Photo by Jake McNeill: Russell-Tyler-Ruthton pitcher Kya Alderson (right) and catcher Laken Baartman celebrate after scoring a pair of runs in the Section 3A championshipgame against Wabasso at the Marshall Softball Complex on Thursday. The Knights advanced to their first-ever state tournament with the win and will now take on Moose Lake/Willow River today at Caswell Park in North Mankato.

NORTH MANKATO — The fourth-seeded Russell-Tyler-Ruthton Knights’ defense will have its hands full today when it takes on the high-octane offense of No. 5 Moose River/Willow Lake in the Class A softball quarterfinals at Caswell Park.

After starting the season with a 2-7 record, the Rebels bounced back with a six-game win streak. After dropping three in a row to Duluth East, Rush City and Silver Bay, the Rebels earned the No. 2 seed in their section tournament, where they finished their four postseason games with a combined scoring margin of 43-11 to enter today’s matchup on a five-game winnings streak.

The Rebels are a team full of powerful bats throughout the lineup. Hallie Klavu, Sandra Ribich, Mackenzie Hoffman and Megan Hattenberger each have an OPS over 1.000 this year while Elsie Leino has also been above the .900 mark.

Klavu, a junior, has put together a .586 on-base percentage and 1.320 OPS this season. She’s stolen 25 bases this season without being caught and has smashed a pair of home runs to lead the team with 43 runs scored. Still, perhaps the most impressive part of her season so far is that she has struck out just twice while walking 12 times.

Hoffman has also smacked a pair of homers for the Rebels but Ribich has been the Rebels’ power-hitting leader with four long balls this season, propelling her to 29 RBIs and a 1.155 OPS.

While Moose River/Willow Lake may have an advantage in terms of hitting depth, the RTR Knights still have the game’s top power-hitting duo in Laken Baartman and Kya Alderson.

Baartman homered three times in the Knights’ two games against Wabasso in the Section 3A finals, bringing her freshman season total to 17. For context, the Minnesota State High School League recognizes Byron’s Vanessa Anderson’s 16 as the state single-season record. 

Beyond her ability to clear the fence, Baartman has also driven in 32 RBIs, put together a .671 on-base percentage and 1.899 OPS and serves as a defensive anchor for the team at catcher.

Alderson has also been sensational at the dish for the Knights, hitting for a .711 on-base percentage and 1.692 OPS. The RTR senior has also hit four home runs and drawn 23 walks with just one strikeout, but her primary value still comes from her stellar pitching abilities.

Over 124 2/3 regular-season innings, Alderson struck out 256 batters while walking just 19. Of those strikeouts, 191 caught the batters swinging. 

While flashy strikeout numbers don’t always correlate with true success in the circle, they certainly did for Alderson, who put together a 0.90 ERA and 0.69 WHIP this season.

Pitching is one part of the game where the Knights have a clear advantage. Still, Hoffman and Leino have been solid for the Rebels. Despite a notably strong schedule for the team, Leino has compiled nine wins with a 4.27 ERA while Hoffman has earned another four wins with a 6.16 ERA. Hoffman and Leino have also struck out 71 and 58 batters respectively but have struggled with walks at points, finishing the season with 81 and 31 walks respectively.

RTR and Moose Lake/Willow River also differ in their history at state. The Rebels finished as state runners-up in 2022 and upset second-seeded New Ulm Cathedral in last year’s tournament. For the Knights, however, this is all new. They had never appeared in a section championship game before this season, let alone a state tournament. RTR has shown that they have the ability to compete with any team in the state but they’ll need to prove it as they enter the biggest stage for the first time in program history.

On paper, the matchup is set to be the most balanced of the three first-round matchups at the state tournament. RTR’s Quality Ranking Formula (QRF) ranks fifth in Class A at 95.2 while Moose Lake-Willow River’s 89.6 ranks ninth in the state. None of the other three matchups feature two teams ranked within 10 slots of each other.

First pitch between the Knights and the Rebels is slated for 5:30 p.m. at Caswell Park Field 2. The winner of the game will play the winner of No. 1 New Ulm Cathedral and randomly drawn Kelliher/Northome in the state semifinals at 4:30 p.m. on Thursday. The losers will face off at 11:30 a.m. on Thursday in the consolation bracket with a fifth-place game scheduled for 7 p.m. on the same day.