RUTHTON — The Adrian-Ellsworth Dragons came to Ruthton Thursday to take on the Russell-Tyler-Ruthton Knights, with both teams looking to get back to a .500 record. It was a pitcher’s duel between the Dragons’ Matt Geister and the Knighs’ Eli Determan but the Dragons’ three fourth-inning runs led them past RTR for a 4-3 victory.

“We had no errors, and that is a big improvement for us,” RTR head coach Danny Moffitt said after the loss. “I am starting to hear the sound of the bats that we have been looking for. We are getting more focused, and there were a couple of things that happened to change things.”

Keagan Polzine got a one-out single for Adrian-Ellsworth to start the inning, followed by an RBI single by Jack Jenniges. After a strikeout, Travis Weiss singled, then stole second base, and Joe Rahe drove them both in with a single to give the Dragons the lead.

The second inning opened up with Caleb Wolf getting a one-out single for Adrian-Ellsowrth and Geister drove him in with a long double to center to give the Dragons a 1-0 lead. Seth Cowell responded for RTR with a one-out walk and, after a passed ball, Tyler Wichmann singled to drive in the tying run.

The third inning had scoring chances for both teams. Joe Rahe got his second hit of the game, a double to center, and that was followed by Jayden Russell being hit by a pitch. But Determan shut down the next two batters to end the scoring threat.

Determan pitched the full seven innings for RTR. Of the four runs he allowed, two were unearned. He also struck out nine batters while allowing nine hits and a pair of walks.

In the bottom of the third, Chase Christianson drew a walk, and Blake Christianson reached on an error. But two line-drive outs to right field left the Knights scoreless, leaving it a 1-1 tie.

In the bottom of the sixth inning, RTR struck back with two runs to make it a 4-3 game. Kolby Louwagie started the rally with a one-out double, and Sean Griesse singled him home to make it 4-2. Chase Christianson then doubled to score Griesse, but he was stranded at second after a groundout to short.

The seventh inning saw both teams have scoring opportunities, but neither team was able to capitalize. Reese Morrison got a one-out single, and after a fly out, Matt Geister was hit by a pitch. A wild pitch sent them to second and third, but a strikeout ended the inning.

RTR came to bat needing a run to tie, and Blake Christianson started off with a single. Drew Chandler sacrificed him to second base, but reliever Travis Weiss was able to get a strikeout, and a fly ball to right ended the game with Adrian-Ellsworth on top 4-3.

Geister pitched the first 5 2/3 innings, allowing RTR to score three runs on eight hits and four walks with nine strikeouts, before being relieved in the sixth. Weiss pitched the final 1 1/3, recording one strikeout and allowing one hit.

Dragon’s Head Coach Joe Kruger was happy with his team’s defense and hitting, saying, “I know that their record isn’t what they want it to be, but they can play well enough to give most teams a good game. Determan is a good pitcher, but we had some good at-bats on him. We made the plays on defense when we needed them, and Matt Geister pitched a great game to give us what we needed to win”

RTR falls to 4-6, while Adrian-Ellsworth improves to 5-7. RTR will head out on the road to take on Canby today at 4:30 p.m.

“We had the ball pop out of the glove on two tag plays that gave them chances to score, and they did capitalize on one of them,” RTR head coach Danny Moffitt said. “It didn’t go our way this time, but maybe next time, it will go our way. I like the way we were swinging the bats, and the hitters were focused. I am happy that we are cleaning things up out there to make us a good baseball team.”