Troy National wins

tournament

By George Wacha

The Luverne Parks and Recreation Department hosted the Dixie Minor Sub-District 3 Championship Tournament, and the young lads from the Friendliest City made a very impressive showing.

Playing a total of three games, the Luverne 9- and 10-year-olds gave everything they had to give, and parents, coaches and the community were extremely proud of them for their good sportsmanship and excellent efforts.

Luverne 4, Troy National 6

The final game of the tourney for the Luverne All-Stars was again against Troy National.

Troy squeaked out two runs in seven batters in the first inning, while Luverne got two runs in eight. Luverne's runs came from Hermeling and Smith.

Neither team notched a run in the second inning.

In the third inning of play, Troy scored three runs.

Luverne retaliated at bat with two runs of their own, from Hermeling and Ray. Each got on base from a single, and were assisted around the bases by batters Austin Brown, Patrick Smith, Rann Smyth with an impressive double, Andy Ackerman and Landon LaSalle, making the score Luverne 4, Troy National 5.

Troy came back in the sixth to ice the cake with two more runs off five batters, ending Luverne's quest for the trophy.

Luverne 5, Greenville 4

Game two for the Luverne All-Stars was a more evenly matched game, with their opponents, the Greenville All-Stars dressed in green and yellow.

Greenville broke the silence in the first inning by scoring two runs in five batters - the first two batters up ended hitting a single and a double, and three more batters brought them around.

The second and third innings were uneventful for both teams, and then Luverne came alive in the fourth inning. Blake Hermeling and Patrick Smith each scored following walks, with the assistance of Austin Brown, Rann Smyth and Forrest Ray, making the score Luverne 2, Greenville 2.

Greenville had a brief retaliation in the fifth inning, when two runs crossed the plate out of seven batters.

Not giving in, Luverne came back in the sixth inning with three runs, one each from Will Moses, Jace Sanders and Blake Hermeling.

Moses got on base from a single, while Sanders and Hermeling each tallied doubles. Assistance around the bases was provided by Austin Brown, Patrick Smith, Marquise Randle and Jeremy Shirley, making the final score of the game Luverne 5, Greenville 4.

Luverne 1, Troy National 3

Luverne's first game of the series was against nearby rival, the Troy National All-Stars. In six innings of play, Luverne saw Patrick Smith cross the plate in the fourth inning after hitting a single and being sent around by a double from Forrest Ray for Big Red, giving them their one run for the game, but their loss was not without a fight.

The boys from Troy National managed two runs in the first inning with eight batters going to the plate, but Luverne would not give in, and Troy did not again score until the sixth inning, when they bagged their last run of the game.