102nd Article at the Independent

SECTION 3A BASEBALL: Rally falls short for RTR against MACCRAY in Section 3A championship

CHRIS DRUMMOND cdrummond@marshallindependent.com

MILROY– The top-seeded Russell-Tyler-Ruthton baseball team had to work its way back in the Section 3A tournament after falling 5-2 in 10 innings to the other No. 1 seed, MACCRAY, in the semifinals on Saturday. RTR did that with a victory against Murray County Central on Tuesday, preparing the stage for a rematch against the Wolverines in the Section 3A championship.

Needing a pair of victories in order to punch its ticket to the state tournament, RTR would force a winner-take-all game against MACCRAY with a 7-3 win in Game 1. In the second game, the Knights had a strong opportunity to take down the Wolverines with the bases loaded in their final at-bat and trailing by a run, but couldn’t capitalize as MACCRAY held on for a 2-1 victory to advance to state.

Down 2-0 in their final at-bat of Game 2, RTR loaded the bases with one out before another walk brought in its first run of the game. But that was the closest RTR got, as MACCRAY got a strikeout and a lineout to seal the game.

RTR head coach Josh Fredrickson spoke on his team’s performance in both games.

“I’m just so proud of the guys, Cody (Wichmann) came out and threw very well and the guys played so confident in game one to win,” Fredrickson said. “In the second game, the guys played pretty well and we knew it was going to be a low-scoring game. We put ourselves in position and that’s all you can ask for.”

In the first game, MACCRAY jumped out to a quick start, as the Knights would allow three first-inning runs, but would allow no more for the rest of the game. The Knights scored one run and faced a two-run deficit heading into the top of the fifth inning. That’s where the Knights’ bats finally came alive.

Cody Wichmann would lace a hard line drive deep to right-center field towards the wall that would score a run and give him a triple on the play, trimming the lead of the Wolverines to one. On the very next at-bat, RTR outfielder Aiden Wichmann got an RBI groundout which tied up the game at three-all. From there on, it was all Knights. In the top of the sixth inning, two consecutive wild pitches by MACCRAY starting pitcher Dreyer Homan scored two runs for RTR, getting insurance runs to take a 6-3 lead. The Knights would add another run and infielder/pitcher Jackson Christianson would come on in relief to close out the game and force a game two, with the Knights winning 7-3.

In game two, the Knights would start the closer of game one in Jackson Christianson. Both teams pitched very well and didn’t allow any runs for the first four innings. However, MACCRAY would get an opportunity in the fifth inning and took advantage, reaching on an infield single to plate two runs and make it 2-0, paving the way for the late-game dramatics.

Fredrickson also elaborated on his seniors (Logan Lamote, Dylan Anderson, Samuel Nibbe, Jackson Christianson and Rion Moat) and the impact they had on the team.

“They had such a big impact on this program,” Fredrickson added. “Each guy put the time and work in, getting guys in the batting cages, weight room and this was their team. We accomplished something we’ve never done before, getting to a championship game and it is because of the seniors.”

Despite having a solid season Fredrickson wants to add some pitching depth to the team and believes if they continue to develop that they should be back in contention for a section championship next season.