For the third consecutive season and 13th time overall, the Luverne Redbirds will participate in the Minnesota State Amateur Baseball Tournament.
Luverne qualified by sweeping the Hadley Buttermakers in the best-of-three Region 13C semifinal series.
The Redbirds held Hadley scoreless during a 7-0 victory in Luverne Wednesday, Aug. 4, and a 14-0, seven-inning blowout in Hadley Saturday afternoon.
Three teams from Region 13C will play in the 2021 Class C tournament in Waconia, Chaska and Hamburg over three weekends Aug. 20-22, Aug. 27-29 and Sept. 3-6.
By winning their semifinal series, the Luverne Redbirds and Milroy Irish each punched their tickets to the state tournament and will meet in the Region 13C championship series this week (see related story).
The winner of the series earns a first-round bye in the state tournament.
The Redbirds, now 23-5 on the season and the overall No. 1 tournament seed, have benefited from outstanding pitching during the playoffs.
Luverne has given up no runs during the playoffs while scoring 43 runs in four games.
“Our pitching has been great all year, especially over the last four playoff games,” Redbird Skyler Wenninger said.
The Redbirds open the championship series at Redbird Field Aug. 11 at 7:30 p.m. and will play at Irish Yard in rural Milroy Friday night. Game 3, if necessary, will be in Luverne Sunday at 2 p.m.
Luverne 7, Hadley 0
Jake Haugen continued his dominant performance on the pitching mound during a 7-0 victory over the Hadley Buttermakers Aug. 4 at Redbird Field.
Haugen pitched a complete shut-out game. He struck out 12 Hadley batters and gave up no runs and two hits.
“We’re always confident when Jake’s on the mound,” said Luverne player-manager Brooks Maurer. “He’s been pretty much lights out for us all summer.”
The Redbirds, playing in front of a large crowd evenly split between Luverne and Hadley fans, scored their first run in the bottom of the first inning after Derek Lundgren doubled to open the game for Luverne.
Lundgren had two hits and scored twice for the Redbirds. Logan Norman also scored two runs.
Skyler Wenninger had two hits and two RBIs in the game while Phil Paquette tallied three RBIs.
Gaige Nath hit a lead-off triple in the bottom of the eighth inning.
With the win, Luverne took a 1-0 lead in the best-of-three semifinal series.
Box Score
Hadley 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Luverne 1 2 0 1 0 0 2 1 x 7
AB R H BI
Lundgren 4 2 2 0
Nath 5 1 1 0
Paquette 4 0 1 3
S Wenninger 5 0 2 2
Zeutenhorst 4 1 1 0
Serie 4 0 1 0
Haugen 4 0 1 0
Norman 3 2 0 0
Meyer 3 1 1 2
Luverne 14, Hadley 0
The Redbirds earned a trip to the state tournament and to the Region 13C championship series when they defeated Hadley 14-0 in seven innings Saturday afternoon in Hadley.
Luverne jumped on the scoreboard quickly by scoring two runs in the top of the first inning with the help of an RBI double by Skyler Wenninger.
A grand slam in the top of the next inning by Wenninger gave the Redbirds a 6-0 lead after two innings.
“I just got a good pitch to hit with the bases loaded,” Wenninger said of his grand slam.
“In the playoffs we will take runs any way they come and I was lucky enough to be the guy up in that situation,” he said.
After a scoreless third inning, Luverne broke the game wide open by plating eight runs in the top of the fourth inning.
The visitors had seven batters reach base before Hadley recorded its first out of the inning.
Paquette opened the inning by reaching base after being hit by a pitch. Skyler Wenninger followed with a single before Ben Serie hit an RBI single to score Paquette.
Haugen then singled to load the bases, and Skyler Wenninger scored when Tyler Reisdorfer hit an RBI single of his own that again loaded the bases.
A walk to Cade Wenninger scored another Luverne run (Serie) before Kendall Meyer singled to score Haugen.
A sacrifice fly to center field by Lundgren scored Reisdorfer and finally got Hadley their first out of the inning.
Norman then earned a walk to again load the bases before Paquette, batting for the second time in the inning, belted a 2-RBI single to bring in Cade Wenninger and Meyer.
Next, a sacrifice ground out by Skyler Wenninger scored Norman. Serie was then hit by a pitch. When Haugen’s pop fly was caught in center field, the inning was finally over.
When neither team scored any runs in the next three innings, the game ended 14-0 after seven innings because of the ten-run rule.
Offensively, the Redbirds were led by Skyler Wenninger who totaled three hits, two runs and six RBIs in the contest.
Serie had two hits and two RBIs while Paquette scored three runs and added two RBIs.
Cade Wenninger and Norman each plated two runs for Luverne as well.
Isaiah Bartels was the winning pitcher. He spent four innings on the mound, striking out two batters and giving up two hits, one walk and no runs.
Brandon Alfson, whom the Redbirds drafted from the Pipestone A’s for the playoffs, pitched the final three innings.
Alfson struck out five and gave up no runs, one hit and no walks.
Box Score
Luverne 2 4 0 8 0 0 0 14
Hadley 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
AB R H BI
Lundgren 3 1 0 1
Norman 3 2 0 0
Paquette 2 3 1 2
S Wenninger 5 2 3 6
Serie 3 1 2 2
Haugen 4 1 1 0
Reisdorfer 5 1 1 1
C Wenninger 2 2 1 1
Meyer 2 1 1 1