Staff photo by Steve Muscatello Dalton Meyer of Sleepy Eye St. Mary’s drives a pitch during the first game of a doubleheader against Minnesota Valley Lutheran Monday at Mueller Park in New Ulm.

NEW ULM — Minnesota Valley Lutheran’s Sam Rivera had an infield single for a walk-off RBI to beat Sleepy Eye St. Mary’s 10-9 in Game 1 of a doubleheader.

Rivera’s RBI came as the Chargers held two runners in scoring position with two outs on the scoreboard.

The Knights took second game with a 9-8 score in a five-inning nonconference matchup.

MVL headed into the bottom half of the seventh inning tied with St. Mary’s 9-9 after tying the game up in the previous inning. Mason Cox took a walk with the count full after one out was recorded in the inning and took second base away from the Knights to stand in scoring position.

St. Mary’s pitcher Nick Labat battled in the seventh inning and delivered a 4-pitch strikeout against MVL’s Derek Weisensel for the second out of the inning, trying to push the Tomahawk Conference match up into extra innings.

Labat walked MVL’s Mathew Rieger and Rieger took second after Cox was moved to third on a wild pitch to put the pressure back on Labat.

Rivera’s single hit right behind the pitchers mound and took a hop towards the third base side of the field as the Knights tried to gain the third out and the throw being late to first base.

In the top half of the second inning, the Knights threatened to open their own lead and put the deficit on the Chargers side of the scoreboard. St. Mary’s Dallas Bauer lead off the inning with a walk and was moved into scoring position on a perfectly placed sacrificed bunt by Spencer Hoffman. Kyle Goblirsch singled into left field and took the vacant spot on second base as the Knights now had two runners in scoring position and one out.

MVL’s Jace Marotz then recorded a strikeout for the second out of the inning.

Marotz pitched four innings, giving up four runs from four hits and five strikeouts for the MVL win. Jordan Fischer started on the mound, for MVL pitching three innings with two strikeouts and gave up three runs.

Marotz and the Charger defense faced the tough decision with the opening at first base and two outs while facing the Knights leadoff batter Labat.

Labat was 2 for 3 with a walk and scoring three times, stepping up to this at bat, for the Knights in a crucial situation. MVL chose to intentionally walk Labat and load the bases which paid of as St. Mary’s John Luu Mathiowetz lined out to the shortstop and save the inning.

The Knights struck first with three runs in the top half of the first inning, from two hits and one error. Labat and Mathiowetz both singled and Andrick Sanchez reached on an error to score the runs for the Knights.

MVL answered with three runs, in the bottom half of the first, from four hits and one St. Mary’s error. The Charger’s Theodore Giefer, Cox and Weisensel each put up RBI’s and Leyton Brau stole two bases in the inning.

The Knights added two runs in the second inning and three runs in the fourth, holding the Chargers scoreless until the bottom of the fifth.

In the bottom half of the fifth inning MVL added five runs from four hits and four St. Mary’s errors.

Labat led the Knights going 2 for 3 with two walks and scoring three runs and Sanchez was 2 for 3 with a walk and reaching on an error.

MVL’s Brau went 3 for 3 with a walk and a triple and scored three runs, Cox was 2 for 3 with a double and scoring three times and Marotz went 2 for 4 with an RBI.

In Game 2, MVL’s Geifer took the loss, pitching two innings giving up six runs, five of them earned, with one strikeout. Fischer led the Chargers at the plate by going 2 for 4 with two RBIs and Geifer was 2 for 3 scoring one run.

The Knights were led by Labat, who went 2 for 2 with three RBIs and Spencer Hoffman hit 3 for 3 and scoring two runs. Fischer earned the win for the Knights from three innings of work with three strikeouts and three walks.

St. Mary’s will travel to Cathedral for a doubleheader starting at 4:30 p.m. on Thursday in New Ulm.

MVL is on the road at 1:30 p.m. on Thursday against Gibbon-Fairfax-Winthrop in Fairfax.