By John RittenhouseThe Luverne VFW baseball team slipped to 3-4 in league play after dropping two of three games against District competition.Marshall Orange beat the Cardinals by 10 runs in Luverne Thursday before turning around and nipping Luverne by one run in Marshall Tuesday.Luverne posted a nine-run victory in Slayton Monday.The 8-12 Cards host Edgerton tonight before playing two games in Pipestone Monday.MO 5, Luverne 4A late rally by Luverne came up one run short during Tuesday’s game in Marshall.Luverne, which trailed 5-3 after MO scored four runs in the bottom of the first and one in the second, put together a threat that produced one run in the top of the seventh. The Cards, however, couldn’t push the tying run across the plate.Taylor Graphenteen singled, stole second and advanced to third on a wild pitch to get things rolling in the seventh. After Derek Johnson drew a walk, Jared Pick lifted a sacrifice fly that scored Graphenteen and moved Johnson to second base. Johnson was stranded at second base when the final two Luverne batters struck out.Luverne scored the game’s first three runs in the top of the first. Pick doubled home a pair of counters and Wyatt Cote added an RBI single.Kelsey Petersen pitched all six innings and took the loss. He yielded five hits and three walks.Box score AB R H BIGraphenteen 3 2 3 0Johnson 3 1 1 0Pick 3 1 1 3Cote 4 0 1 1Nath 4 0 0 0Petersen 4 0 0 0Oeding 2 0 0 0Ward 3 0 0 0Lundgren 2 0 0 0Luverne 9, Slayton 0A solid pitching performance by Graphenteen led the Cardinals to a nine-run league win in Slayton Monday.Graphenteen, who led Luverne with two RBIs, was more impressive as a pitcher. Graphenteen tossed a seven-inning shutout, limiting Slayton to two hits and one walk while recording five strikeouts.Luverne supported its pitcher by scoring runs in four of the game’s seven innings.The Cards took a 3-0 lead in the top of the first with RBI singles from John Tofteland and Cote and a run-scoring single by Pick.Johnson singled and scored on a ground out by Graphenteen to make it 4-0 in the fourth.The Cards put together a four-run fifth inning highlighted by an RBI single from Graphenteen. Tom Ward received an RBI for a safety squeeze. One run scored on a throwing error and another with a balk by the Slayton pitcher.Luverne capped the scoring in the seventh when Dustin Richters singled and trotted home on a throwing error later in the frame.Box score AB R H BIGraphenteen 3 1 1 2Tofteland 5 1 1 1Pick 4 2 2 1Cote 4 1 2 1Nath 1 0 0 0Ward 0 0 0 1Johnson 3 2 1 0Petersen 3 0 1 0Oeding 1 0 0 0Lundgren 2 1 1 0Richters 3 1 2 0M0 14, Luverne 4The Cardinals dropped their second consecutive league game when Marshall Orange drubbed them by 10 runs in Luverne Thursday.Marshall scored at least one run in all five innings of a game that ended due to the 10-run rule.Orange led 14-0 after scoring one run in the first and fourth innings, seven in the second, two in the third and three in the fifth.Luverne made a bid to extend the game during the bottom of the fifth by scoring four times, but the rally fell one counter short.Ben Nath singled and Tofteland walked to ignite Luverne’s uprising in the fifth.Pick, Petersen, Brett Lundgren and Richters singled home one-run each.Johnson started the game on the mound and took the loss. Lundgren and Nath pitched in relief.Box score AB R H BINath 3 1 2 0Tofteland 1 0 0 0Pick 3 1 1 1Cote 2 1 0 0Petersen 2 1 2 1Bolen 1 0 1 0Deutsch 2 0 0 0Lundgren 3 0 1 1Johnson 1 0 0 0Richters 1 0 1 1Ward 1 0 0 0Oeding 2 0 0 0
