Redbirds beat Hadley No. 1 in Gopher League

The Luverne Redbirds capped off the regular season by going 1-1 to finish with an overall record of 19-5.
The Redbirds defeated Hadley 14-3 on Tuesday, July 13, and then lost an extra innings affair on the road to the Milroy Irish 2-1 on Thursday, July 14.
With an overall record of 19-5 and an 18-2 conference record, the Redbirds finish atop the Gopher League standings.
One of the goals for this year’s Redbirds team was to finish as regular season champions.
The ultimate goal for the townball team is to qualify for the Minnesota Baseball Association Class C State Tournament, a feat that the Redbirds have accomplished in back-to-back seasons.
“Winning the Gopher League title is a great accomplishment,” Redbirds’ manager Brooks Maurer said.
“Our goal as a team is to make it to state every year. This is a good first step toward reaching that goal. We have played some very good baseball this year and hopefully the best is still to come.”
By finishing atop the Gopher League standings, the Redbirds earned a first-round bye in the region tournament.
 
Luverne 14, Hadley 3
Behind a strong pitching performance from Isaiah Bartels, the Redbirds dominated the visiting Buttermakers 14-3.
Bartels pitched a complete game, scattering four hits and recorded 11 strikeouts.
He also tormented the Buttermakers at the plate, collecting four hits.
Ben Serie also recorded four hits for the Redbirds.
Greg Nath recorded three hits, including two doubles.
As a team, the Redbirds recorded 17 hits.
The Redbirds scored nine runs in the first three innings to jump out to an early 9-0 lead.
Hadley scored two runs in the third to trim Luverne’s lead to 9-2.
The Buttermakers added one more run in the fifth to make it a 9-3 ballgame.
In the ninth inning, the Redbirds scored five runs to make the final score 14-3.
 
Luverne 1 4 4 0 0 0 0 0 5 14
Hadley 0 0 2 0 1 0 0 0 0 3
 
Hitting: S. Wenninger 2-5; Serie 4-4; Johnson 1-2; Paquette 1-5; Zeutenhorst 1-4; Lundgren 1-5; Haugen 1-5; Bartels 4-5; Nath 3-5
Doubles: Nath 2
 
Irish 2, Luverne 1
It was a pitchers’ duel at Irish Field on Wednesday, July 14, between the Redbirds and the Irish. The Irish ultimately came out on top after 10 innings 2-1.
Jake Haugen channeled his inner Jack Morris and pitched 10 innings and recorded 10 strikeouts, while giving up six hits and two earned runs.
The Redbirds struggled to come up with a timely hit all night, as they left a small village on the basepaths. The Redbirds stranded 14 baserunners in a one-run game.
The Redbirds struck first, with one run in the top of the second inning to claim an early 1-0 lead. The run came off a solo home run from Skyler Wenninger.
Milroy scored the tying run in the bottom of the sixth.
The Irish walked it off in the bottom of the 10th to claim a 2-1 victory over the Redbirds.
Skyler Wenninger and Nath both recorded three hits for the Redbirds.
 
Luverne 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
Milroy 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 2
 
Hitting: Lundgren 1-4; Johnson 2-5; S. Wenninger 3-4; Zeutenhorst 1-5; Serie 1-5; C. Wenninger 1-5; Nath 3-3
Home runs: S. Wenninger