RTR 8, Minneota 3

MILROY — Brayden Chandler racked up three hits with a double for the Russell-Tyler-Ruthton baseball team in its Section 3A baseball tournament elimination matchup against Minneota on Tuesday. The two teams remained within striking distance of each other for the first four innings, but a six-run fifth powered the Knights to an 8-3 win.

The Knights led 2-1 heading into the fifth, when Tyson Burns reached on an error and Gavin Schreurs reached on a failed fielder’s choice. Chandler pushed across the inning’s first run with an RBI single and Tyler Wichmann followed up with another two-run single.

RTR’s rally kept rolling when Levi Tommeraasen drew a walk, and Kolby Louwagie and Isaac Janish hit consecutive RBI singles. A strikeout put one away, but an error on a pickoff attempt allowed Louwagie to run home for an 8-1 lead.

Schreurs pitched the game’s first six innings for RTR, striking out eight batters while allowing one earned run on two hits and three walks. Tommeraasen tossed the final frame, surrendering one earned run on a hit and two walks.

Mason Javers was charged with the loss for the Vikings after giving up five earned runs on six hits and three walks over four innings. He also struck out six batters. Carson Javers also threw three innings of scoreless relief, striking out three batters while allowing a hit and a walk, but lacked the run support to get back into the game.

Schreurs helped the Knights get on the board early, reaching on an error in the game’s first at-bat and scoring when Tommeraasen grounded into a fielder’s choice. Two innings later, Chandler hit a two-out double and scored on an errant pickoff attempt, though Sawyer Bradley walked and scored on a Creed Stassen fielder’s choice in the bottom of the frame to keep the Vikings within a run.

Chandler accounted for three of RTR’s seven hits on the day, while Wichmann also reached base twice with a single, a walk and two RBIs. Ian Myhre, Carson Javers and Mason Javers each logged an extra-base hit and a walk for the Vikings.

Carson Javers’ extra-base hit came in the bottom of the fifth, when he sailed a fly ball over the left-field wall for a solo home run. Still, RTR got out of the inning without further damage.

Trailing by six runs in the bottom of the seventh, back-to-back walks to Myhre and Carson Javers put two on, but Wichmann turned a 6-4-3 double play to leave just one runner on base. Mason Javers drove in Myhre with an RBI double, but Tommeraasen struck out the final batter to advance the Knights to the next round.

RTR improves to 17-6 and continues its quest to repeat as section champions when it takes on Yellow Medicine East in the elimination bracket quarterfinals, Thursday at 7 p.m. at the Milroy Irish Yard. The game is a rematch of last year’s section championship game, in which RTR emerged from the elimination bracket and picked up back-to-back mercy-rule wins over the Sting.

Minneota closes its season at 11-8 and graduates Carson Javers as its lone senior.

BOX SCORE

RTR

BATTING

G. Schreurs: 0-5, 2 R; B. Chandler: 3-4 (2B), RBI, 2 R, SB; T. Wichmann: 1-3, BB, 2 RBI, R, SO; L. Tommeraasen: 0-3, BB, R; K. Louwagie: 1-3, BB, R, 2 SB; I. Janish: 1-4, RBI, SO; G. Elton: 0-3, BB, SB, 2 SO; T. Burns: 1-3, HBP, R, SO.

PITCHING

G. Schreurs: W, 6 IP, 2 H, 2 R, ER, 3 BB, 8 SO; L. Tommeraasen: IP, H, R, ER, 2 BB, SO.

MINNEOTA

BATTING

I. Myhre: 1-3 (2B), BB, 2 R; C. Javers: 1-3 (HR), BB, RBI, R; C. Stassen: 0-3, BB, RBI, SO; M. Javers: 1-3 (2B), BB, RBI, 2 SB, SO.

PITCHING

M. Javers: L, 4 IP, 6 H, 8 R, 5 ER, 3 BB, 6 SO; C. Javers: 3 IP, H, BB, 3 SO.

LQPV 4, Canby 1

MILROY — A strong pitching effort by Jace Rangaard wasn’t enough to get the Canby baseball team a win in its 3A baseball tournament elimination bracket matchup against Lac qui Parle Valley on Tuesday. The No. 4S Lancers couldn’t get the run support to climb out of an early deficit against the No. 2S Eagles, falling 4-1.

Rangaard pitched all six innings of the loss, surrendering four earned runs on seven hits and five walks. He also struck out a pair of batters.

A pair of singles gave LQPV the game’s first run in the second inning, and they added another pair on a sacrifice fly and an RBI single in the third to claim a 3-0 lead.

Canby’s lone run of the game came in the fourthWill Abrahamson drew a leadoff walk, stole his way to third and scored on a Cody Stoll sacrifice fly. Yet, they didn’t advance a runner past first base for the remainder of the game.

Ben Drietz and Morgen Tol each hit a pair of singles in the game, as well as a walk for Tol, while a Matthew Zitzmann single accounted for the team’s lone other hit.

The Eagles added one last insurance run in the bottom of the sixth on an RBI double to bring the score to 4-1.

Canby finishes its season at 9-8, nearly doubling its win total from its 5-9 campaign last year. The Lancers graduate Dyllon Christianson, Cash Antony, Jace Sigler and Cody Stoll.

BOX SCORE

BATTING

C. Antony: 0-2, BB, SO; W. Abrahamson: 0-2, BB, R, 2 SB, SO; C. Stoll: 0-2, RBI, 2 SO; B. Drietz: 2-3; M. Tol: 2-2, BB; M. Zitzmann: 1-2.

PITCHING

J. Rangaard: L, 6 IP, 7 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 5 BB, 2 SO.