By John RittenhouseThe Luverne baseball team let an opportunity to climb into the Southwest Conference title chase slip away at Redbird Field in Luverne Tuesday.The Cardinals played SWC unbeaten Pipestone in a key clash, and an LHS win would have placed them one game behind the Arrows in the standings. Pipestone, however, opened a three-game lead over the Cards with a four-run victory.Luverne won a six-run, 11-inning game in Worthington Saturday.The 8-3 Cardinals will play a SWC doubleheader in Jackson May 6.Pipestone 7, Luverne 3The Arrows ran their conference record to 6-0 with a four-run victory over the Cardinals in Luverne Tuesday.Pipestone plated six runs in the top half of the third inning and fought off a late rally by Luverne to win the game handily.The loss severely hurts Luverne’s chances to win the SWC title as it slipped to 4-3 in league play.After scoring six times in the third, Pipestone increased its lead to 7-0 after plating a run in the fifth.Luverne scored two runs in the sixth inning and added a single run in the seventh, but it wasn’t enough to catch the Arrows.Luverne loaded the bases in the sixth when Adam Kurtz was hit by a pitch in between walks drawn by John Tofteland and Mark Remme.Brad Pick was hit by a pitch to force home Tofteland. Zach Wysong singled home Kurtz to make it a 7-2 game.Adam Reisch singled and scored when Scott Pick reached base on an error in the seventh inning.Kurtz tossed the first four and two-thirds innings and took the loss. He fanned seven batters, allowed 10 hits and seven runs (six were earned). J.T. Bruynes pitched two and one-third innings of scoreless, four-hit relief.Box score AB R H BIGraphenteen 2 0 0 0Tofteland 1 1 1 0J.Pick 3 0 0 0S.Pick 1 0 0 0Kurtz 3 1 0 0Remme 3 0 0 0Fodness 2 0 0 0B.Pick 0 0 0 1Wysong 2 0 1 1Boen 2 0 0 0Richters 1 0 0 0Reisch 3 1 1 0Herman 2 0 0 0Siebenahler 1 0 0 0Luverne 16,Worthington 10The Cardinals plated six runs in the top of the 11th inning to win a wild game against the Trojans Saturday morning in Worthington.Luverne scratched out single runs in the sixth and seventh innings to knot the score at 10, and won it with a six-run eruption in the 11th.The Cards trailed 10-8 after WHS scored four runs in the bottom of the fifth. The hosts, however, were blanked during the final six innings of play.Luverne’s Mark Remme reached base on an error and scored on an error in the sixth to make it 10-9. Taylor Graphenteen reached base on an error and scored the tying run when he dashed home when Worthington tried to throw out a stealing Remme at second base in the seventh.Brad Herman doubled to start the 11th inning and scored the go-ahead run when Graphenteen reached base on a throwing error by the WHS pitcher.Graphenteen scored the second run of the frame on Jared Pick’s sacrifice fly, and the Cards proceeded to load the bases with Remme reaching base on an error, Rob Fodness slapping a single and Wysong drawing a walk.Boen singled home Remme before Reisch clubbed a three-run double to give the Cardinals a six-run lead.Graphenteen gave the Cards a 1-0 lead in the top of the first when he walked and scored on a fielder’s choice by Fodness, but the Trojans scored three runs in the second to move in front 3-1.Luverne answered the challenge by scoring three runs in the third to move in front 4-3 before WHS plated a pair of runs in the bottom of the frame to regain the lead at 5-4.The Cards loaded the bases with two walks and one error in the third. Wysong, who led LHS with four hits in the game, delivered a three-run double to give LHS a short-lived 5-4 edge.Reisch and Herman reached base on errors in the top of the fourth before Pick slapped a two-run double to give the Cards a 6-5 edge, but Worthington countered with a run in the bottom of the inning to knot the score at six.Luverne scored two runs in the top of the fifth before Worthington scored its four runs in the bottom of the inning to open a 10-8 lead.Wysong and Boen singled before Herman slapped a two-run single to account for Luverne’s fifth-inning runs.Wysong pitched seven innings of two-run relief to pick up the win. He allowed seven hits, one walk and fanned six batters.Herman started the game on the mound and surrendered five runs, four hits and four walks in two and one-third innings. Bruynes tossed the next inning and two-thirds, allowing three runs, three hits and two walks.Box score AB R H BIGraphenteen 4 4 0 0Pick 3 0 1 3Kurtz 2 2 1 0Cote 4 0 0 0Remme 4 3 0 0Fodness 6 1 2 1Wysong 6 2 4 3Boen 5 2 2 1Reisch 6 1 1 3Herman 6 2 2 2
