LUVERNE -- Having not played a game in a week, head coach Jared Pick and the Luverne American Legion baseball team didn't know how the pitching would respond Friday night against Edgerton.
However, Adam Ossefoort and Chris DenHoed cast all the doubts away to combine on a masterful performance on the mound.
Ossefoort allowed one run on four hits while striking out six to lead Luverne to an 11-1 victory in the first round of the legion playoffs.
"I got behind a couple of hitters, and it's tough to get people out when you get behind them," Ossefoort said. "When I started getting ahead of people, I pretty much was able to do what I wanted to do."
DenHoed, who hasn't seen much time on the hill, allowed a double but struck out the side in a scoreless fifth inning.
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"I had a good lead to go in there," DenHoed said. "I just went in there and threw strikes and got three strikeouts."
Neither pitcher allowed a walk and the Luverne defense committed just two errors in the game en route to the victory.
"They threw strikes and threw pretty well for the first game," Pick said. "We haven't played for a week, so I didn't know how our pitching was going to be. But they both pitched well and threw strikes."
Edgerton's lone run came in the fourth inning.
Alex Elgersma singled with one out and advanced to second on an error.
He was later driven in by Alex Van't Hof, but Post 42 managed only three other hits in the game.
"We've come a long ways," Edgerton coach Ron Zwart said. "We're still a young team and we're inexperienced. If you look at the scoreboard, you see five errors up there and that's darn near two more innings of hitting you're giving your opponents."
Luverne took advantage of the five Edgerton errors when it had the chance.
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In the first inning, Zack Clark walked and stole second to start the game, and Tanner Skattum was hit by a pitch.
Both scored on a Zach Olson double, and Olson then scored the third run of the inning on an error to give Luverne a 3-0 lead after the first inning.
"You can't give a good team extra outs, and we did that at crucial times," Zwart said. "It's disappointing and it's frustrating."
Luverne had an opportunity in the second inning, as Ossefoort and Nick Meyer were both on base with no outs, but the top of the Luverne order couldn't produce a run as Elgersma was able to pitch out of the jam.
"Right away we didn't get any clutch hitting with guys in scoring position," Pick said. "But in the third, fourth, and fifth innings, we were able to hit the ball hard and score some runs and helped our pitchers out."
In was in the later innings in which Luverne broke the game open.
DenHoed scored on an error in the third, but Luverne scored five times in the fourth.
With one out, Skattum singled, and Olson followed with a double. Brent Dinger then drove in both runners with a single and later scored on a Taylor Van Santen fly out.
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DenHoed and Derek Van Santen both scored later in the inning on two separate wild pitches as Luverne had a 9-1 lead after four innings.
"We played pretty well," Pick said. "It was nice to get the first one out of the way. I knew it was going to be a good game. We hit the ball well towards the end of the game, and overall, we played a pretty clean game."
DenHoed allowed a deep double to Trey Manitz, who had three of the five Edgerton hits, in the top of the fifth but was able to pitch out of trouble in the inning.
"I thought it was gone right away," DenHoed said of Manitz's hit. "Nick Meyer should have come up big for me (in left field), but he didn't do it."
Needing only two runs to end the game early, Skattum walked and Olson singled.
Skattum scored on a wild pitch, and DenHoed hit a flyball that was misplayed to score Olson as Luverne went on to the 11-1 victory.
"I crushed that ball," DenHoed said. "I was going yard, but it didn't get there."
With the victory, Luverne will face Adrian at 11 a.m. today.
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"We needed to win, of course, and if you're going to do it, do it big," Ossefoort said. "Then you can go out and not worry about anything, you can just play the game; which is what we needed to do."
R H E
Edgerton 000 10 -- 1 5 5
Luverne 301 52 -- 11 9 2
