Redbirds to open tourney vs. Mora Blue Devils Saturday

The Luverne Redbirds will make their second consecutive and 12th overall appearance at the Minnesota State Amateur Baseball tournament this weekend.
Luverne, which placed third in Region 13C, will open the 48-team single-elimination state tournament Saturday against the Mora Blue Devils at 11 a.m. in Springfield.
The Blue Devils enter their fourth-consecutive state tournament with a 14-5 overall record and a 6-0 record in the Eastern Minny League North.
Mora was the No. 2 seed in Region 1C. They lost to the Isanti Redbirds 13-2 in the region championship game.
The Redbirds are 17-4 overall and had a 7-1 record in the Gopher League.  
“We know Mora is a quality team,” said Luverne player-manager Brooks Maurer. “When you make it to state, every team will be tough.”
The winner of the Luverne-Mora game will advance to play Young America, the No. 1 seed from Region 7C that received a bye in the first round of the tournament.
That game will be played at 2 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 30, in Springfield.
Teams still alive in the tournament will then play four games over Labor Day weekend, Sept. 5-7, in Springfield and Milroy.
The state championship game is scheduled for 1 p.m. on Labor Day in Springfield.
The Fairmont Martins and the Hadley Buttermakers are the other teams representing Region 13C at the state tournament.
Hadley plays Randall on Aug. 21 in Milroy in the first round.
Fairmont, which received a first-round bye as the champions of Region 13, will face either Cannon Falls or Waconia on Aug. 28.
By qualifying for the state tournament, Luverne was able to draft two additional pitchers.
The Redbirds drafted Kobe Lovell of the Windom Pirates and Tyler Peterson of the Milroy Irish for the state tournament in addition to Brandan Alfson of Pipestone who was drafted earlier for the Region 13C tournament.
 
13C Tournament Results
Aug. 12-15
 
Championship Series
1. Fairmont vs. 6. Hadley
Fairmont 12, Hadley 0 (7 inn)
Fairmont 17, Hadley 0 (8 inn)
 
Third-Place Series
2. Luverne vs. 4. Milroy Irish
Luverne 6, Milroy 1
Luverne 12, Milroy 3
 
 
State Amateur Tournament
Region 13C Schedule
 
Aug. 21 7:30 p.m. in Milroy
Hadley vs. Randall
 
Aug. 22 11:00 a.m. in SpringfieldLuverne vs. Mora
 
Aug. 28 7:30 p.m. in Milroy
Fairmont vs. Cannon Falls/Waconia winner