Staff photo by Travis Rosenau New Ulm Junior Legion Gold’s Ryan Rathmann slides into home safely during an Upper MIdwest Classic consolation bracket game against Luverne on Saturday evening at Johnson Park in New Ulm.

NEW ULM — New Ulm Junior Legion Gold finished its time in the 2024 Upper Midwest Classic with a rare 5-5 tie on Saturday in a consolation bracket game against Luverne at Johnson Park.

Due to rain in the forecast and winner’s bracket games that still needed to be completed, the game was stopped after six innings. After giving up the tying run in the sixth to Luverne on a grounder and an error, the decision was made to conclude the game after six innings, giving New Ulm one last chance to win it in the bottom of the sixth.

However, Luverne relief pitcher Josh Hansen retired the side in order to give both teams a 5-all tie. Blake Sauer got the start for Luverne on the mound and went four innings, allowing five runs on eight hits and a walk while striking out four.

New Ulm starting pitcher Hunter Larson pitched five innings, allowing just one earned run on nine hits and four walks while striking out two.

New Ulm jumped out to an early 4-0 lead in the second, getting started in the inning with a leadoff single by Ryan Rathmann. After Sauer picked up a strikeout, New Ulm strung together three straight RBI doubles from Parker Neubauer, Cohen Domeier and Collin Forstner to take a 3-0 lead. Kyle Albrecht singled in the fourth run for a 4-0 lead after two.

After giving a run back to Luverne in the third on an RBI double to left by Sauer, New Ulm took a 5-1 run lead in the bottom of the third after Neubauer tripled and scored on a wild pitch.

Larson found some trouble in the fourth in a four-hit, one-error inning that saw Luverne cut the deficit to 5-4. He also started the fifth by allowing a walk, a hit batter and a single to load the bases and bring in Candon Briggs for a less-than-enviable spot.

Briggs forced a grounder to second, but an error allowed the tying run to score. He then managed to force back-to-back flyouts and a pop out to shortstop to avoid any more damage.

Junior Gold was led by Neubauer, whose triple and double gave him a 2-for-3 day at the plate, while Domeier was 2 for 3.

Earlier in the day, Junior Gold fell 8-3 to Sleepy Eye. Albrecht led New Ulm at the plate, going 3 for 4 with an RBI, while Zach Hubbard went 2 for 4 with an RBI and Neubauer doubled. Tanner Backer took the loss in six innings, allowing five hits and five walks for six runs while striking out three.

New Ulm finished the UMC 1-2-1 overall and hosts Springfield at 5:45 p.m. Monday at Mueller Park.