Redbirds drop heartbreaker to Young America

Four outs. That’s what stood between the Luverne Redbirds and advancing to the next round of the Minnesota State Amateur Baseball Tournament.
The Redbirds were leading the Young America Cardinals 4-3 in the bottom of the eighth inning, with two outs and runners on first and second. At that point it appeared Luverne players would advance to the next round to keep their season alive. The Cardinals had other plans.
Isaac Horman, the leadoff man for the Cardinals, came to the plate with two outs and a chance to be a hero, and he delivered. Horman drove the ball into the right center field gap to bring in a pair of runs to give the Cardinals a 5-4 lead.
In the top of the ninth the Redbirds were unable to mount a rally, as they were set down in order by relief pitcher Christian Johnson. The Redbirds had no answer for Johnson, who struck out seven straight batters to finish the game.
“We finish the year with an 18-5 record,” Redbirds manager Brooks Maurer said. “Which I think is very good, considering the competition we played and the shortened season due to covid. It’s always tough to have the season end, but we played really well today against a talented Young America team.”
In the top of the first inning the Redbirds scratched across a run but missed an opportunity for a big first inning.
Logan Norman started the rally for the Redbirds with a one-out single. Phil Paquette was then hit by a pitch. Skyler Wenninger followed that with a single to load the bases with just one out.
The next batter, Declan Beers, reached base on an error to bring home the first run of the ball game. The next two batters grounded out and struck out to end the inning with the bases loaded.
In the bottom half of the inning the Cardinals drove in a pair of runs to take a 2-1 lead. The Cardinals appeared to have another rally started in the bottom half of the second inning when the leadoff hitter opened the frame with a single. Luverne’s catcher, Beers, gunned down the baserunner trying to steal second.
The Redbirds played ABC baseball in the top of the fifth inning. With his team trailing 2-1, Derek Lundgren drew a walk to start the inning. The next batter laid down a sacrifice bunt to move Lundgren into scoring position. Paquette followed the sacrifice bunt with a single to put runners on the corners with just one out.
With runners on the corners, Luverne’s cleanup hitter, Skyler Wenniger, tied the game with an RBI single. The Redbirds added another run in the inning, thanks to a Cardinals error.
Brandan Alfson, Luverne’s starting pitcher, set down the Cardinals in order in the bottom of the sixth inning. Alfson recorded back-to-back strikeouts to end the inning.
The Redbirds added another run in the top of the seventh inning to take a 4-2 lead, courtesy of another RBI from Wenniger. The Cardinals were able to get that run back in the bottom half of the inning off a sacrifice fly to trim the lead to 4-3.
The Redbirds were set down in order in the top of the eighth inning. Johnson, the hard-throwing relief pitcher for the Cardinals, struck out the side. In the bottom half of the inning, the Cardinals scored a pair of runs to take the late 5-4 lead.
With the loss the Redbirds finished the season with an 18-5 record. It was their 12th overall appearance at the state tournament and their fifth appearance since 2013.
 
Box Score
Luverne             1 0 0 0 2 0 1 0 0
Young America 2 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 x
 
                                  AB  R  H  RBI
Lundgren                   2     2   0   0
Norman                     2     1   0   0
Paquette                    3     1   0   0
S. Wenninger            3     0   3   2
Beers                        4     0   0   2
Serie                         4     0   0   0
Reisdorfer                 4     0   1   0
Zeutenhorst              4     0   0   0
Nath                           4     0   0   0
REDBIRDS BASEBALL 2020
 
June 4      at Brandon Valley     4-3   W
June 13    at Castlewood           9-5   W
June 13    at Castlewood           9-0   W
June 17    Tracy Engineers     12-1   WJune 24    Ruthton Royals       10-0   W
June 26    Jackson Bulls         12-2    L
June 28    Tracy Engineers     12-0   W
July 1       at Milroy Irish            7-6   W
July 5       at Adrian                  13-2   W
July 8       Renner Bullets          8-2   W
July 9       at Renner               20-16   W
July 12     at Hadley                 10-0   W
July 17     SF Brewers               6-2    L
July 19     Pipestone                15-8   W
July 29     Adrian                      15-1   W
July 31     Adrian                        9-5   W
Aug 5       Hadley                        4-3    L
Aug 8       at Hadley                    8-2   W
Aug 9       Hadley                        6-0    L
Aug 12     Milroy Irish                 6-1   W
Aug 14     at Milroy Irish           12-3  W
Aug 22     *Mora                          5-3   W
Aug 30    *Young America         5-4   L
*State Tournament in Springfield