The Albert Lea Knights 9U baseball team participated in The Yard tournament in Mason City last weekend, according to a press release.

The Knights took fifth place with a 1-3 record.

“This is the first year that these kids have played kid-pitch baseball,” said Knights coach Aaron Phillips. “These kids are typically playing teams that have been playing kid-pitch baseball for one or two years already, and the growth that they’ve shown in the last few games is amazing.”

Leading the Knights at the tournament were Andrew Phillips with five runs scored, and Mike Olson, Eric Doppelhammer and Jack Stevens with three runs scored. Dakota Jahnke led the way with three hits, Jack Skinness had seven RBIs and Andrew Phillips was walked seven times and had six stolen bases. Aydan Christensen had 4 walks, Isaac Shea had two doubles, and Jack Stevens was hit by a pitch three times. Mike Olson picked up the pitching win for the Knights. He retired eight batters in six innings, and Jacob Skinness retired seven batters in 2 2/3 innings. Jack Skinness, Dakota Jahnke, Eric Doppelhammer, Jaxon Richards, and Jack Stevens also got some time on the mound, and Drew Carlson played catcher for the Knights.

“We were in every game this weekend, but had a few untimely mistakes that the other teams capitalized on,” said coach Phillips. “It’s part of the growing process, and we are getting better at minimizing our mistakes every game.”

The Knights practice two nights a week and then play in tournaments about every third weekend. They play in a total of five tournaments starting the end of April and ending around the middle of July.

“We really focus on the practice time and working on fundamentals,” Phillips said. “Practice is the time that these kids are going to develop their skills and become better baseball players. I wish we had more time to practice because that is where the kids are making their huge improvements. We work the kids hard in practice, but we also try to keep the practices fun.”

The 9U Knights’ next tournament is June 20-22 at Snyder Fields in Albert Lea.