Fairmont, Luverne take opening games of Region 10C playoff series

The No. 6 seed Jackson Bulls did all they could in the ninth inning to catch the second-seeded Fairmont Martins, but the Martins were able to hold off their guests for a 4-3 win Wednesday night in Game 1 in the teams' best-of-three Region 10C amateur baseball semifinal series.

Down 4-1 in the ninth, a bases-loaded walk to Cael Miller and Andy Wolf's RBI single made the score 4-3. With just one out and the bases still full, Jackson hit into an unusual double play to end the game. The infield-fly rule was called after a pop-up was hit for an automatic out and, when the ball dropped in the infield, a Bulls baserunner wound up being caught in a rundown between third base and home for the third and final out.

Jackson went up 1-0 in the first inning, but Fairmont knotted the score in the bottom of the frame and then tacked on single runs in the third, fifth and seventh as they improved to 14-5 on the season. Game 2 is set for 7:30 p.m. Friday in Jackson.

In the other Region 10C semifinal series, No. 4 seed Luverne won on the road against top-seeded Windom, also by a score of 4-3.

The Pirates outhit Luverne 10-5 in the game — Kobe Lovell had a double a single, Quintin Tietz two singles and Drew Rothenberger a triple — but the Redbirds rallied from a 2-0 deficit with three in the sixth and got what would be an important insurance run in the seventh. Jake Haugen tossed seven strong innings for the pitching win and Layke Miller earned the save. Game 2 is at 7:30 p.m. Friday in Luverne.