(above) Ben Serie celebrates winning the game against Plato 4-3, in the bottom of the ninth inning Aug. 26 in Delano. Serie beat the throw to home plate after teammate Derek Lundgren hit a line drive toward third base for the walk-off win.
The Luverne Redbirds are headed to the Sweet 16 of the 2023 Class C Baseball State Tournament.
The Redbirds knocked off the Plato Blue Jays in a walk-off 4-3 win Saturday, Aug. 26, at Delano Municipal Ballpark.
The come-from-behind win in the ninth inning left a lot of fans and players breathless.
“That was an intense game,” team manager Brooks Maurer said. “Nothing better than a walk-off win to send us to our first Sweet 16 appearance since 2015.”
This year marks the Redbirds’ 15th appearance in the state tournament.
Luverne’s other state appearances were in 1990, 1992, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2007, 2010, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2022.
Luverne 4, Plato 3
Plato took a 2-0 lead in the second inning and held it until the end of the sixth inning when Luverne finally got on the board.
Declan Beers singled on a fly ball to left field, and Nick Smith scored from second base.
In the top of the seventh Plato added one more run to extend the lead to 3-1.
In the bottom of the seventh, Luverne pulled within one run when Phil Paquette singled on a line drive to right field and advanced to second on the throw, scoring Jake Haugen from second base.
With the score Plato 3, Luverne 2 after the seventh inning, the eighth inning saw no scoring.
In the top of the ninth inning Luverne kept Plato from extending its lead, holding them at three runs.
In the bottom of the ninth inning, Luverne mounted a come-from-behind drive.
Jake Haugen started the drive, reaching first by being hit by a pitch.
Ben Serie stepped up next and singled to left, moving Haugen to second base.
Smith then doubled on a line drive to center field, scoring Haugen for the tying run and advancing Serie to third base.
Plato then intentionally walked Paquette to first with Smith still at second and Serie at third base.
The walk filled the bases and would potentially force an out at any base.
Johnson struck out at the plate for out No. 1.
Derek Lundgren came up to bat with one out and three men on base.
He fouled off the first pitch but connected with the second, driving the ball toward third base and reached first on an error by the third basemen.
“I was just trying to put the ball in play,” Derek Lundgren said.
“I knew he would probably come with an off-speed pitch to start with. I fouled of the first curveball and then managed to put the second curveball in play.”
“Good things happen when you put the ball in play and force them to make a throw,” Lundgren added.
Meanwhile, Serie took off from third and beat the throw to home, scoring the winning run.
“When I saw the throw was low, I knew that we were going to have a chance to win it right there,” Serie said.
“When I slid in and knew I was safe, it was such a huge relief to win such a hard-fought game.”
Box Scores
Inning 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Plato 0 2 0 0 0 0 1 0 0
RBirds 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 2
Luverne Redbirds
BATTING AB R H RBI
S. Wenninger 3 0 2 0
Haugen 0 2 0 0
Serie 4 1 1 0
Smith 5 1 2 1
Paquette 4 0 2 1
Johnson 4 0 2 0
Lundgren 5 0 0 1
Beers 4 0 1 1
Sehr 4 0 1 0
C. Wenninger 4 0 0 0
2B: Johnson, S. Wenninger, Smith
Total Bases: Johnson 3, S. Wenninger 3, Smith 3, Paquette 2, Beers, Sehr, Serie
PITCHING IP H R ER SO
Serie 6 4 2 2 8
Lovell 3 4 1 1 3
Pitches-Strikes: Serie 117-62, Lovell 55-33
Batters Faced: Serie 25, Lovell 15
Plato Blue Jays
BATTING AB R H RBI
D. Schwartz 4 0 0 0
Odegaard 4 0 3 1
Prehn 5 0 0 0
Lepel 4 0 0 0
R. Schwartz 4 1 3 0
B. Lepel 2 1 0 0
Lang 3 0 0 0
Copas 4 1 2 2
Buesche 2 0 0 0
2B: Copas
Total Bases: Odegaard 3, Copas 3, R. Schwartz 3
PITCHING IP H R ER SO
Hedtke 6.2 9 2 2 10
Hoernemann 1.1 0 1 1 2
Tschida 0.1 2 1 0 1
Pitches-Strikes: Hedtke 112-77, Hoernemann 23-13, Tschida 13-9
Batters Faced: Hedtke 31, Hoernemann 6, Tschida 5
With the win, the Redbirds advance to the Sweet 16 and will face the Bluffton Braves Saturday, Sept. 2, in Dassel at 1:30 p.m.
Bluffton, the Region 14C Champion, had a first-round bye just as Luverne did.
In the second round the Braves beat Monticello 9-3 to advance to the Sweet 16 and face the Redbirds Saturday in Dassel.
