Birds face Milroy Irish in best-of-three region championship series

“We haven’t beaten them yet this year, so it should be a challenge.”
That’s how Luverne Redbirds player-manager Brooks Maurer looks at his team’s series with the Milroy Irish this week.
The Redbirds (23-5, No. 1 tournament seed) and Irish (28-6, No. 3 seed) face off in the best-of-three Region 13C championship series.
The Irish players are responsible for two of Luverne’s five losses this season.
Milroy defeated Luverne 10-4 on May 9 in Luverne and 2-1 in 10 innings July 14 at Irish Yard. 
Game 1 of the championship series is Wednesday, Aug. 11, at 7:30 p.m. at Redbird Field in Luverne.
Game 2 will be played at 7:30 p.m. Friday at Irish Yard, the ballpark built for the Irish in 2012.
If necessary, Game 3 will be played at 2 p.m. at Redbird Field.
By winning their respective semifinal series, each team has already qualified for the 2021 Minnesota State Amateur Baseball Tournament.
The team that wins the championship series will be seeded higher and receive a bye in the first round of the state tournament.
“It’s nice to qualify for the state last weekend so now there’s a little less pressure this week,” Maurer said.
The last two years the Redbirds have had to win the third place series to qualify to represent Region 13C at the state tournament.
The Irish are likely to give the Redbirds, who have won their four playoff games by scores totaling 43-0 so far, a challenge.
“Their top five batters are all really good,” Maurer said.
Irish Yard, the location of Game 2, makes the series a little more interesting for some players and fans.
“It’s like going back in time,” Maurer said. “It’s old school, in the middle of nowhere.”
The “Field of Dreams” Irish Yard is located just off Highway 19 between Milroy and Vesta.
The Milroy Irish began in 2009 and are one of two amateur baseball teams from the baseball-crazy town of 252 people.
The Milroy Yankees play in a different region (4C) at their historic ballpark in town.
The two Milroy teams do not play each other during the regular season and have yet to meet in a state tournament. 
Irish Yard includes some stadium seating, a large video board and a camera system that allows all games at the park to be broadcast on The Irish Yard channel on YouTube. 
“It’s definitely one of the more unique places we get to play at,” Maurer said.
 
2021 Region 13C
Semifinal Round Results
August 4 - 8
 
Luverne vs. Hadley   
Luverne 7, Hadley 0
Luverne 14, Hadley 0 (7 inn.)
 
Windom vs. Milroy Irish
Milroy 5, Windom 4
Milroy 4, Windom 1
 
 
2021 Region 13C
Final Round Schedule
August 11 - 15
 
Championship Series
Luverne vs. Milroy Irish
Wed, Aug. 11 at 7:30 pm in Luverne
Fri, Aug. 13 at 7:30 pm at Irish Yard
*Sun, Aug 15 at 2:00 pm in Luverne
 
Third Place Series
Windom vs. Hadley   
Wed, Aug. 11 at 7:30 pm in Windom
Sat, Aug. 14 at 2:00 pm in Hadley
*Sun, Aug 15 at 2:00 pm in Windom
 
*Game played if necessary