Photo by Jake McNeill: Russell-Tyler-Ruthton sophomore Tyler Wichmann throws a pitch during the second inning of a baseball game against Lakeview in Ruthton on Friday afternoon. The Knights defeated the Lakers 10-0 in six innings.

RUTHTON — Coming off a section runner-up finish last year, the Russell-Tyler-Ruthton baseball team looked like it hadn’t lost a step in its 2024 season-opener on Friday. Tyler Wichmann was nearly unhittable on the mound as the Knights shut out Lakeview for a 10-0 win in six innings.

“It was actually a toss-up,” RTR head coach Danny Moffitt said when asked if he expected his team to come out of the gates with as strong of a showing as it did. “The boys had state basketball and then we had a few days off for easter in the winter break, so I was very surprised and excited for how well we played today.”

Despite Friday’s game being the first game of the year, Wichmann had no signs of rust on the mound. The Knights’ sophomore pitcher put together eight strikeouts in just the first three innings. He surrendered just two hits on the day and finished the complete-game effort with 12 strikeouts.

“He was looking good out there, confident,” RTR head coach Danny Moffitt said of Wichmann. “A few batters, he struggled a bit with but he recuperated and I’m proud of him.”

Wichmann said that he felt like he had good command of his fastball on the day. He added that he’s looking to continue to follow up the success of his brother, who was a standout pitcher for the Knights last year and is currently playing for Southwest Minnesota State University.

For the Lakers, Kyler Post was also efficient early. He got out of the first inning on just six pitches and appeared poised to do the same in the second. Yet, a throwing error on the first pitch of the second at-bat allowed Isaac Dagel to reach base.

Dagel stole second to get in scoring position and, after a strikeout put two away, he advanced to third on a balk. A passed ball allowed him to sprint home for the go-ahead run.

Drew Chandler kept the inning going by battling for a walk to get on base. Like Dagel, he stole second to get in scoring position and a wild pitch and a passed ball allowed him to make it 2-0 RTR.

All day long the Knights were coming out swinging. They didn’t take many pitches but they didn’t strike out often either. The aggression at the plate was something Moffitt found encouraging.

“I’ve got the saying that hitters want to hit and I want them very aggressive because I’ll see people that look for walks They never want to swing and I don’t want that attitude,” Moffitt said.

The Knights kept rolling into the third inning when Dawson Brust hit a leadoff double down the third baseline. He advanced to third on a Blake Christianson groundout and Tyler Wichmann then drilled a liner to short to score Brust for a 3-0 lead.

Chandler and Brust drew walks to put runners on the corners with two outs in the sixth inning. Brust stole second and, with the chance to end the inning, Lakeview committed its sixth error of the game on a Christianson hit to score both runners.

Wichmann singled to put Chandler on third and, after Chandler scored on another passed ball, Chase Christianson hit a bloop single to center field to score Wichmann and trigger the run rule.

Post was relieved with runners on the corners and one out in the fourth inning. He allowed two hits, two walks and five runs on the day (only one of which was earned). He also struck out three batters.

After Post came out, Dagel and Chandler each scored their second run of the day on a fielder’s choice and a throwing error respectively. Blake Christianson then hit a single to score Brust for a 6-0 Knights lead.

Braylon Breyfogle closed out the game with three hits and two walks allowed over the final 2 1/3 innings. Each of the five runs he allowed was unearned.

Overall, Lakeview head coach Curt Schake felt his team pitched alright given the fact that only one of the runs that they allowed was an earned run. Still, the nine unearned runs are reason for concern regarding the defense and something he said the team will continue to work to improve going forward.

Lakeview had an opportunity to get on the board in the top of the sixth inning when Brooks Smith drew a leadoff walk. After stealing second, he advanced to a third on a passed ball to get 90 feet from home with just one out. Breyfogle hit a grounder to the mound but Wichmann, instead of taking the force at first, threw it home and Blake Christianson made the tag to keep the shutout intact.

Russell-Tyler-Ruthton improves to 1-0 on the season with the win while Lakeview falls to 0-1. The Knights will remain on their home field today when they host the Pipestone Arrows at noon. Moffitt said that, after the first game of the season, the main thing he wants to see his team focus on is its baserunning, specifically in terms of being a bit more aggressive with their second lead after the pitch.

Lakeview will remain on the road, heading to Edgerton for a matchup with the Edgerton/Southwest Minnesota Christian Flying Dutchmen on Tuesday at 4:30 p.m.