By John RittenhouseThe Luverne Redbirds went 1-1 during the first two rounds of the Gopher League Playoffs.Pipestone topped Luverne by four runs during the tournament opener at Redbird Field Friday. The Redbirds bested Heron Lake by 11 runs during an elimination game played in Luverne Sunday.The 12-12 Redbirds hosted Hadley for an elimination game Wednesday, July 26. Another elimination game will be played Friday, with the final round of the event scheduled for Sunday.Luverne 12, HL 1Jared Pick nearly pitched a no-hitter to highlight Luverne’s 11-run win over Heron Lake Sunday at Redbird Field.Leading 12-0 entering the top half of the seventh inning, Pick was one out away from a no-hitter when he retired the first two batters of the frame.His gem was spoiled with a Texas League single to right field, which led to HL scoring one unearned run before the inning was complete.Pick fanned 13 batters and yielded two hits when the contest was complete.Mike Wenninger, who drove in six runs at the plate, gave the Redbirds a 4-0 lead with a three-run homer in the first inning and a sacrifice fly in the third.Luverne plated eight runs in the fourth inning, which featured two-run singles by Wenninger and James Fisher, one-run singles by Tony Sandbulte and Terry Eernisse, and a two-run error off the bat of Zach Wysong.Box score AB R H BISandbulte 3 2 1 1Boen 1 0 0 0Studer 5 2 2 0Wysong 4 2 2 0Wenninger 3 2 2 6Eernisse 3 1 1 1Kuhlman 1 0 0 0Kurtz 3 1 1 0Cote 1 0 1 0Fisher 4 1 2 2Fodness 3 1 1 0Pick 3 0 0 0Shelton 1 0 0 0Pipestone 11, Luverne 7The visiting A’s scored eight runs in the first three innings to set the stage for a four-run victory over the Redbirds during Friday’s tournament opener in Luverne.Pipestone scored four runs in the first inning and scored twice in the second and third frames to gain an 8-1 lead.Luverne outscored the A’s 6-3 in the final five innings, but it wasn’t enough to get back into the game.Wenninger singled home Luverne’s first run in the bottom of the first inning, and Wyatt Cote’s two-run double in the fifth made it 8-3.Pipestone scored once in the top of the seventh inning to extend its lead to 9-3, but Wysong drew a bases-loaded walk and another run scored on a passed ball for Luverne in the bottom of the seventh to make it 9-5.Pipestone scored twice in the eighth before Luverne scored the final two runs of the game in the bottom of the ninth.Wenninger received an RBI for a ground out and Adam Kurtz registered a sacrifice fly to account for Luverne’s final two runs.Jesse Kuhlman surrendered six runs (four were earned) and four hits in the first two innings, taking the loss for the Redbirds. Kurtz tossed seven innings of five-run (one was earned), seven-hit, five-strikeout relief.Box score AB R H BISandbulte 2 2 0 0Studer 3 1 1 0Cote 1 0 1 2Wysong 2 1 0 1Wenninger 5 0 1 2Kurtz 4 0 0 1Shelton 3 0 0 0Groen 2 0 0 0Fisher 4 0 0 0Fodness 4 1 2 0Pick 3 2 1 0