Staff photo by Travis Rosenau Sleepy Eye Junior Legion’s Brandon Schmitz singles during the DII Southwest Sub-State Junior American Legion championship game with Luverne on Sunday evening at Sleepy Eye Ballpark.

By Travis Rosenau

Journal Sports Editor

SLEEPY EYE — One day after the Sleepy Eye Legion Post 7 baseball team experienced the highs of a walk-off win in a Sub-State championship game in St. James, the Sleepy Eye Junior Legion team experienced the lows of a walk-off defeat Sunday at Sleepy Eye Ballpark.

Luverne scored six runs in the final two innings of Sunday’s Division II Southwest Sub-State Junior American Legion Tournament title game, earning a walk-off win over Sleepy Eye and punching its ticket to the state tournament in Granite Fall on August 4.

Sleepy Eye struck early against Luverne for three runs in the second inning, a second inning that saw Luverne commit three errors and give up three hits. Kayden Klein got Sleepy Eye on the board first on an RBI single to left to score pinch runner Cole Eckstein. Sleepy Eye got pinch runner Caleb Suess to score on an error also, while another error later brought Klein home also.

Cody Schultz added an RBI single to left-center in the top of the sixth to put Sleepy Eye up 4-0.

Meanwhile, Sleepy Eye starting right-hander Brandon Schmitz rolled, giving up just one hit through the first five innings before running into some trouble in the sixth. In that sixth, an error at third allowed a runner on with two outs before a single and another error loaded the bases.

Jaxon Lais then got brushed with a pitch to put Luverne on the board. Landyn Lais then drove a pitch into left-center to clear the bases for a double and tie the game at 4-all.

“Main thing I told them after the game is that you gotta play a full game, 21 outs, you can’t give teams extra outs,” Sleepy Eye head coach Brandon Streich said. “It’s never one play or one individual player that defines a game. There’s so many different things that you can look at in the game that could have gone differently. Like the game of life, baseball’s a game of ups and downs, you’ve got to ride with them, and right now, unfortunately, we’re in a down.”

Sleepy Eye got a run back in the top of the seventh on an RBI single from Jonny Petermann, but Luverne got a single from Marcus Vortherms and a bunt single by Maddox Domagala before a sac bunt from Blake Sauer moved both runners up. A two-run single to right by Alex Schlosser then ended the game after Domagala slid head first into home as the throw home bounced to the backstop.

Schmitz allowed six hits and no walks while striking out five in 6 1/3 innings. He also led Sleepy Eye at the plate, going 2 for 4.

“Brandon threw well, he did his job,” Streich said. “Unfortunately, we gave them too many outs at the end of the day. You give any team four or five outs in an inning, good teams are going to make you pay for it and, unfortunately, that’s what Luverne did.”

Luverne starter Carter Sehr went 5 2/3 innings and allowed seven hits and two walks for four runs, one earned, while striking out four in the no decision.

Needing two wins after falling into the elimination bracket earlier in the tournament, that final run Sunday ended the Sleepy Eye Junior Legion team’s season two wins shy of a repeat state tournament appearance.

Some players on the Junior Legion team, however, will still get a taste of a state tournament this year when they play with the Legion Post 7 team this week in Roseau, so moving on quickly and not letting this loss set them back will be a key.

“You’ve got to look forward,” Streich said. “What’s done and over with is done and over with and they’ve got to have a short-term memory because we’re going to come back ready to work hard tomorrow and those guys have gotta be ready to look in the future. As much as this hurts now, it’s done and over with and you’ve gotta look forward.”