By John RittenhouseThe Hills Thunder couldn’t produce a win when the local amateur baseball team played Luverne twice late last week.The Thunder dropped an 11-1 decision to the Redbirds in Luverne Wednesday, June 11. Hills entertained Luverne for a game Saturday and came up on the short end of a 9-0 tally.Hills sported a 2-6 record after the setbacks.Luverne 11, Hills 1Hills’ pitchers couldn’t silence Luverne’s bats during a 10-run loss at Redbird Field June 11.The Redbirds scored at least one run in all seven innings of a game that ended after seven innings of play due to the 10-run rule.Single runs in the first three innings gave the hosts an early cushion before Hills produced a run in the top of the fourth to make it a 3-1 difference.Cade Lang singled and scored on an error for Hills.Luverne answered with one run in the bottom of the fourth before plating a pair of runs in the fifth and sixth innings before ending the game with a three-run seventh.Jared Lang took the pitching loss for the Thunder.Chad Rauk turned in a two-hit performance for Hills, doubling in the fifth inning and slapping a single in the seventh.Box score AB R H BIJ.Lang 4 0 0 0C.Lang 3 1 1 0S.Harnack 2 0 1 0E.Harnack 2 0 0 0Sammons 3 0 1 0Van Maanen 3 0 0 0Rauk 3 0 2 0Jellema 3 0 0 0C.Harnack 3 0 1 0Luverne 9, Hills 0Hills could not push a run across the plate during Saturday’s home game against the Redbirds.Two Luverne pitchers tossed a combined eight-hit shutout through nine innings.Luverne plated four runs in the top of the first inning and never looked back the rest of the way. The Redbirds put together two-run third and fourth frames before capping the scoring with one run in the ninth.Matt Funke and Wade Jellema registered two hits each for the Thunder.Funke singled in the first and third innings. Jellema singled in the seventh and ninth frames.Rauk took the loss for Hills.Box score AB R H BIC.Lang 4 0 0 0Funke 4 0 2 0S.Harnack 3 0 1 0E.Harnack 3 0 0 0Sammons 4 0 1 0Rauk 4 0 1 0Van Maanen 4 0 1 0Jellema 4 0 2 0C.Harnack 4 0 0 0Top 0 0 0 0
