Photo by Jake McNeill: Russell-Tyler-Ruthton second baseman Paisley Thooft celebrates after hitting a two-run double during the Knights’ 10-0 five-inning win over Moose Lake/Willow River in the first round of the Class A state tournament at Caswell Park in North Mankato on Wednesday.
NORTH MANKATO — While No. 4 Russell-Tyler-Ruthton had not competed in the state softball tournament before their quarterfinal matchup against No. 5 Moose Lake/Willow River on Wednesday, the Knights looked like seasoned veterans in their tournament debut. RTR jumped out to an early lead with four runs in each of the first two innings and never looked back in their 10-0 victory in five innings.
“I just think they love playing and they’re gaining confidence as we keep playing,” RTR head coach Darren Baartman said. “I thought our middle to bottom of the order did a really nice job at the plate with some big hits for us and that’s what it takes, it takes the whole team to win.”
From the first pitch, RTR pitcher Kya Alderson was visibly ready for the moment. She struck out each of the first four batters she faced and nine of the first 10. She also got through the first inning just one pitch shy of an immaculate inning, striking out each of the first two batters she faced on three pitches and the third batter on four pitches.
“I knew right away when we got here that we had to come out hard in order to beat them and those strikeouts really helped,” Alderson said. “I’m kind of used to this stuff [the pressure]… there were girls that I could tell were getting a little jittery. It’s a new environment, there are a lot more people here than normal, but I play summer league, I pitch all year round, so I’m used to these crowds.”
Alderson finished the day with 11 strikeouts and no walks in the five-inning game. She held Moose Lake/Willow River to five hits — and just one extra-base hit — in the shutout effort.
On the offensive side of the plate, RTR came out of the gates with their bats red-hot. Laken Baartman and Alderson drew consecutive walks to start the frame and Daryssa Cruz reached base on an error to score Baartman for the go-ahead run.
Gabi Borresen drew a walk to load the bases with one out and the Knights just kept rolling. Paisley Thooft singled in Alderson and, after a strikeout, Brezlyn Buchert hit a two-run single to give the Knights a 4-0 lead after the first inning.
The Knights batted through the order in the first inning, bringing Laken Baartman back to the plate to lead off the second. The freshman catcher continued to slug away, drilling a ball deep into right field just shy of the fence. While the ball stayed in the park, she turned on the wheels and turned the hit into a triple. The Rebels attempted to throw her out at third base, but a late errant throw allowed her to turn the corner to score in the first at-bat of the frame.
An Alderson walk and a Cruz single put two runners on with two outs when Thooft stepped up to bat. The RTR second baseman came up big again, smashing a ball into center field for a two-run double. She went on to score on a Payton Johansen single to extend the Knights’ lead to 8-0.
“It was super fun to get so many of my teammates home and it just got us into the mode of getting hyped and getting us all off the bench,” Thooft, who finished the night with a game-high three RBIs, said. “It’s super fun to be in the rotation of the team and also get some big hits. It helps the team and the team has your back. It’s an awesome team and you just feel so special being a part of it.”
With two outs and a runner on in the top of the fifth, the game was briefly delayed due to rain. The break didn’t slow RTR’s momentum, however, as Alderson struck out the next batter she faced to end the top of the frame and the Knights scored a pair of runs in the bottom of the frame to trigger the run rule.
“The girls in the bus, they were joking around and ready to go. Then we came out here, took about one minute to get refocused, we talked and they locked back in,” Coach Baartman said.
Alderson said that the team played music and made a candy salad — mixing a wide variety of candy together in a bowl — to pass the time during the rain delay on the bus, adding that those pastimes helped the girls come back out refocused and ready to go when they returned from the delay.
Johansen was hit by a pitch in the Knights’ first at-bat of the fifth inning and Buchert followed up with a single to put runners on the corners. A perfectly placed sacrifice bunt by Kynsi VanderPlaats scored Johansen and Laken Baartman lined an RBI single into right field for the game-sealing run.
Elsie Leino got the start on the mound for Moose Lake/Willow River, allowing five earned runs and another three unearned over three innings. She allowed six hits and five walks while striking out two batters before being relieved to start the fourth inning.
Thooft, Laken Baartman and Buchert each had a pair of hits for RTR with Thooft and Buchert also driving in three and two RBIs respectively. As a team, RTR finished with an 8-5 advantage in hits with five different players registering a base hit. Alderson also accounted for three of the Knights’ five walks while Borresen and Baartman each added another.
“We had a lot of contributions from a lot of girls today and that’s what it takes to win at this level,” coach Baartman said. “We pitched the ball well, hit the ball well, we ran the bases well and we played defense well. When you do all those things, you have a chance to win.”
Hallie Klavu was the only Rebel with multiple hits on the day, also stealing a pair of bases, while Mackenzie Hoffman had a double.
Hoffman pitched 1 1/3 frames of relief, allowing two earned runs on two hits with three strikeouts.
The Rebels fall to 13-11 with the loss and will now take on Kelliher/Northome in the consolation bracket today at 11:30 a.m. With a win, they would play either Red Lake Falls or Bloomington Prairie in the fifth-place game at 7 p.m..
Russell-Tyler-Ruthton continues its quest for a state title on Thursday when it will take on No. 1 New Ulm Cathedral. The game will be played at Caswell Park Field 3 on Wednesday at 4:30 p.m.
“You know whoever you play’s going to be good. That’s why everybody’s here at the state tournament,” coach Baartman said. “We don’t need to worry about so much who we play, worry about how we play. We can’t control how other teams play but we control how we play. If we can go out and play ball like we did today, we’ll put ourselves in a position, hopefully, to advance in the tournament.”
