The Luverne boys’ tennis team conceded 7-0 to St. James at home May 2 and on the road against Redwood Valley 7-0 May 4.
Luverne’s active player numbers are down to only four varsity members.
“Frankly, the kids are getting tired of playing five against 10 each game,” head coach Nathan Rud said.  
“Having to forfeit all three doubles matches makes it hard to compete in a meet.”
Luverne is scheduled to travel to Pipestone Tuesday, May 9, host the Big South Conference Crossover Friday, May 12, and host Benson and Lac Qui Parle Valley Saturday, May 13.
 
S. James 7, LHS 0
On their home court, the Luverne Cardinals gave up four singles matches and forfeited three doubles matches to St. James Tuesday, May 2.
In singles matches, LHS senior Ethan Nath fell to Andrei Rivera 6-2, 6-0, senior Ross Bergman was defeated by Brennan Kern 6-0, 6-2, freshman Caleb Kracht was topped by Zech Ciske 6-0, 6-0, and sophomore Kaleb Hemme came up short against Rylan Meyer 6-2, 6-0.
Luverne forfeited three doubles matches due to lack of athletes.
“St. James clearly had the better singles players, and it showed in the results,” Rud said.
He said the St. James coach commented that he was particularly impressed with Ross Bergman’s improving play as a new player in the area.
 
Redwood Valley 7, LHS 0
The Cardinals traveled to Redwood Valley Thursday, May 4, losing 7-0.
LHS lost its four singles matches and had to forfeit the three doubles matches.
The singles match results were Andrew Muetzel over Ethan Nath (Luv) 6-4, 6-2; Cole Johnson (RV) over Ross Bergman 6-0, 6-0; Kanyon Hicks over Caleb Kracht (Luv) 4-1, 0-0 retired; Zach Lundeen over Kaleb Hemme 6-0, 6-0.
Austin Sandbulte played in an exhibition match, losing 6-2, 6-1.
“Against Redwood Valley our No. 1 singles player, Ethan Nath, played a strong match against the section’s second-best singles player,” Rud said.
“Ethan lost both games but had multiple deuces, and it easily could have gone the other way.”
He said Kracht was playing well in his first match when he suffered an ankle sprain and had to retire.  
“We are hopeful that it isn’t too serious and that he will be playing again soon,” Rud said.

The Luverne High School trap shooting team posted scores for Week 6 of the season at the Rock County Sportsman’s Club.
“I feel we are doing well this year,” head coach Scott Loosbrock said.
“The weather has been good, other than this week with the wind being a huge factor on the scores.”
Five shooters were able to break the 40s in their two rounds. They were Tyson Cowell, Alex DeWispelaere, Jacob Henning, Holden Overgaard and Piper Wynia.
“We have had the most 25s this year so far compared to any other year since I started,” Loosbrock said. “Great group of kids.”
 
Week 6 scoring
Round1   Round 2    Total
Cash Bonnett 17 13 30
Morgan Bonnett 14 13 27
Tyson Cowell 22 22 44
Alex DeWispelaere 22 23 45
Fox Forrest 17 8 25
Lucas Hansen 14 17 31
Jacob Henning 20 21 41
Samuel Honerman 18 20 38
Gavin Hoven 12 15 27
Andrew Kinsinger 13 18 31
Jacob Madison 21 15 36
Lucas Madison 18 17 34
Liam Murphy 14 19 33
Makayla Oechsle 18 15 33
Austin Ossefoort 15 18 33
Holden Overgaard 18 22 40
David Rathman 13 17 30
Jaden Reisch 19 14 33
JT Remme 16 19 35
Rayann Remme 13 13 26
Tucker Remme 17 14 31
Sawyer Sasker 20 16 36
Cameron Wieneke 15 17 32
Grant Wieneke 16 14 30
Piper Wynia 22 22 44
 
 
Boys’ Border Battle Trap Shooting Event
LHS boys’ trap shooters competed in a Border Battle event in Garretson, South Dakota, Thursday, May 4, hosted by Whitetail Farms.
The Luverne varsity team took first place out of five teams.
Teams competing were Hills-Beaver Creek, Garretson, Edgerton, Southwest Christian, and Luverne. 
JT Remme was the only varsity level shooter to get a perfect score of 25 in a round in the event.
The varsity team consisted of JT Remme, David Rathman, Holden Overgaard, Alex DeWispelaere and Tyson Cowell.

The Hills-Beaver Creek High School trap shooting team posted scores for Week 3.
H-BC had seven shooters make a combined score over 40 this week. They were Cameron Allen 41, Brekken Boen 41, Sawyer Bosch 44, Luke Fuerstenberg 43, Cooper Gehrke 43, Lukas Hubbard 40 and Blake Leenderts 40.
 
Week 3 scoring
Round1   Round 2    Total
Cameron Allen 20 21 41
Garrett Blank 16 11 27
Brekken Boen 22 19 41
Seyler Boen 5 8 13
Gunner Bork 18 19 37
Olivia Bork 9 13 22
Sawyer Bosch 19 25 44
Camdyn Broesder 16 22 38
Karis DeWire 6 7 13
Luke Fuerstenberg 21 22 43
Alexis Gardner Swenson 11 7 18
Cooper Gehrke 22 21 43
Alex Harris 19 18 37
Brooklynne Hubbard 12 11 23
Lukas Hubbard 20 20 40
Keaton Huisman 12 17 29
Clayton Kellenberger 18 21 39
Jayden Kueter 8 6 14
Blake Leenderts 19 21 40
Hunter Leenderts 17 15 32
Karson Metzger 12 6 18
Maddox Metzger 16 22 38
Cody Moser 13 15 28
Jack Moser 21 15 36
Max Sammons 12 10 22
John Tiesler 19 19 38
Gracyn Wegener 17 13 30
Cash Wilsey 10 15 25
Michael Ykema 13 14 27
 
 
Boys’ Border Battle Trap Shooting Event
The Hills-Beaver Creek boys’ trap shooters competed in a Border Battle event in Garretson, South Dakota, Thursday, May 4, put on by Whitetail Farms.
The H-BC varsity team took second place out of five teams.
Teams competing were Hills-Beaver Creek, Garretson, Edgerton, Southwest Christian, and Luverne. 
H-BC’s Alex Harris placed first overall with a combined high score of 47.
 
Border Battle scores
Round 1    Round 2    Total
16 yards   18 yards
Alex Harris 23 24 47
Maxxod Metzger 21 20 41
Luke Fuerstenberg 21 23 44
Hunter Leenderts 20 17 37
Clayton Kellenberger 20 18 38

The Luverne Redbirds started their 2023 season with an exhibition game against the Sioux Falls Canaries Saturday, May 6, at Redbird Field.
The Redbirds opened their regular season at home spanking Mountain Lake 25-1 Sunday, May 7.
The Redbirds’ next game is Sunday, May 14, at Heron Lake, followed by a home game against Jackson Wednesday, May 17.
 
Canaries 5, Redbirds 4
Luverne fell behind the Sioux Falls Canaries early, giving up four runs in the first three innings.
Luverne mustered four runs late in the game but couldn’t overtake Sioux Falls.
The Canaries helped out the Redbirds at the mound and catcher positions in the final inning when the Redbirds went through their bullpen.
 
Redbirds 25, Mt. Lake 1
Luverne Redbirds won their season opener 25-1 on the road at Mountain Lake Sunday, May 7.
Nick Smith got his first win for the Redbirds, pitching five innings, giving up no hits or runs while striking out seven Laker batters and no walks.
Luverne tallied 19 hits in the game with two long ball homers from Ben Serie and Smith.
Declan Beers, Serie and Smith had five runs in the game. 
Serie had seven RBIs in the game with Smith adding four and Beers one.
Cade Wenninger and Gaige Nath drove in four runs each in the Redbirds’ score fest.
Mark Sterrett, Phil Paquette, Joe Ahrens and Sehr contributed one run each.
 
BOX Score
MLake 0 0  0  0  0  0  1   1
RBirds 4 5 5 4 6  1  x  25
 
BATTING
Luverne AB R H RBI
Beers 3 5 3 1
Maurer 1 0 0 0
Smith 5 5 4 4
Wenninger 2 4 2 2
Sterrett 2 1 1 2
Serie 5 5 4 7
Paquette 3 1 1 1
Ahrens 2 1 1 1
Johnson 4 0 0 2
Lundgren 4 0 1 3
Sehr 4 1 1 1
Nath 3 4 1 0
2B: Serie 2, Smith 2
HR: Serie , Smith 
Total Bases: Serie 9, Smith 9, Beers 3, Wenninger 2, Paquette, Nath, Sterrett, Sehr, Lundgren, Ahrens
 
PITCHING
Luverne IP H R    ER   SO
Smith 5 0 0 0 7
Serie 1 0 0 0 2
Ahrens 1 3 1 1 2
Pitches-strikes: Smith 58-39, Serie 16-10, Ahrens 17-14
Batters faced: Smith 17, Serie 3, Ahrens 6

The Luverne and Hills-Beaver Creek golf teams played head-to-head at the Luverne Country Club Tuesday, May 4.
The LHS boys beat H-BC 165-222 in nine-hole play.
The Patriot girls’ team only had two players at the meet and lost to Luverne 209-118.
The lowest four scores from each team factor into the combined team score in the match.
 
Boys: LHS 165, H-BC 222
Cardinals Henry Hartquist and Brady Bork led the field, shooting 40 strokes each.
Owen Sudenga finished with a 42, Tyler Arends 43, Levi Gonnerman 49, and Will Bergman had a 53.
Micah Bush led the Patriots with a 52.
Brock Harnack shot a 55, Callum Bartels 57, Cameron Allen 58 a 64.
“We didn’t have our best meet, but it was a good experience for our kids,” LHS boys’ head coach John Sichmeller said.
 “All four of our top four scorers had one really bad hole, but I was happy with how they handled it and how they didn’t let that one bad hole ruin the rest of their round.”
As for the Patriots boys’ team, head coach Dan Ellingson felt his team did not shoot their best round Tuesday.
“With experience and our short game getting better, I feel the scores will continue to drop,” Ellingson said.
 
Girls: LHS 209, H-BC (2 players) 118
Abby Olson posted the low score for H-BC with a 54. Taylor Spykerboer shot a 64.
For the LHS girls, Lauren Hansen led the team with a 49.
Deziree Nath shot a round of 52, Kiesli Smith 53, Perceyis Trierweiler 55, Abigail Anderson 66 and Mallory Von Tersch finished with a 66.
“Abby Olson tied her personal best score and Taylor Spykerboer keeps improving every time out,” Ellingson said.
“All of the players have had some very productive practices. The attitudes have been very positive. Their willingness to learn and trying to get better have been great.”

The Luverne and Hills-Beaver Creek track and field teams traveled to Murray County Central in Slayton for the Minnesota True Team meet Monday, May 8.
The LHS boys’ and girls’ teams both were crowned champions this year and qualify for the state meet Saturday, May 20, in Stillwater. 
“We were very pleased with the kids’ performances last night and are excited for them to have the opportunity to compete for a state title,” LHS head coach Pete Janiszeski said.
“This is a meet that we mark on our calendars every year and work toward building the best team possible with as much depth as possible, and the kids’ hard work was on full display last night.” 
In 33 of the 36 events Luverne competed in, they won 11 event titles.
The girls’ 4-by-200-meter relay was first with a time of 1:53.32. Relay team members were Sarah Stegenga, Makena Nelson, Anna Banck and Bella Oye.
The boys’ 4-by-200-meter relay was first at 1:35.60. Relay team members were Gavin DeBeer, DJ Rock, Zach Terrio and Darius Dolo.
Elizabeth Wagner won the 400-meter dash at 1:01.16, and Lucky Dara won the boys’ 400-meter dash at 52.35. 
Reinha John was first with a 50.22 in the girls’ 300-meter hurdles.
Gavin DeBeer cleared 20-02.5 in the boys’ long jump, and Elizabeth Wagner cleared 5-02 in the girls’ high jump. 
DJ Rock was first in the pole vault 13-00, 
Jocelyn Hart won the girls’ shot put with a 39-06, and Elijah Woodley won the boys’ shot put with a 47-05.75. 
Jocelyn Hart was first with a 126-00 in the discus event.
“This is absolutely tremendous and a large reason why they earned section titles,” Janiszeski said.
H-BC had a good showing at the meet. 
“I was pleased with how both our guys and gals did last night,” H-BC head coach Rex Metzger said.
“We weren’t able to fill all our events, but the ones we were able to, we did well and had a lot of good performances.”
At the meet Brynn Bakken broke the H-BC school record in the triple jump by over a foot with 34-11.5. The previous record was held by Paige Leuthold at 33-10. 
Bakken also reset her 200-meter school record of 26.47 from last year with a new time of 26.19 this year.
Bakken was the only first-place finisher for H-BC at the True Team meet. She took first in the girls’ 100-meter with a time of 12.71.
 
Women - Team Rankings
18 Events Scored
1. Luverne 640
2. Canby/Minneota 541
3. SWMCH-EHS 496
4. Redwood Valley 450
5. Pipestone Area 404
6. Murray County Central 392
7. Hills-Beaver Creek 346
8.Windom Area 306
9. Lakeview 241
10. Tracy-Milroy-Balaton 198
11. Adrian/Ellsworth 159
 
Men - Team Rankings
21 Events Scored
1. Luverne 629
2. SWMCH-EHS 435
3. Pipestone Area 433
4. Redwood Valley 424
5. Windom Area 423
6. Canby/Minneota 409
7. Lakeview 341
8. Hills-Beaver Creek 322
9. Murray County Central 283
10. Tracy-Milroy-Balaton 272
11. Adrian/Ellsworth 221
 
LHS Section 3A True Team finishes 1989-2023
1989-A-2nd Girls
1992-A-6th Girls
2005-A-3rd Boys
2026-A-5th Boys
2007-A-3rd Girls
2008-A-Champion Girls
2009-A-2nd Girls
2010-A-Champion Girls
2011-A-3rd Girls, 9th Boys
2012-A-5th Girls, 6th Boys
2013-A-2nd Girls, 5th Boys
2014-A-Champion Girls, 3rd Boys
2015-A-3rd Girls, 7th Boys
2016-A-3rd Girls
2017-A-2nd Girls, 5th Boys
2018-2A Girls
2019-2A-8th Girls
2021-2A-12th Girls (virtual)
2022-2A-2nd  Girls, 4th Boys
2023-2A Champions Girls and Boys

The Luverne High School baseball team went 4-1 this past week, improving their season record to 9-3 overall.
The Cardinals beat Pipestone, breaking the Arrows 15-1 Tuesday, May 2. They took two games against Blue Earth 11-0 and 10-2 on the road Friday, May 5, and they split a doubleheader with St. James, losing 5-3 in Game 1 and winning 10-9 in Game 2 Monday, May 8.
The Cardinals were scheduled to host Jackson County Central Tuesday, May 9, and Redwood Valley Thursday, May 11.
 
LHS 15, Pipestone 1
The Luverne baseball team traveled to Pipestone and targeted the Arrows for a 15-1 win in five innings Tuesday, May 2.
Carter Sehr started on the mound for the Cardinals, pitching three innings, allowing four hits and one run while striking out four Pipestone batters.
Patrick Kroski came in the game to relieve Sehr in the fourth inning, holding the Arrows to no hits and no runs and two strike-outs.
LHS had 14 total hits in the game with Sehr and Conner Connell crossing the plate twice in the game.
Zach DeBoer drove in three RBIs, and Miller and Stroh knocked in two each.
 
BOX Score
LHS 5 2   3  5  0 x x  15
PHS 1 0 0 0 0 x x 1
 
Batting
Luverne AB R H RBI
Sehr 4 2 2 0
Sneller 3 1 1 1
Vortherms 2 0 0 0
Serie 2 2 1 0
Miller 2 1 1 2
Connell 1 2 1 1
Kroski 1 1 1 1
Stroh 1 1 1 2
Buss 1 0 1 0
DeBoer 4 1 2 3
Schlosser 4 1 1 1
Ahrendt 3 1 1 1
Left on base: 7 
2B: Sehr, Connell, Domagala, Stroh
TB: Schlosser, Buss, Sehr 3, Connell 2, Domagala 3, Kroski, Miller, Sneller, Stroh 2, Serie, DeBoer, Ahrendt
SB: Schlosser 3, Sehr, Ahrendt
 
Pitching
Luverne IP H R ER  SO
Sehr 3 4 1 1 4
Kroski 2 0 0 0 2
Win: Kroski 
Pitches-Strikes: Sehr 61-40, Kroski 39-21
 
Blue Earth doubleheader
The Luverne baseball team took two games from Blue Earth, 11-0 and 10-2, on the road Friday, May 5.
In Game 1, the Cardinals posted 11 hits in the game, four by Sehr and two by Miller.
Sehr led LHS with four RBIs, and Layke Miller led with three runs.
Blue Earth had just one hit in the game and left four runners on base.
Connell pitched five innings for Luverne. He allowed only one hit and struck out nine batters.
 
BOX Score Game 1
LHS   0  2  0  2  7  x  x  11
BLHS 0 0 0 0 0  x  x  0
 
Batting
Luverne AB R H RBI
Sehr 4 2 4 4
Sneller 2 1 1 2
Serie 3 0 1 0
Connell 4 1 1 1
Stroh 2 1 0 1
Domagala 4 1 1 0
DeBoer 2 2 1 0
Miller 3 3 2 2
Schlosser 2 0 0 0
Kroski 1 0 0 0
Left on base: 6 
2B: Miller, Sehr 3, Sneller
TB: Connell, Miller 2, Sehr 4, Sneller 2, Stroh
SB: Kroski, Sehr, Sneller
 
Pitching
Luverne IP H R ER  SO
Connell 5 1 0 0 9
Win: Connell
Pitches-Strikes: Connell 82-55
 
In Game 2, the Cardinals picked up where they left off in Game 1.
They fired up the offense with the two runs in the first inning and one in the third to take a 3-1 lead over Blue Earth.
LHS added two runs in the fifth and closed the game in the sixth with another five runs.
Elliot Domagala led LHS with a pair of hits, and he and Stroh posted two RBIs each. Riley Sneller, Connell and Will Serie each produced two runs for the Cardinals.
Jacob Stroh started on the mound for Luverne, pitching five innings, allowing three hits and two runs, and striking out three batters.
DeBoer came in to relieve Stroh and got the win, not allowing a hit or run while striking out five batters.
 
BOX Score Game 2
LHS   2  0 1  0  2 5 x  10
BLHS 0 1 0 0 1 0 0  2
 
Batting
Luverne AB R H RBI
Sehr 3 1 1 0
Sneller 4 2 1 1
Stroh 3 1 1 2
Connell 3 2 1 1
Serie 3 2 0 0
Domagala 4 0 2 2
Miller 3 0 0 0
DeBoer 2 0 0 0
Ahrendt 3 1 0 0
Vortherms 0 1 0 0
Left on base: 6 
2B: Domagala, Sehr
3B: Connell
TB: Connell 3, Domagala 3, Sehr 2, Sneller, Stroh
SB: Domagala
 
Pitching
Luverne IP H R ER  SO
Stroh 5 3 2 2 3
DeBoer 1 0 0 0 5
Win: DeBoer
Pitches-Strikes: Stroh 91-48, DeBoer 30-21
 
St. James doubleheader
The Cardinals split a doubleheader with St. James on the road Monday, May 8.
LHS lost the first game 5-3 on late scoring from the Saints. Luverne took the second game 10-9 on a seventh inning walk-off single by Layke Miller.
In Game 1 St. James pulled away in the sixth inning, scoring two runs to lead 5-2.
In the top of the seventh the Cardinals had a chance to stay in the game, but they scored only one run. The game ended 5-3 in the Saints’ favor.
Connell helped Luverne with a fly ball homerun to left field in the second inning. He led the team with two hits and five total bases in the game.
DeBoer started on the mound for Luverne, allowing three runs on eight hits over five innings, striking out six and walking one.
Kroski took the loss for Luverne, allowing no hits or runs over two-thirds innings.
 
BOX Score Game 1
LHS 0 1 1 0 0 0 1 3
St.J 2 0 0 0 1 2 x 5
 
Batting
Luverne AB R H RBI
Sehr 4 0 1 0
Sneller 3 1 1 0
Serie 4 0 1 1
Connell 4 1 2 1
Stroh 2 0 1 0
Domagala 2 0 0 0
DeBoer 3 0 1 0
Schlosser 3 0 0 0
Kroski 2 1 0 0
Miller 1 0 1 0
Left on base: 7 
2B: Serie, Sneller, Stroh
HR: Connell
TB: Connell 5, DeBoer, Miller, Sehr, Serie 2, Sneller 2, Stroh 2
 
Pitching
Luverne IP H R ER  SO
DeBoer 5 8 3 3 6
Ahrendt .1 1 2 2 1
Kroski .2 0 0 0 0
Pitches-Strikes: DeBoer 73-52, Ahrendt 17-8, Kroski 4-2
 
In Game 2 Luverne won in dramatic fashion with a 10-9 walk-off victory.
In the bottom of the seventh inning Miller singled on a 3-2 count, scoring Connell from third base.
LHS built up a six-point lead at the end of the second inning only to go dormant for the next four innings.
At the top of the seventh St. James was able to tie the game 9-9.
The Cardinals pulled off the win in the bottom of the seventh inning to take Game 2 from the Saints and split a doubleheader.
Sehr took the mound for LHS and went 4 2/3 innings, allowing four runs on six hits, striking out five and walking one.
Kai Buss came in to relieve Sehr and pitched 2 1/3 innings, allowing five runs with two strike-outs.
 
BOX Score Game 2
St.J 3 0 0 0 1 3 2 9
LHS 8 1 0 0 0 0 1  10
 
Batting
Luverne AB R H RBI
Sehr 2 1 0 0
Sneller 3 1 1 2
Stroh 3 1 0 0
Connell 3 2 1 1
Serie 3 1 1 1
Domagala 3 2 2 1
Miller 1 1 1 1
DeBoer 3 0 0 1
Ahrendt 2 1 0 0
Left on base: 2 
2B: Domagala, Sneller
TB: Connell, Domagala 3, Miller, Serie, Sneller 2
 
Pitching
Luverne IP H R ER  SO
Sehr 4.2 6 4 1 5
Buss 2.1 7 5 5 2
Pitches-Strikes: Sehr 73-47, Buss 42-26

Area farmers have been patient this spring as cool temperatures keep planters in the shed instead of in the fields.
Nathan Braun of Garretson was applying anhydrous ammonia to a field east of Luverne on April 26 and said he hopes to be planting in the same field this week.
“The calendar was saying it was time to go, but Mother Nature says it’s not ready,” Braun said.
On Monday soil temperatures at the 2-inch depth still registered in the 40s, about 20 degrees cooler than what’s ideal for young seeds to thrive.
“Last year some farmers realized they started planting too early and it cost them,” Braun said.
Some seed failed to thrive and either was replanted or yield was compromised at harvest.
Two weeks ago, with air temperatures climbing into the 80s and 90s, soil temperatures were reaching into the 50s-degree levels.
“The soil temperature was warming up nicely,” Braun said. “And then the next week it was cool again.”
He is hopeful this week will improve soil conditions and the recent windy conditions will dry fields to ideal levels.
“A few guys have worked up the ground and it’s dry on top but it is wet underneath — it’s not working up perfectly yet.”
According to Monday’s crop condition report, planting had just barely started.
Corn planting was 5 percent complete last week, up from 1 percent the previous week.
There was no planting report for soybeans.
The five-year planting average for this time of year is 23 percent for corn, with no report for soybean progress average.
Kent Thiesse, farm management analyst, urges continued patience.
“Most university and private agronomists are encouraging producers to be patient with initiating field work, and to wait until soil conditions are fit for good corn planting and germination,” he wrote in his latest Focus on Ag column.
“Given the high cost per acre of seed corn … most growers do not want to take the risk of planting in poor soil conditions. … Normally, in early May, the soil temperatures warm up quite rapidly.”
Farmers have until May 10, if soil conditions are favorable, for corn to achieve optimal yields.