Photo by Jenny Kirk RTR’s Cora Alderson sprints around third base during their doubleheader against Renville County West on Thursday. The Knights swept the Jaguars 7-5 and 17-10.

TYLER — The Russell-Tyler-Ruthton softball team picked up a pair of Camden Conference wins against Renville County West on Thursday in Tyler.

The Knights earned a 7-5 victory in Game 1 and followed it up with a 17-10 win in the second matchup.

“It was a pretty good effort,” RTR coach Granger Maranell said. “After last night’s loss (to Lac qui Parle Valley), we came out aggressive and looking to hit, looking to have fun, looking to make the plays that maybe last night, we didn’t make. Overall, I’m very impressed.”

The RTR offense got right down to business and put up five runs on five hits in the first innings of Game 1. After Morgan Johnson, Kylea Baartman and Makenzie Buchert each contributed a single, Jenny Reyes drove in the first run when she drew a walk. Then Rhaegyn Petersen blasted a two-RBI single to the right-side. Following two more walks, Johannah Nielsen drove in the final run of the innings.

The Jaguars took advantage of a pair of RTR errors in the field to put two runs up on the board in the second. RCW also added three more runs in the third, powered by four hits.

Reyes and Petersen singled to lead off the third inning. Both were able to cross home plate on a wild pitch from Emma Rice.

After both teams were held scoreless in the fourth, the Jaguars looked to claw their way back into the game. Despite two outs, the team rallied to load the bases, sparked by a double from Morgan Haen. There was also a walk and an error during the stretch.

Then with nerves of steel, Baartman hurled the first pitch — a strike. The RCW batter fouled the second pitch off and eventually struck out. Baartman, a sophomore, pitched five innings and collected the win in the circle for the Knights.

Petersen finished 2 for 2 with two RBI at the plate, while Ryres was 1 for 1 with an RBI. Baartman and Nielsen went 1 for 2.

“I’m very impressed with how it turned out (Thursday), especially since we’re done with school (today),” Maranell said. “Sometimes we stand in there and get kind of lazy. But mentally, we looked to hit.”

RTR continued it offensive power into the second game of the night. Alderson led-off the first inning with a single and Johnson followed it up with a double, scoring Alderson for the first run of the game. Buchert then drove in a run with a single. The fourth run came when Petersen crushed a triple, scoring on an errant throw to third.

The Knights added three more runs in the third inning, propelled by a lead-off triple from Johnson , followed by Baartman’s walk, Buchert’s single, a sacrifice hit from Reyes and Petersen’s single to right field.

In the fourth, RTR added five more runs on five hits, taking a 12-0 lead. The stretch was highlighted by a two-run double from Kiley Griesse. But then it was if a switch got flipped.

Batting as the home team, RCW couldn’t muster any offensive production over the first three innings. But they were able to bat around the lineup, putting up five runs on one hit, two walks and five RTR errors.

“I think we did good, but especially in the last game, we should have gotten the outs quicker,” Buchert said. “We should’ve been able to keep their score down. We should’ve have let them get up that far. I think it was our positivity. We were there, but we just didn’t have any energy. So it was just dim.”

Maranell said he wishes he had the key to preventing the one-inning blunder.

“That’s the thing,” he said. “If we can just get past that one inning. Everyone has runs in softball and if you can get past that one inning, you can be a good team.”

The Knights didn’t let the lapse affect their performance at the plate as the team earned five more runs. Alderson and Johnson sparked the rally again with singles. Then Ashley Owen hammered a two-RBI double. Buchert followed up with a single, as did Grace Klumper.

“I think we did really good (at the plate),” Buchert said. “We had a lot of good hits in the outfield and a lot of people who don’t play as much, they had a lot of good hits. I think they stepped up and showed Coach what they could do today.”

The Jaguars dug down and battled back as best they could in the bottom of the fifth. Along with a pair of hits, RCW capitalized on three walks.

Alderson collected the win for the Knights in the circle.

“I think both of our pitchers did very good,” Maranell said. “Kylea pitched real good — she’s always real good. She’s learning how to hit spots, She’s our go-to pitcher, but Cora came in for the second game, and while she’s a little more raw around the edges, Cora is a very good pitcher, too. And she’s only a ninth-grader.”

Besides the five seniors — Buchert, Johnson, Nielsen, Reyes and Courtney Synder — the Knights are very young.

“I’d say we have a big role,” Buchert said. “We don’t have any juniors, so we’re really the big dogs on this team. We have to make sure we lead everyone and get them going. Next year, they’ll be with some seventh- and eighth-graders, so they’ll have to learn how to lead. But I have a lot of confidence in them.”

As the playoffs loom in the near future, Maranell is optimistic that the team can put everything together. He was especially pleased with the aggressive base-running in the doubleheader.

“That’s what we’ve been looking for all year,” Coach Maranell said. “Sometimes we get a little intimidated, maybe, but I think we let it all out tonight. We knew we needed to be aggressive and run. This was still a big game — seedings aren’t done yet. So hopefully we’ll see what we get for seedings (today) and go from there.”

Game 1

RTR 7, RCW 5

RCW 023 00–5 7 2

RTR 502 0x–7 8 4

RTR Hitting: (Rhaegyn Petersen 2-2, 2 RBI; Jenny Reyes 1-1, RBI; Kylea Baartman 1-2; Cora Alderson 1-3; Johannah Nielsen 1-2, RBI; Morgan Johnson 1-3; Makenzie Buchert 1-3).

RTR Pitching (IP-H-R-ER-BB-SO): Baartman 5-7-5-1-1-2).

Game 2

RTR 403 55–17 18 8

RCW 000 55–10 5 2

RTR Hitting: (Johnson 4-5, 3B, 2B, RBI; Buchert 4-4, 3 RBI; Petersen 3-3, 3B, 3 RBI; Alderson 3-5; RBI; Ashley Owen 1-1, 2B, 2 RBI; Grace Klumper 1-1; Kiley Griesse 1-1, 2B, RBI; Courtney Synder 1-2).

RTR Pitching (IP-H-R-ER-BB-SO): Alderson 5-5-10-1-8-4).