Luverne's Jared Pick follows the flight of the ball after making contact at the plate during Saturday's VFW Southern Division Playoff game against Slayton in Pipestone. Pick had two hits during a 10-0 win that day, but Luverne's 14-18 season ended Sunday with a loss to Marshall Orange.
By John Rittenhouse
The Luverne VFW baseball team bowed out of the District 3 Southern Division Playoffs after dropping two games in a three-day span.
After beating Edgerton in the first round July 15, the Cardinals moved on to face Worthington Thursday in Worthington. The young Trojans sent Luverne to the loser's bracket with a 10-run win.
Luverne then beat Slayton by 10 runs in Pipestone Saturday before returning to the same venue to take on Marshall Orange Sunday. Marshall, which ended up placing second in the tournament, topped the Cardinals by three runs.
Luverne ends the season with a 14-18 record.
MO 10, Luverne 7
A seven-run offensive effort wasn't enough to keep LuverneÕs season alive in Pipestone Sunday.
The fourth-seeded Cardinals battled No. 3 Marshall to a draw at four over the first two innings of play, but Orange outscored Luverne 6-3 the rest of the way to win the elimination game.
Marshall scored six unanswered runs between the third and sixth innings to open a 10-4 cushion.
Luverne received RBI singles from Brad Herman and Taylor Graphenteen and a sacrifice fly from Zach Wysong during a three-run rally in the top of the seventh, but their season ended when Orange recorded the final out of the frame.
Both teams scored three runs in the first inning and one in the second.
A two-run double by Jordan Kopp and a run-scoring single by Rob Fodness gave the Cards a 3-0 cushion in the top of the first.
Wyatt Cote singled and scored on a single by Fodness to give the Cards their last lead of the season (4-3) in the second.
Wysong started the game on the mound and took the loss. Fodness pitched in relief.
Box score AB R H BI
Pick 3 2 1 0
Fodness 4 2 3 2
Wysong 3 1 1 1
Kopp 3 1 3 2
Boen 4 0 1 0
Herman 4 0 1 1
Graphenteen 4 0 1 1
Cote 4 1 1 0
Bruynes 3 0 0 0
Luverne 10, Slayton 0
A nine-run eruption in the bottom of the fifth inning led the Cardinals to a 10-run win over Slayton in Pipestone Saturday.
Luverne led 1-0 after plating a run in the bottom of the second inning. The score remained 1-0 until the fifth, when the Cards scored nine times to win by the 10-run rule.
Graphenteen, who fanned six batters and allowed three hits while tossing a five-inning shutout, came up with the biggest hit in the fifth when he singled home a pair of runs.
Wysong, Jared Pick and Kopp all singled home counters during the rally, which was fueled by a number of walks and errors provided by sixth-seeded Slayton.
Tim Boen doubled and scored Luverne's second-inning run after a Slayton error.
Box score AB R H BI
Pick 4 1 2 1
Fodness 3 1 1 0
Wysong 4 1 1 1
Kopp 4 1 2 1
Boen 2 2 1 0
Herman 1 1 0 0
Bruynes 2 1 0 0
Graphenteen 3 1 1 2
Cote 2 1 0 0
Worthington 13,
Luverne 3
The Cardinals slipped into the loser's bracket of the double-elimination tournament with a 10-run loss in Worthington Thursday.
No. 1 seeded Worthington scored at least one run in the first four innings of play and ended up winning the game by the 10-run rule after Luverne batted in the top of the fifth inning.
Worthington got off to a good start by plating five runs in the first inning and one in the second to gain a 6-0 cushion.
Luverne scored twice in the top of the third to trail by four, but Worthington answered with six runs in the bottom of the third and one in the fourth to open a 13-2 cushion.
Graphenteen walked, Jared Pick singled and Wysong belted a two-run double to account for Luverne's two runs in the third.
Dustin Richters reached base on an error and advanced to third when a ball hit by Wysong was booted by Worthington's right fielder in the top of the fifth. Kopp then singled home Richters to make it a 13-3 game, but the game ended after the Cards couldnÕt produce any more runs by inning's end.
Fodness started the game on the mound for Luverne and was saddled with the loss. J.T. Bruynes pitched in relief.
Box score AB R H BI
Pick 2 1 1 0
Richters 1 1 0 0
Fodness 2 0 1 0
Cote 1 0 0 0
Wysong 3 0 1 2
Kopp 2 0 1 1
Boen 3 0 1 0
Deragisch 3 0 0 0
Herman 2 0 0 0
Graphenteen 1 1 0 0
Bruynes 2 0 0 0