Luverne Legion third baseman Aaron Schmidt scoops up a low throw from home plate while a Pipestone runner slides safely into third base during Tuesday’s baseball double-header at Redbird Field. Schmidt drove in three runs at the plate to help the Cardinals sweep the twin bill.
By John Rittenhouse
The Luverne American Legion baseball team picked up its first wins of the summer when the Cardinals swept a twin bill against Pipestone at Redbird Field Tuesday.
The Cardinals nipped Pipestone by one run in the opener before posting a two-run win in the finale.
Luverne, 2-6 overall, will play four games at the Jackson Tournament Saturday and Sunday.
Luverne 8, Pipestone 7
The Cardinals snapped a six-game losing streak with their one-run victory over Pipestone to open Tuesday's set.
Pipestone took a 7-4 lead by scoring four runs in the top of the fourth inning, but the Cardinals countered with four in the bottom half of the frame and blanked the visitors in the top of the fifth to secure their first win.
Luke Iveland drove in Luverne's first run in the fourth with a single before Jake Studer tied the game at seven with a two-run triple. Aaron Schmidt capped a three-RBI game with a single that chased home Studer with the game-deciding run.
Schmidt doubled home a pair of runs to give Luverne a 2-0 lead in the first inning, and the score was 3-1 when Tom Frey slapped an RBI single in the second.
Pipestone rallied to knot the score at three in the top of the third before Iveland drilled a homer over the left-field fence in the bottom of the frame to make it a 4-3 game.
Eric Edstrom pitched two and two-third innings of relief to pick up the win. Studer worked the first three innings, while Ryan Goebel pitched one-third of one inning.
Box score AB R H BI
Frey 4 1 2 1
Jo.Pick 2 1 0 0
Iveland 4 3 3 2
Studer 2 2 1 2
Schmidt 2 0 2 3
Kurtz 1 0 0 0
Sandbulte 2 0 0 0
Reisch 3 1 0 0
Goembel 1 0 0 0
Edstrom 2 0 0 0
Jr.Pick 1 0 0 0
Goebel 1 0 0 0
Luverne 10, Pipestone 8
The Cardinals erased a seven-run deficit to complete their sweep of Pipestone in Game 2.
Trailing 8-1 after two and one-half innings of play, Luverne exploded to score nine runs in the bottom of the third to take a 10-8 lead it never relinquished.
A three-run double by Studer and a two-run single by Frey proved to be the key hits in the third. Joey Pick singled home a run, Edstrom drew a bases-loaded walk to force home another, and Tony Sandbulte contributed a sacrifice fly to the rally. Another Luverne run scored on an error.
Frey, who started the game on the mound and pitched two innings, tripled and scored Luverne’s first run in the bottom of the first when Iveland came up with a sacrifice fly.
Sandbulte relieved Frey in the third inning and pitched three innings of shutout ball to pick up the win.
Box score AB R H BI
Frey 2 3 2 2
Iveland 1 1 1 1
Sandbulte 0 1 0 1
Edstrom 1 1 0 1
Studer 3 1 2 3
Pick 2 1 1 1
Schmidt 2 0 0 0
Goembel 1 0 0 0
Goebel 0 1 0 0
DeWispelaere 1 0 0 0
Kurtz 1 1 0 0