Luverne 000 003 100 = 4-5-1
Windom 100 010 010 = 3-10-0
The Region 10C semifinals opened in rough fashion for the top-seeded Windom Pirates Wednesday, as fourth-seeded Luverne rallied for a 4-3 win at Island Park in the opening game of a best-of-three series.
The Redbirds scored three times in the sixth to overcome an early 2-0 Pirate lead, then held on late as the Pirates tried to battle back.
Windom got on the board in the bottom of the first as Keenan Wenzel hit an RBI single. In the fifth, Kobe Lovell scored on a wild pitch for a 2-0 lead.
But Luverne strung together three straight two-out hits in the sixth to take a 3-2 lead, then added a run in the top of the seventh to go up 4-2.
The Pirates got a run back in the bottom of the eighth. Drew Rothenberger hit a two-out triple and scored on an Alex Fink RBI single.
In the ninth, the Pirates had the potential tying and winning runs on base with one out, but a pair of strikeouts ended the threat and the game.
Quintin Tietz, Kobe Lovell and Hayden Tietz each had two hits in the loss.
Luke Gilbertson took the pitching loss, working the first 6-⅔ innings. He allowed five hits and struck out two.
Next games: Check for updates after each game.
Windom: at Luverne, Aug. 7
