Redbirds to face Eagle Lake Expos at state townball tournament

The Luverne Redbirds will open the 2021 Class C Minnesota State Amateur Baseball Tournament at 7:30 p.m. Saturday in Chaska.
The Redbirds, 25-5 on the season, will face the Eagle Lake Expos in the second round of the tournament.
Luverne earned a first-round bye after winning the Region 13C tournament.
The No. 1-seeded Redbirds swept the Adrian A’s, Hadley Buttermakers and Milroy Irish by a combined score of 55-8 during the region playoffs.
The Windom Pirates and Milroy Irish also represented Region 13C in the state tournament, with both teams playing in the first round of the 48-team tournament.
The Pirates lost to the Sobieski Skis 2-0 Saturday while the Irish came up short 4-0 to Maple Lake Sunday.
Eagle Lake, 8-11 on the season, reached the state tournament by defeating the Waterville Indians 1-0 in ten innings during the Region 6C semifinal.
In the region championship game, the No. 12-seeded Expos lost 7-0 to the top-seeded Jordan Brewers.
The Eagle Lake team began in 2018 and is playing in its first state amateur baseball tournament.
At the state tournament, Eagle Lake defeated the Cannon Falls Bears 2-1 during Round 1 Sunday in Chaska.
In that game, the score was tied 1-1 when the Expos’ Luke Johnson hit a two-out RBI single in the eighth inning.
When the Expos held the Bears scoreless in the ninth inning, Eagle Lake won 2-1 and advanced to face Luverne in the  second round Saturday.
“They look young and athletic,” said Luverne player-manager Brooks Maurer about the Expos.
According to a report from KEYC-TV in Mankato, seven of the Expos’ nine starters are 20 years old or younger.
“From what I’ve heard, it’s mostly young guys from Mankato,” Maurer said.
“Once you get to this second weekend, you have to play your best baseball to beat any team you play,” he said.
The winner of the Redbirds-Expos game will advance to play the Watertown Red Devils or the Avon Lakers at 1:30 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 4, in Waconia.
Teams that advance to play Labor Day weekend need to win once Saturday, twice Sunday and once Monday to win the championship in the single-elimination Class C State Tournament.
“It will be a fun weekend and hopefully we make it to Labor Day weekend,” Maurer said.