Photo by Jake Olson Sleepy Eye's Cody Schultz leads off at first base in game one of the DII Southwest Sub-State Senior Legion Championship in Truman.

TRUMAN – Though it almost always comes as a surprise, all streaks are made to be broken.

On Saturday, the Sleepy Eye Legion Post 7 baseball team dropped consecutive games to Luverne Post 123 in the DII Southwest Sub-State Legion Baseball Championship – falling short in their hopes of three consecutive state championship wins.

Sleepy Eye was undefeated in the Sub-State bracket entering the championship game, having to win one of the two contests to advance to state for the third year in a row.

After Luverne won the first game 3-2, it stormed back and topped Sleepy Eye 11-1 in the second game, finishing the game in five innings due to the 10-run lead rule.

“This is the biggest thing,” said Sleepy Eye head coach Zach Haala. “We had seven guys on the roster that this was at least their third year on the team, so they were a part of two state championship teams. Coming back, their expectations are high. They are expecting to go to the state tournament.”

The day began with an 11 a.m. Game 1.

It was a pitchers’ duel for most of the contest between Sleepy Eye’s Marcus Martinez and Luverne’s Carter Sehr. Both arms tossed scoreless frames in the first four innings.

Luverne struck first in the bottom of the fifth. Martinez started this frame by putting two runners on via a hit by pitch and a bunt single.

After laying down another bunt, Luverne’s Alexander Schlosser collided with Sleepy Eye second baseman Kam Kosak after running down the first base line.

This caused a runner to advance on the mishap and score the game’s first run.

Sleepy Eye responded in the top of the sixth with some base running magic of their own.

With two outs on the board and a man on first, Sleepy Eye’s Kayden Klein chopped a grounder that would eventually get through the infield after passing by shortstop Blake Sauer’s glove. This advanced both runners to second and third.

Following a walk to fill up the bases, Kessler Severson hit a grounder that would be bobbled by Luverne’s Josh Hansen at third. This second error of the inning by the Luverne defense caused two runners to cross home plate, giving the edge to Sleepy Eye.

However, this lead was not held on for long.

Martinez started the inning for Sleepy Eye with a strikeout and a grounder to shortstop. Luverne responded with back-to-back hits of Martinez, putting two runners in scoring position and prompting Sleepy Eye to turn to the bullpen.

Despite putting Brandon Schmitz in to avoid any damage, Luverne stayed aggressive at the plate. Schlosser hit a fly ball just over the reach of shortstop Klein, plating two more runs and taking back the lead.

Sauer closed the door on any hopes of a Sleepy Eye comeback, recording three outs and forcing a game two.

Martinez finished the game with 5 2/3 innings pitched, allowing two runs and striking out three.

“Marcus did a great job for us going out there and giving us a chance,” said Haala. “We rely on him as a “super senior.” Our other super senior, Brandon Schmitz, has been a guy for us the past three years. He’s been nursing an injury, so he wasn’t able to go. Marcus stepped up and gave us a chance to win.”

The second game started 30 minutes after the opening contest concluded. Despite the first game being a back-and-forth battle, Luverne pounced on Sleepy Eye to secure a lopsided victory in the rematch

Sleepy Eye started the game hot by scoring the first run in the third. Talen Helget, Jon Petermann and Martinez rattled together three consecutive singles to take the early advantage.

This was all the offense Sleepy Eye could muster, however. After Luverne scored four runs in the bottom of the third, they tacked on seven more between the fourth and fifth innings, ultimately ending the game early.

“Luverne has good pitchers,” said Haala. “That first pitcher we saw was one of the better arms we saw this year. We got hits but didn’t string them together. That’s what really matters in games like this. If you can get timely hits, you are likely to be in good shape.”