By John RittenhouseThe Luverne Redbirds wrapped up a 13-8 regular season by posting a pair of wins on the road.Luverne rolled to an eight-run win in Truman Wednesday, July 9, before nailing down a five-run victory in Pipestone Sunday.Luverne opened the Gopher League playoffs by hosting Hills Wednesday night.A win over the Thunder would send the Redbirds to Wilmont Friday. A loss would set up a game in the tournament’s loser’s bracket Sunday at a site to be determined.Luverne 7, Pipestone 2The Redbirds plated five runs in the fifth inning to set the stage for victory Sunday in Pipestone.Pipestone tied the game at one by scoring in the bottom of the fourth inning, but the Redbirds responded with a five-run fifth to take control of the contest.Jesse Reisch clubbed a two-run double and James Fisher and Brian Weber added RBI singles during the fifth-inning rally.Luke Iveland doubled and scored the first run of the inning on an error.The score remained 6-1 until the ninth inning, when both teams pushed one run across the plate.Mike Wenninger reached base on an error and scored for Luverne when Fisher doubled.Iveland singled and scored in the third to give the Redbirds a 1-0 lead before Pipestone knotted the score.Eric Edstrom worked the first five and one-third innings on the mound to notch a win. He fanned three batters while allowing three hits and one unearned run.Terry Eernisse allowed one unearned run and three hits while pitching three innings in relief of Edstrom. Iveland recorded the final two outs of the game.Box score AB R H BIOhme 5 1 0 0Edstrom 2 0 0 0Te.Eernisse 2 0 0 0J.Sehr 2 0 0 0Winkels 2 0 0 0Weber 3 1 1 1Wenninger 2 1 1 0Reisch 5 1 2 2Fisher 4 0 2 2Sandbulte 5 0 0 0Iveland 4 2 2 0Schneider 3 0 0 0Luverne 12, Truman 4The Redbirds scored nine runs in the middle innings to upend Truman by eight counters July 9 in Truman.Truman rallied to tie the game at three after scoring three runs in the bottom of the fourth inning.Luverne, however, outscored the hosts 9-1 the rest of the way.Back-to-back singles by Edstrom and Iveland in the fifth inning gave the Redbirds a 4-3 edge they would never give away in the top of the fifth.The Redbirds proceeded to put the game away by scoring six runs in the sixth inning and two in the seventh.Edstrom delivered a two-run double, Iveland singled home a run and Ben Winkels received an RBI for a fielder’s choice to highlight the six-run sixth inning.Jeff Sehr’s RBI double proved to be the key hit in Luverne’s two-run seventh.The Redbirds scored one run in the top of the third and two in the fourth to take a 3-0 advantage that was erased when Truman plated three runs in the fourth.Derek Ohme singled and scored for the Redbirds in the third.Edstrom and Iveland belted solo homers in the fourth.Sehr pitched three innings of scoreless ball before giving way to Kyle Kruen, who picked up the win after tossing the next two frames. Kreun yielded three earned runs and six hits.Ohme allowed one unearned run in three relief innings. Iveland worked the final frame without allowing a run.Box score AB R H BIOhme 6 1 3 0Sandbulte 4 2 1 0J.Sehr 4 0 1 1Weber 5 1 0 0Winkels 4 1 0 1Edstrom 5 3 4 3Iveland 4 1 3 3Fisher 3 0 2 1Shelton 2 0 0 0Kreun 0 1 0 0M.Sehr 2 1 1 0
