SPRINGFIELD -- Before the game started, the Pipestone Legion baseball team set a goal to score 15 runs against Luverne on Saturday.
Post 6 nearly reached its goal in a 14-6 victory, setting up a matchup with Wabasso tonight at 8 p.m.
"We've been hitting the ball pretty well lately," Pipestone's Sammy Schneider said. "Before the game we talked and said that we need to score runs right away. It would be nice to get 15 runs, and that was our goal. We came up one short, but we wanted to get some run support so our pitching wouldn't have to worry about it."
Colin Taubert allowed four runs on four hits in three innings, and Bryce Beyers came through in the clutch to close the door on Luverne.
"I left some pitches up, and I got to the third or the fourth inning, and I couldn't even get it across the plate," Taubert said.
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In the fourth inning, with Pipestone clinging to a 7-3 lead, Luverne had its chance.
Tanner Skattum reached on an error to lead off the inning, and Derek Van Santen singled -- chasing Taubert from the game.
Beyers walked Adam Ossefoort to load the bases, and Taylor Van Santen delivered an RBI single to score Skattum and cut the deficit to 7-4.
However, Beyers recorded three straight strikeouts to end the inning and keep the Pipestone lead.
"We had a nice little lead there, and then Colin ran out of gas," Schneider said. "He pitched a good game until he ran out of gas. Then Bryce came in and did a heck of a job to get out of that jam with three straight strikeouts. He came up big there. I'm not going to lie, I was worried, but Bryce came in and did a heck of a job."
Post 6 then came back and scored four runs in the fifth.
With one out, Jordan Karels singled, and Taubert followed with a single of his own.
Karels scored on a wild pitch, and Schneider drove in Taubert as Pipestone continued to add to its lead.
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Schneider scored later in the inning on a wild pitch, and Doug Mead, who walked, scored on Greg Quist's double as Pipestone built an 11-4 lead.
"We had the bases loaded with no outs and couldn't convert, and that was huge," Luverne head coach Jared Pick said. "I think that was the turning point in the game. They came out and scored some runs and got us down a little more."
While the four runs in the fifth propelled Pipestone to the victory, Post 6 had the bats going right away.
Taubert reached on an error to start the game, and with one out, Mead doubled. Quist drew a walk, and before the inning was over, all three runners scored as Pipestone had a 3-0 lead after the first half inning.
"It looked like their pitcher didn't come out with their best stuff, and everybody started to hit the ball right away," Schneider said. "It was nice to get that big first inning, and it seems to set the tone for the rest of the game."
Schneider, who had four hits and drove in three runs on the day, had a big hit in the second inning as Pipestone had a 5-0 lead heading into the bottom of the second.
"I'm getting on a hot streak right now, and I'm a streaky hitter," Schneider said. "When I'm on the hot streak, things seem to go well, but when I'm not on a hot streak, it seems not to go so well.
"I did the same thing during school ball," Schneider continued. "I didn't hit the ball that great during the season and playoffs come around, and I always seem to do my best. Maybe it's luck; I don't know."
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Chris DenHoed led off the second with a single for Luverne, and Skattum followed with a double. Derek Van Santen reached on an error, and all three runners scored in the inning, but Luverne trailed 5-3.
Luverne starter Brent Dinger gave up two more runs in the fourth and was chased from the game for Taylor Van Santen.
"(Dinger) threw strikes, but they were up in the zone," Pick said. "With the top four or five hitters they have, you can't be doing that. They have some good hitters on their team."
Luverne added two runs in the bottom of the sixth, but like it did all night, Pipestone answered with a pair of runs en route to a 14-6 victory.
"They outplayed us and hit the ball really well," Pick said. "We pitched all right; we just lost to a good team today. I wish we could have kept it a little closer to see what happens in the end, but they hit pretty well, and they got us today."
Pipestone, which had success during the school season, will face Wabasso, whose school team was crowned state champions this season.
"That winning stuff is addictive," Pipestone head coach Steve Moffitt said. "We have some senior leaders here, and they don't like losing. They know that this is the end of the road, and they don't want it to end."
Luverne will face Wells at 6 p.m. today in Springfield.
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R H E
Pipe. 320 241 2 -- 14 14 1
Luv. 030 102 0 -- 6 8 3
