VFW BASEBALL: Kannas hits walk-off home run to lead Luverne

LUVERNE — Nathan Kannas wasn’t in the lineup when the game started.

But he decided the outcome.

Kannas hit a walk-off home run to lead off the bottom of the eighth inning, leading the Luverne VFW baseball team to a 6-5 victory against Worthington in the first game of a doubleheader Monday night.

Worthington then won the second game 19-7.

However, it was the first game which counted toward the conference standings.

The win left Luverne undefeated in the conference and 13-6 overall, while Worthington dropped to 11-11 overall and 4-1 in league play.

Worthington jumped out to a 3-0 lead early in the first game after a run in the first inning and two more in the third.

However, Luverne took advantage of two Worthington errors in the third frame to tie the score at 3-all.

The teams traded runs back and forth, leaving the score tied at 5-all after seven innings.

Worthington didn’t score in the top of the eighth and Kannas ended the game to lead off the bottom of the frame.

Matt Overgaard earned the victory on the hill. He threw two innings of relief and didn’t allow a run.

Overgaard also led the way offensively for Luverne. He was 2-for-3 with two runs scored and two RBI.

Worthington’s Todd Peterson suffered the loss. He threw all eight innings, allowing three earned runs while walking two and striking out three.

Tyler Hatterman was 3-for-4 with a run scored and an RBI for Worthington, while Blake Rogers was 2-for-4 with two runs scored and a stolen base. Turner Hagen and Rylan Scholtes each added a hit.

In the nightcap, Worthington hit the ball hard and scored five runs in the first inning and six runs in each of the fifth and sixth innings.

Tristan Sorenson earned the victory on the hill. He walked one and struck out six in six innings.

Aaron Pavelko was 2-for-3 with a triple, four runs scored and two RBI to lead the Worthington attack.

Rogers was 3-for-4 with two runs and an RBI, while Deron Soderholm was 3-for-5 with two runs scored and four RBI. Ryan Lee had two hits and drove in two runs. Alex Purdy didn’t have an official at-bat. He was walked three times and hit once. Purdy scored three times in the game.

Worthington travels to Marshall Orange on Thursday, while Luverne travels to Pipestone the same evening.

Game 1 R H E

Worth. 102 101 00 — 5 9 2

Luv. 003 010 11 — 6 6 3

Game 2 R H E

Worth. 500 266 — 19 10 2

Luv. 023 200 — 7 12 3

Tags: vfw baseball, sports, baseball, worthington, luverne