Staff photo by Caleb Brinton. Fairmont's Brylee Miller delivers a pitch in Game 1 of a doubleheader against Luverne on Thursday in Fairmont.

FAIRMONT – The Fairmont Cardinals swept the Luverne Cardinals in a Big South Conference softball doubleheader Thursday evening, taking the opener 10-9 in eight innings and locking in the second win 9-4.

In Game 1 and tied up at 9-all after seven, Luverne stranded a base runner in the eighth, setting up the Cardinals’ chance to secure the victory. A groundout got the first out, but a walk put the go-ahead run at first. With two outs, Gabriella Leiding stepped to the plate and drove a ball hard to left field for a walk-off RBI single.

Fairmont head coach Cory Hainy said he was proud of how his team responded despite trailing by six in the first game.

“I told the girls after the game, I was super proud of the way they didn’t hang their heads

when we got down nine to three,” said Hainy. “We came back and we hung a big inning and got right back in it and tied it up and then things settled back down after that … we’re able to get that win with a walk-off by Gabriella Leiding there in the bottom of the eighth was nice.”

Leading Fairmont in Game 1 was Abigail Sundeen, who went 2 for 4 with an RBI, while Makenzie Lowry went 1 for 2 with 3 RBIs. Brylee Miller added an RBI, while Gwyneth Schultz went 1 for 4 with an RBI. Gabriella Leiding went 2 for 4 with an RBI, while Saige Leiding went 1 for 3 with an RBI. Miller struck out six through eight innings and gave up 15 hits.

A leadoff single got things going in the first inning for Luverne, which set up an Ella Reisdorfer RBI double to left field to open the scoring before the Cardinals were able to get out of the inning. The Cardinals were able to get two on with their first two batters but wound up stranding them keeping the score at 1-0.

The second inning was scoreless, as neither team could get the offense going. The Luverne offense found its way through the Cardinals’ defense, setting up a runner in scoring position who scored on an error. In the bottom of the inning, Fairmont stranded one, unable to cut into the Luverne lead.

The fourth inning saw Luverne extend the lead to 6-0 before the Cardinals returned to the batter’s box. This time, the Cardinals’ offense got rolling. A lead-off single by Abigail Sundeen, followed by Moeller driving a ground ball to left field, put two on base. A walk loaded the bases when Saige Leiding looped a ball to left for an RBI single. This was followed up by another RBI single to left by Lowry, which brought in two runs and cut the lead in half.

The Luverne offense wasted no time in the top of the fifth inning, extending the lead back to six after back-to-back singles put runners in scoring position. An RBI triple to right field brought in the first two runs before the third scored on a passed ball.

The bottom of the fifth inning is when the Cardinal offense came alive. After Luverne forced the ground out, the Cardinals loaded the bases courtesy of three singles by Moeller, Gabriella Leiding, and Landin. Luverne walked the next three batters to bring the score to 9-6. Miller grounded into a fielder’s choice, bringing in the next run, cutting the lead to two. A walk brought in another run which was followed by a single by Abigail Sundeen, brought in the tying run for Fairmont.

The Cardinals shut down the Luverne offense in the top of the sixth inning, and Luverne returned the favor, keeping the score tied heading into the seventh. The seventh inning was a quick 1-2-3 inning for both squads, bringing about extra innings.

Game 2 the Cardinals wasted no time putting up five runs in the first, three in the second, and 1 in the third to take a 9-4 victory.

Leading Game 2 for the Cardinals was Alexis Sundeen who went 2 for 3 with two RBIs, while Ilana Moeller went 2 for 2 with an RBI. Brylee Miller went 2 for 4 with an RBI with an RBI, while Haleigh Grotzinger added an RBI. Gabriella Leiding struck out two through five innings giving up for runs.

“We really carried the momentum that we’d had with that walk-off win and really started out hot,” said Hainy. “We scored five runs right away in the first inning and we scored three more in the second and had a pretty big lead and then it seemed like we coasted a little bit.

“We left some people on base after that and, you know, could have had a few more runs, but, Gabby pitched real well in that second game and kept them down, and so we were able to get the 9-4 win.”

Fairmont, now 8-4, head to Redwood Valley at 4 p.m. for a doubleheader.