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MILROY -- The Russell-Tyler-Ruthton baseball continued to survive and advance in the Section 3A elimination bracket on Thursday. The No. 7S Knights were bumped down to the elimination bracket with a 5-3 loss at the hands of No. 1S Dawson-Boyd on Tuesday but they bounced back on Thursday with a 5-0 win over No. 4N Yellow Medicine East. The win avenges last year's section championship game, in which the Sting walked off the Knights to head to their first state tournament.
The Knights first took the lead when Tyler Wichmann walked, advanced to third on a pair of passed balls and scored on a Blkae Christianson ground out in the first inning. They extended that lead in the fifth when Drew Chandler reached on an error, advanced on an Isaac Dagel single and scored on a Sean Griesse single.
Eli Determan pitched the game's first five innings for RTR, allowing four hits and five walks over the five shutout frames. In relief, Gavin Schreurs pitched two shutout innings while holding the sting to two hits and no walks.
Schreurs didn't get the save opportunity because of an RTR rally in the top of the sixth, just before he came into the game. Determan and Seth Cowell reached on consecutive errors and a Chase Christianson single loaded the bases. Chandler and Dagel each drove in a run on a sacrifice while Griesse doubled in another for a 5-0 lead.
Drew Almich pitched the full game for the sting. None of the five runs he allowed over seven innings were earned. He also held the Knights to six hits and two walks with four strikeouts, while adding two hits of his own at the plate to tie Adam Stengel for a team-high.
YME closes out its season at 9-12. They graduate five seniors in Almich, Owen Cherveny, Adam Stengel, Andrew Flaten and Connor Fagen.
Russell-Tyler-Ruthton improves to 13-11 with the win and will continue its quest through the elimination bracket when it takes on No. 6S Adrian/Ellsworth at the Irish Yard today at 2:30 p.m. The winner of the game will face the loser of No. 1N Dawson-Boyd and No. 2N Lac qui Parle Valley on Tuesday at 7 p.m.