average while Dues is 7-3 on the mound for head coach Kevin Eyink, who is one win away from his 100th coaching victory.
Berlin Hiland
The defending state champions, the No. 1 team in the state by the OHSBCA and third-ranked by Prep Baseball, will be making their sixth state appearance after an 18-0 demolition of Leesburg Fairfield in the regional finals.
Hiland, which has never lost in the state semifinals, will take on Russia, a team the Hawks defeated 14-4 in last year’s state championship game.
Hiland, which has outscored the opposition 76-9 in the tournament, has had just one close encounter in the postseason, an 8-5 victory over Strasburg-Franklin in the district finals. Trailing 5-3 in the bottom of the sixth, Cody Yoder hit a grand slam to put Hiland on top for good.
Yoder leads the team in batting at .478 while Colin Coblentz is hitting .402, Caden Coblentz .369 and Brady Yoder .363. Caden Coblentz (8-1) and Finn Schneider (6-1) are the top two pitchers for head coach Chris Dages.
Russia
The fourth-rated team in Ohio by Prep Baseball and the OHSBCA is back at state for the sixth time overall and third in a row.
A seven-run six-inning proved to be the difference in a 12-3 win over Troy Christian in the regional title game, giving head coach Kevin Phlipot his 200th coaching victory.
Leadoff hitter Felix Francis was 2-3 with three RBIs for Russia, which had eight hits, 11 walks and two HBPs in the win.
Jude Counts was the winning pitcher for the Raiders, which won state in 2022 and finished second a year ago.
Russia has won tournament games by a combined 61-9 this year, including a 20-1 win over Felicity Franklin in a game Ben Rinderle had a three-run homer, helping send the Raiders to its seventh consecutive regional appearance.
Braylon Cordonnier, a junior committed to Marshall, has set the school record for career doubles (33), triples (9) and walks (70).
Hayden Quinter holds the Russia mark for career hits (137) and Brayden Monnin for career runs (113), while Francis has established new records for runs in a season with 48 and stolen bases with 36.
In addition to 2022, Russia won state in 1971 while placing second in 1975, 2017 and 2023.