'We've been working for this basically our whole lives': Hiland wins Div. IV state title

AKRON — The hard-hitting Hawks of Hiland proved to have the mettle it took to grab the gold medal, powering past defending state champion Russia 14-4 to claim the Div. IV state championship in completely dominant fashion.

"I am so happy for these guys, especially the seniors," said Hiland coach Chris Dages. "The seniors, the juniors, they're all competitors. They all want to win. Even if they weren't playing, the guys in the dugout were in the game, pushing our guys in practices."

The Hawks jumped out to a 4-0 lead after the top of the fourth inning, and things looked pretty good as Will Schlabach had held the Raiders hitless through three innings, despite wrestling with his control. The hard-throwing senior threw 84 pitches, but only 38 were strikes. He finished with five strikeouts and seven walks.

"When he's on, it's really fun to catch that fastball," Hiland catcher Braden Kaufman said of Schlabach. "But it started to get away from him and his arm got a little sore. It all worked out in the end."

Schlabach hit the leadoff batter to open the fourth inning and followed with walks to the next three batters. The only thing keeping Russia off the board was Kaufman throwing out Jude Counts when he tried to score on a ball that bounced away from Kaufman.

After a walk to Russia leadoff batter Xavier Phlipot loaded the bases with one out, Dages was forced to go to Isaak 'Ike' Yoder in relief of Schlabach on the hill.

"Ike is such a gamer. He came in and did what he had to do," Dages said of Yoder, who threw 48 pitches in relief in Hiland's state semifinal win. "We got some runs that very next inning and that's all he needed. It's huge to know, no matter what happens, your teammates have your back. That fifth inning was huge."

Yoder was greeted by a soft single by Zane Shappie that scored a run. Braylon Cordonnier launched a long fly ball to deep right that right fielder Wyatt Miller couldn't track down for a two-run double. That trimmed the Hiland lead to 4-3. Braden Monnin followed with a run-scoring single to center that knotted things up at four still with one out. A hit batter reloaded the bases for the Raiders.

Yoder regrouped and struck out Felix Francis and Counts to get out of the jam with no further damage.

"Once it got to 4-4, I thought we had it. I really did," said Russia coach Kevin Phlipot. "Once we got that kid (Schlabach) out of there, I felt pretty good. We weren't expecting to see somebody throwing 90 at us. It was like, 'Whoa.' But once we got him out of there, things were turning. It was turning. As poorly as we started, the pressure was back on them. Once we got to even, I felt great, I so did."

But that good feeling soon dissipated as Hiland responded with a six-spot in the top of the fifth inning to reclaim the lead 10-4. And the rout was on.

"When they came off the field, they didn't have a doubt in their mind that they were going to come back and put some runs up," Dages said. "They knew they could hit these guys and they came out with 100% confidence to not let it get away."

Nolan Yoder got things started in the fifth with a double over the head of the right fielder. Colin Coblentz singled Yoder to third and went to second on the throw home. Ike Yoder followed with a two-run double to deep center. Brady Yoder singled Ike to third. After a pair of pop outs, Conner Beachy worked a walk to load the bases. Weaver got hit by a pitch to force home a run, and Cody Yoder added an infield single to plate another. Nolan Yoder finished what he started with a two-run single up the middle for a 10-4 Hiland lead.

"They answered with six, and I thought, well, maybe not," Phlipot added. "We knew they liked to push the issue, they force your hand. That's we do to our opponents to a certain extent. They were so disciplined. They hit outside pitches down the line, and curveballs up, they were all over them. We didn't have any answers. And they picked a good time to have a really good day."

As they had done throughout the tournament, outscoring opponents 89-8, the Hawks battered a trio of Raider relievers, getting six runs and four hits off of southpaw Cooper Francis over 1⅔ innings, and three runs and five hits off of Ross Fiessinger over 1⅓ innings. Hiland added an unearned run off Brayden Monnin in the seventh.

The Hawks added three more runs in the sixth to take a 13-4 lead. Ike Yoder got that rally rolling with a single and steal of second. Kaufman drove Yoder home with a single to center. A hit by Beachy and a error by the outfielder allowed Kaufman to score, and Beachy to reach second. Weaver reached on an infield single, and when Weaver stole second, an errant throw enabled Beachy to score Hiland's 13th run.

Hiland jumped on starting pitcher Braylon Cordonnier for four runs on six hits over three innings.

Leadoff hitter Alec Weaver reached on an error to open the game and stole second, before going to third on a passed ball. He scored on a single to right by Cody Yoder, who banged out three hits and drove home a pair on the day.

A one-out single in the third by Cody Yoder and a triple to deep right field by Div. IV Player of the Year Nolan Yoder, who added a double and a two-run single in the fifth along with reaching on an error and scoring Hiland's final run, gave Hiland a 3-0 lead after three.

"Once they answered back with those four runs, our energy was a little bit low," Nolan Yoder said. "But I knew if I got something started, the rest of the team would follow. I got that double, we scored and just kept going."

Ike Yoder picked up with win with 3⅔ innings of outstanding relief. He was charged with a run on three hits. He struck out eight and walked a pair.

"I've got to trust my teammates behind me and throw strikes," Ike Yoder said. "It was huge answering their big inning with one of our own. That's what we've done all year as a team. That's what we do so well, putting pressure on the other team with our pitching and hitting."

"I knew these guys would pick me up," Schlabach said. "They were bashing the ball like crazy today, especially in that fifth inning. I loved it."

Hiland banged out 15 hits and took advantage of five Russia errors. Cody and Nolan Yoder led the way with three hits apiece, combining for five RBI. Collin Coblentz, Ike Yoder and Brady Yoder each added two hits for the winners, who finished the season winning 24 in a row to go 30-1.

"What a game. We came out hitting today," Dages said. "That was good to see."

That championship feeling

Dages said the Hawks set big goals for themselves at the beginning of the season.

"It's not an easy thing to do," he said. "You never know what's going to happen until that last out is made. "

"This means the world to me," Ike Yoder said. "This is what our senior group has been working for since our freshman year. We put in a lot of hard work and it shows. I don't know what else to say. This is awesome."

"This is a great feeling that everyone needs to experience," senior second baseman Alec Weaver said. "It's a happiness... It's just an amazing feeling."

"That last out, it was so awesome. I can't even explain how it feels," Nolan Yoder said. "We've been working for this basically our whole lives, "We put in so much work in the off-season. The coaches pushed us hard and helped us through everything. This is the payoff for all that work."

Will Schlabach agreed, noting this was the goal of team from the beginning — to give the storied program a second state championship, joining the 2016 Hawks.

"I'm still trying to comprehend how this feels but this was our goal from the beginning," Schlabach said. "We all put in a lot of hard work to get here. And it feels great."

This article originally appeared on The Daily Record: Baseball: Hiland dethrones Russia 14-4 for Div. IV state title