The Superior Reds American Legion baseball team is off and running at the start of the 2009 summer season playing five games in five games.
After a doubleheader with Duluth Central was postponed last week, the Reds opened their season at the Loon Tournament in Virginia, where they went 1-2.
The Reds opened with a 4-1 loss to Minneapolis Southwest on Friday night. Superior managed two hits, an RBI single by Jake Tokar and a single by Matt Johnson.
Reese Stariha suffered the loss, pitching the first three innings.
The Reds' lone run came in the first inning while Minneapolis scored three times in the second inning and once in the third.
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Superior bounced back with an 8-6 win over Hermantown on Saturday with Cory Wilander picking up the complete-game win.
Stariha and Tokar each belted home runs, singled and scored twice to lead the Reds. Stariha's homer led off the game.
Mike Swanson also doubled and had two RBIs, Wilander doubled, Brett Engstrom singled and scored twice, Rob Dembroski doubled and Kyle Wilander, Derek Jardine and Jordan Olson all singled.
The Reds then lost to Hibbing 7-4 in the consolation championship game on Sunday.
Stariha and Engstrom had two hits apiece, Cory Wilander doubled and Tokar, Olson and Johnson added singles.
Jardine and Swanson pitched in a losing cause for the Reds.
The Reds played their first home games of the season Tuesday night by splitting a doubleheader with Spooner. Superior won the opener 9-3 then dropped game two 6-4.
Engstrom picked up the win in the opener while Johnson homered and singled, Cory Wilander and Tokar had two hits each and Swanson, Engstrom, Olson, Jardine and Nick Boreen singled.
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In game two the Reds trailed 6-1 until Swanson homered in the sixth inning and Cory Wilander hit a two-run home run in the seventh for a 6-4 game. The Reds then went on to load the bases, but failed to get any closer as they fell to 2-3.
Cory Wilander finished with three hits, Johnson doubled, Engstrom singled and scored a run and Tokar and Jardine each singled.
John Lundeen suffered the loss with an inning of relief help from Kyle Wilander.
The Reds host Ashland at 6 and 8 p.m. Thursday before playing doubleheaders at Chippewa Falls and Menomonie on Saturday and Sunday, respectively.
EXTRA BASES: This year's Reds team represents a number of high schools in the area. Stariha played for the Northwood Evergreens in Minong; Tokar and Lundeen are Northwestern Tigers; Jardine attends school at South Shore in Port Wing; Boreen graduated from Duluth Marshall; and Johnson, Cory and Kyle Wilander, Swanson, Engstrom and Olson are former Superior Spartans. ... Also expected to play this summer for the Reds are Lee Nagorski, Mike Higgins and Kellen McCoshen. ... Swanson is currently a member of the UW-Superior Yellowjackets, Johnson is playing football at St. Scholastica and Cory Wilander is coming off a year of junior college baseball.
