Sports

#8 Broncos Cruise to Home Sweep of Plainville

Written By: Erik Stone Published Date: 04-28-2026

Russell-Victoria's Max Evans scores on a wild pitch as Plainville's Reid Stamper looks on during the Broncos' doubleheader sweep of the Cardinals at the Shaffer Sports Complex in Russell, Kansas on Tuesday, April 28, 2026. (Photo courtesy of Todd Nilson).

Game 1: Russell-Victoria 8, Plainville 2
Game 2: Russell-Victoria 11, Plainville 1

The Russell-Victoria Bronco Baseball team played their first home games since March 27 when they welcomed Mid-Continent League rival Plainville to the Shaffer Complex on a chilly Tuesday afternoon.

After a slow start in the opener, the Broncos got into gear and wound up sweeping the visiting Cardinals by scores of 8-2 and 11-1.

After starting pitcher Pierce Schoenberger was touched up for two first inning runs in Game 1, Russell-Victoria answered with three tallies in the bottom of the first to take a lead they would never relinquish again for the rest of the afternoon. The Broncos added two more runs in the second inning before plating a single run in the fifth frame and finishing the scoring with two more runs in the sixth inning.

Trey Zorn picked up the win in relief with seven strikeouts while issuing just one walk. Sam Thielen, Jarod Ford and Kyle Huser had two hits apiece for Russell-Victoria but the story of the game was 15 stolen bases amassed by the Broncos, including three apiece by Max Evans and Walker Middleton.

Russell-Victoria (17-1) put the nightcap away early by bolting out to a 10-0 lead after two innings with the game ending after four and a half frames due to the run rule.

Jaxon Ross notched the win for the Broncos by striking out seven Cardinal hitters over three and two thirds innings. Reece Amrein mopped up, allowing just one hit in one and one third innings of work.

Plainville pitching did the Redbirds no favors by issuing eight walks and hitting two batters in the first two innings. Thielen led the Broncos' 10-hit attack with three base knocks of his own and Evans scored three runs.

Eighth-ranked Russell-Victoria (Class 3A) now turns its attention to a major showdown with arch-rival and #1-ranked (Class 2-1A) TMP-Marian on Friday, May 1 at the Shaffer Complex. The Monarchs carried a 14-0 record into their Tuesday home games against Hoisington.

First pitch for Game 1 on Friday will be at 4 p.m. and both games will be broadcast live on KRSL 95.9 FM, online at KRSL.com and streamed on Alexa devices.

RUSSELL WEATHER