Tribute Sports

Brandon Kerr takes a swing in the Knights win over MCC.

The ballpark in Tyler was a good place to be last Friday. The RTR girls won their second game of the season on the west side while the RTR Knight Baseball Team knocked off the Murray County Central Rebels on the east dia­mond by a score of 4-2.

The Rebels came into the game with a record of 9 and 2 and leading the Red Rock conference. They were also considered one of the top teams in the section.

Shay Wabeke and his teammates decided that they were up to the task of giving the Rebels a ballgame. Wabeke did the pitching for the Knights on this day and he did a bril­liant job of shutting down the Rebel hitters.

The Rebels struck first as they would score in the first inning. The next two innings went quite quickly. The game finally arrived to the bottom of the third in­ning.

Mason LaRock and Mitch Hurst both walked to start the Knight rally. A passed ball moved both runners up. Philip Madsen walked to fill the bases. With two outs, Shay Wabeke drilled a shot to third. The third baseman didn’t have time to get the wicket down. It went for an error, but the Knights had two runs and a 2-1 lead after three.

The fourth inning was another productive inning for the Knights. Walks to Bubba Good, Luke Wier­ing, Madsen and Abel Ro­mandia plus a single by Mitch Hurst produced two more runs. The RBIs were by Madsen and Romandia. The final out of the inning was made by Wabeke, who drilled a shot to the wall(fence) in left field, but was caught.

The Rebels would start the fifth inning with a walk, single and double to get a run. With runners on second and third and no one out, Wabeke struck out the next two batters before getting the final out on a fly ball that Mitch Hurst caught in right field. The score was 4-2 after five innings of play.

The final inning started with a walk to the ninth place hitter. The lead-off hitter was next. He had two doubles for the night. Wabeke, however, wield­ing and dealing all evening, struck him out for the first out. Madsen made a nice play in the hole at short­stop to force a runner at second. The final out was also made by Madsen as he threw out the batter on a ground ball to him.

Shay Wabeke, for the complete game victory, al­lowed only five Rebel hits while striking out 12 Rebel batters. He did walk five batters.

Wabeke also got some nice help from his catcher, Brandon Kerr. Kerr threw out two MCC runners at second base on attempted steals. Kerr also had one of the three Knight hits on the evening. Philip Madsen got the third Knight hit of the game.

Wabeke had these thoughts about the game, “Coach Curry said you can’t go in scared. We had to go in like you’re ready to win. You have to be mentally in and physically in. We knew we could compete with them.”

The win by the Knights moved their overall record to four wins and six losses. This Thursday they travel to Canby to battle the Lanc­ers in a conference game. The Lancers are another one of those teams that are figured to battle for the top spot in the section.

(KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK, KNIGHTS)

Tribute Sports

Lady Knight pitcher Anna Madsen gets a base hit against Southwest United in the 11-7 win for RTR.

The RTR Lady Knights Softball Team won their second game of the season with a fine home victory over Southwest United. Heron Lake, Lakefield and Okabena are the towns in this school.

The Lady Knights got out of the gate fast with five big runs in the bottom of the first inning. The La­dies received five walks in the inning. Combined with hits from Brittany McWil­liams and Alicia Snyder and a sacrifice fly from Nicole Enemark, the Lady Knights were off and run­ning.

The team added five more runs to the total in the third inning. It all started with two outs. Pay­ton Strand would walk. Sister Destinee singled to center. McWilliams singled in two runs. Anna Mad­sen singled in another run. Kaylie Nielsen finished off the inning with a two-run homerun to left center. Nilesen would add another RBI in the fifth inning with a single.

Meanwhile, the Knight defense was solid all game. The infield made play after play. The Knights never al­lowed more than two runs any inning for SWU. Pitch­er Anna Madsen had the complete game win with eight strikeouts, allowing seven hits and walking only five opposing batters.

Kaylie Nielsen was the hitting star with two hits and four RBIs. Brit­tany McWilliams collected three hits while Anna Mad­sen and Alicia Snyder each had two hits. The Knights had a total of 10 hits in the game.

The Lady Knights, ear­lier in the week, played a doubleheader in Tracy. The first game was a very close one with the TMB Panthers winning, 4-0. Destinee Strand, Kaylie Nielsen, Alicia Snyder and Nicole Enemark had the RTR hits.

Anna Madsen pitched a solid game for the La­dies as she allowed only six hits, striking out two batters. The game was tied 0-0 through four in­nings until the home team scored three runs in the fifth inning.

The second game was not that interesting as the Panthers scored eight runs in the first inning on their way to a convincing 16-0 victory. Destinee Strand and Kaylie Nielsen had the only RTR hits.

The Lady Knights now wait to see who they will play in the sub-section tournament. The game will probably be played this Friday, May 18. It will probably start about 4:30 p.m. The opponent and place has not been deter­mined. The Lady Knights are getting some confi­dence. Let’s support the girls as they hope to win some more!

Tribute Sports

The RTR Baseball Team used the great pitching of Philip Madsen and some timely hitting by Shay Wabeke to produce their first Camden Conference win of the 2012 season.

The Knights would start the first inning with a Madsen single. After a stolen base, Shay Wabeke would rope a single to cen­ter to get the RBI. Brandon Kerr got the other first in­ning RBI, reaching base on a Laker error, scoring Wabeke, who had reached third on a stolen base.

The Knights score an in­surance run in the bottom of the sixth inning on a pair of Laker errors. Bubba Good reached on one of the errors and finally scored on an error after stealing a base. Brandon Kerr had the only other Knight hit with a solid knock in the third inning.

Lakeview had plenty of trouble reaching base against the likes of Mad­sen’s pitching. They would receive a couple of free passes in the first inning, but couldn’t do anything with those. The Lakers got their first hit in the second inning, plus another free pass, but Madsen struck out the final batter of the inning.

Madsen had only one other inning where there could have been some trouble. The only other Laker hit plus a Knight error put two runners on base. Another strikeout ended the inning.

For the complete game victory, Madsen allowed only the two hits while walking four Laker bat­ters. He would strike out 10 Lakeview hitters.

The win by the team was the third of the season against six losses. The con­ference record is now one win against five losses.

lbnews@itctel.com

The Buffalo Ridge Wildcats improved their record to 2-0 by defeating the North Iowa Bucks of Mason City, Iowa by a score of 40-0 on Saturday night in Lake Benton.

The Wildcats led at halftime by a score of 14-0 after many untimely penalties in the first half but capitalized on four interceptions forced by their defense in the second half.

“We should have 30 points on the board by now,” said Player/Coach Wiley Tiedeman on the sideline early in the third quarter. “They called back two TDs in the first half and didn’t give us another close call in the corner of the end zone right before halftime.”

The Wildcats defense has once again held their opponent scoreless. Leading the way for the Wildcats was Dan “Meat” Rorvik with nine tackles, one quarterback sack and a combined safety with teammate Justin Olson.

Olson has been home from deployment overseas for less than one week. Travis Lustfield added seven tackles and one and one half sacks.

Jeff Moser had two interceptions while Drew Bunkers and T.J. Newgaard each had a pick a piece with a few nice runbacks, one with a flea-flicker putting the Cats in great field position.

Offensively for the Wildcats, quarterback Jared Beck finished the game with 11 completed passes for 229 yards and one touchdown pass.

The lone receiving touchdown of 41 yards was caught by Keller Anderson. Once again, Brett Delaney led all receivers with five catches good for 110 yards.

Running back Noah Sanderson set a new Wildcats record with 206 yards rushing on 22 carries and touchdown runs of 64 and 23 yards while grinding for extra yards on most running plays with the help of Jason Good and the offensive line.

Cody Ness also had seven rushes for 55 yards and three touchdowns.

The Wildcats will travel to Cleveland next Saturday, May 19 to take on the River Valley Shock in a 4 p.m. game. The game will be broadcast live over the internet for people unable to attend in person.

The website is www.hometeamsonline.com. Type in Buffalo Ridge Wildcats in the Find a Team or League prompt in the header. Then click on the Buffalo Ridge Wildcats link under Team Name or brwildcats under Username.

An audio/video link should be live 30 to 60 minutes prior to game time labeled —

Saturday, May 19 Buffalo Ridge Wildcats/Minnesota River Valley Shock 4 p.m.ClevelandHS.

Arrangements are pro­vided by Hartquist Funer­al Home, Utoft-Johansen Chapel in Lake Benton.

To sign an online reg­istry, please visit www. hartquistfuneral.com.

Laura Marjorie Miller was born to George and Louise (Krause) Doehle on Aug. 13, 1922 in Dram­men Township near Lake Benton. She was baptized on June 24, 1923 and later confirmed at the United Methodist Church in Lake Benton. She was raised on the family farm with her four siblings and attended country school. She gradu­ated from Lake Benton High School in 1939 and continued to help on the farm. On Oct. 15, 1940 Laura was united in mar­riage to Roy A. Miller in Iona. The couple resided the rest of their life in Lake Benton. Laura was a home­maker for their three chil­dren, Robert, Diana and Thomas. Roy preceded Laura in death on June 21, 1983. Following his death, Laura remained living at their home. In May of 2011 she became a resident at the Good Samaritan Vil­lage in Pipestone. On Sat­urday, April 28 Laura died peacefully at the Pipestone County Medical Center in Pipestone at the age of 89 years, eight months and 15 days.

Laura was a member of the United Methodist Church where she sang in the choir and belonged to the United Methodist Women. She was active for many years with the Town and Country Study Club. She enjoyed vegetable and flower gardening and sew­ing. Laura loved life and was a wonderful mother to her children and a friend to many.

She is lovingly remem­bered by her three chil­dren: Bob Miller and his fiancé Becky of Cushing, Diana Trulock and her husband Roger of Tracy and Tom Miller and his wife Rita of Luverne; 10 grandchildren; 13 great-grandchildren; sister Phyl­lis Lyndgaard of Hendricks and other relatives and friends. She was preceded in death by her husband Roy; parents George and Louise Doehle; brother Walter Doehle; sister Nor­ma Nielsen; twin sister Leona Johansen and her daughter-in-law Connie Miller.

Memorials are preferred to the United Methodist Church in Lake Benton.

LeRoy Ellsworth Stens­gaard was born Feb. 2, 1930 to Lawrence and Ella (Steele) Stensgaard in Hope Township. Growing up on the family farm, he attended country school and graduated from Ruth­ton High School in 1948. He enlisted in the United States Army and served during the Korean War as a forward observer for artil­lery. He was honorably dis­charged from active duty in 1951. He returned to Ruthton and farmed with his father. He was united in marriage to Betty Ann C. Nelsen on July 25, 1954 at Hope Lutheran Church in Ruthton. Their union was blessed with three children — Debra, Daniel and Chris — and 57 years of mar­riage. The couple farmed in Tyler for a short time and later established their home and farm in Ruthton. He retired from farming in 2006. LeRoy died at his home Friday, May 11 at the age of 82 years.

LeRoy was a member of St. James Lutheran Church in Holland, where he had served the church as an usher and council mem­ber. He was a volunteer for many years on the Ruthton Fire Department. He served as a Pipestone County Commissioner for 12 years and had served several years on the board of Soil and Water in Pip­estone County. He was a member of Woodrow Wilson American Legion Post 506 of Ruthton. He enjoyed reading, camp­ing, golf, travelling, having coffee with friends at the Mini Mart and especially enjoyed time spent with his family.

LeRoy will be lovingly remembered by his wife Betty Ann of Ruthton; his children: Debra Stens­gaard of Minneapolis, Daniel Stensgaard of Eden Prairie and Chris (and Sar­ah) Stensgaard of Victoria; four grandchildren: Brook Stensgaard of Chicago, Ill., Laura Stensgaard, Han­na Stensgaard and Dane Stensgaard, all of Victoria; brother Curt (and Carol) Stensgaard of Mitchell, S.D.; sister Patricia Swan­son of Farwell, Neb. and many nieces, nephews, other family and friends. He was preceded in death by his parents and broth­er-in-law Robert Swanson. Blessed be his memory.

In lieu of flowers memo­rials may be directed to St. James Lutheran Church.

Henry Donald DeGrote was born to Rhinder and Lydia (Timmerman) De­Grote on Jan. 7, 1926 on a farm in Nobles County.He served in the U.S. Army in Korea. On June 14, 1951 he was united in marriage to Caroline Laura Schelhaas in Edgerton. Henry died at the Golden Living Center in Franklin on Thursday, May 10 at the age of 86 years.

Henry is lovingly re­membered by his wife Caroline DeGrote of Rus­sell; four children: Ger­ald DeGrote and his wife Kitty of Hastings, Sharon DeGrote of Denver, Colo., Darla Winkelhorst and her husband Loren of West Bend, Iowa, and Beth De­Grote of Sioux Falls, S.D.; 10 grandchildren; 15 great-grandchildren; three brothers: Wayne (and Irene) DeGrote of Seal Beach, Calif., LeRoy (and Delores) DeGrote of Slay­ton and Lester DeGrote of Punta Gorda, Fla.; a sister, Lois (and Curtis) Erickson of Lake Wilson, and many other relatives and friends. He was preceded in death by his parents; four broth­ers, Rhinard, Tony, James and Merle, and sister Pearl Jacobson.

Andrew Bakker, left, and Taylor Thooft have been named covaledictorians for the class of 2012. Both seniors have exceptional grades and earned the honor school officials said.

By Robert Wolfington

tributeeditor@gmail.com

It was the last day for the se­niors at RTR High School and Andrew Bakker and Taylor Thooft both still had one last test to take.

On Saturday, May 19 Bakker and Thooft will serve as co-vale­dictorians during the graduation ceremony that is scheduled to start at 2 p.m. in the gym at RTR High School.

Bakker and Thooft said their grades have been nearly identi­cal through much of their high school years.

Thooft said he is happy with the honor of serving as co-vale­dictorian.

“I always did what I did in class,” said Thooft. “(Andrew) and I are in all the same classes.”

RTR Principal Pam Bush said the school made the decision be­cause their grades were virtually identical.

Both Bakker and Thooft have been involved in a number of ex­tracurricular activities ranging from football and track to band.

Bakker said it was those activi­ties that stand out in his memory of his time at RTR.

“For me a lot of (my memories are from) sports,” said Bakker. “Our golf team this year is re­ally good and we’ve been work­ing on it for years. Football was probably one of our better years recently.”

Thooft said the drama depart­ment has played an important role in his time at RTR.

“I have been involved with it for quite a while,” said Thooft. “We had a great experience this year making it to state in one-acts.”

Bakker, the son of Gordon and Linda Bakker, said he plans on attending SDSU for agricultural and biosystems engineering af­ter graduation.

Thooft, the son of Lowell and Shirley Thooft, said he will be at­tending SDSU for a Pharm D.

Bakker and Thooft will be joined by their 33 classmates for the graduating class of 2012 this Saturday.

The fiddling trio of Kirstine Sand, Ditte Fromseier and Kirstine Elise Pedersen was formed in 2007 and has per­formed all over Denmark and Europe, including Scotland, Norway and Germany, play­ing everything from traditional Danish folk melodies to classical and Baroque style music. They recently played at the Celtic Connection Festival in Scotland and at the Forde, Norway’s best folk festival.

In 2011 they released their first CD which was well received. Cdroots writes, “This Danish ministry of fiddles has a strong vibrant sound. Cello violin and viola offer a classical structure but the tunes are traditional and full of life and energy….they play pieces that range from single el­egance to thundering passion, echoing modern energies one moment and baroque eloquence the next.”

Mark your calendars for June 2 and come and hear some won­derful string music with the Fi­olministeriet. Coffee and good­ies will be served. Everyone welcome!

The city of Tyler spent the weekend cleaning for the annual Tidy Up Tyler event. Above: City crews spent Tuesday, May 8 picking up large items including televisions, refrigerators and microwaves. City Administrator Bruce Williams and Tyler Utilities Superintendent Dean Beck were part of the crew working for the pick up. Right: A number of garage sales were held on Friday and Saturday throughout Tyler as part of Tidy Up Tyler. Melissa, Jason and Emma Jansen make a stop at one of the many garage sales held during the weekend event.