Riverland's view of the race of qualifying for the Region XIII Tournament got a little blurry Wednesday as rival Rochester swept a MCCC South Divison doubleheader in Austin. The visiting Yellowjackets pieced together 29 hits and overcame 11 errors to take a pair, 14-6 and 8-7.

Riverland was ticketed for just two defensive errors, but countless mental mistakes may have cost the Blue Devils ownership of third place in the division.

The top three teams in the South qualify for the state tournament -- which Riverland hosts -- and the top two teams advance to regions. The Devils placed fourth in each last season.

"This one hurts," said Riverland coach Scott Koenigs. "Now we're going to need some help. We're in trouble as far as regionals are concerned."

Riverland (9-11, 9-7) hosts league leaders Ridgewater and Bethany Lutheran Saturday and Sunday. Both doubleheaders start at 1 p.m.

"We need to come out and play well against those guys," Koenigs added. "It's not like we're not playing well. The guys are trying their tails off."

Rochester squeezed out a number of bloop singles and put runners on base for their top hitters, who came through in the clutch on countless occasions.

Pitcher Dan Huber helped himself to a victory in the first game, hammering a three-run homer off Riverland hurler Mike Haugen in the Yellowjackets' six-run sixth inning.

Brendan Huewe, already with a solo home run from the first game, got a bases-loaded opportunity in the nightcap and smoked a Clint Ripley offering over the fence for his 10th homer of the season. The grand slam got Rochester out to a 4-3 lead, but Riverland retaliated to manufacture a 5-4 lead.

Jeff Geisler drove in Todd Walerak with a two-out single in the bottom of the third, and Riverland reclaimed the lead on Nate Vollbrecht's RBI-single in the fourth.

Rochester scraped together three more runs in the sixth, spurred by a bloop double from Huewe.

Huewe finished the day 4-for-8 at the plate with five runs scored and seven RBIs.

"The one thing we've been doing consistently is that we've been doing a good job of hitting the ball," said Rochester coach Steve Hucke. "We're playing some decent ball right now, and Riverland's been playing great lately."

The host Blue Devils, hungry for a win, fired back to tie it at 7-all with two runs in the bottom of the sixth. Matt Dixon was plunked to lead off the inning, and Vollbrecht drove him home with a one-out double. Walerak, who raised his season average to .446 with a 4-7 day, plated Vollbrecht with a single to right.

Rochester scored the game-winning run in the top half of the seventh on a bases-loaded passed ball from Ripley to Haugen. Ripley struck out Huewe to end the inning and keep it a one-run game.

Geisler raised his season average to .491 with a single to lead off the home half of the seventh, but Adam Highum's sacrifice bunt attempt bounced right back to Rochester pitcher Matt Hauan. He turned and fired to get Geisler at second and start the rally killing double play.

Hucke and the Yellowjackets (11-9, 8-4) felt fortunate to emerge with the four-game season sweep after coming from behind to win the nightcap.

"Ripley is a heck of a pitcher, and he pitched well enough to win that ballgame," Hucke said. "We've got some gamers. In this conference you've got to be ready to go each and every game."

Haugen and Ripley had off-outings when compared to the pair of gems they threw Saturday against Minnesota West.

The Devil duo surrendered 10 and six earned runs, respectively, and combined for 10 walks.

Box Score:

Game One

RochesterRiverland

abrhbiabrhbi

Willis cf5000Vollbrecht ss4010

Ingle 2b3212Walerak 2b4120

Rugg c4010Morrison lf3000

Wright cr0100Haugen p4011

Huewe ss4322Geisler cf3100

Kohn 1b4222Dixon c4100

Huber p5134Peterson 3b1100

Meyer cr0200Bonser 1b3121

Cordie rf5220Ripley rf2100

Hauan 3b2111

Rasmussen lf5032

Totals37141513Totals28662

Rochester0321062--14156

Riverland0104001--662

Team LOB--Roch 10, Riv 6. DP--Riv 1. 2B--Cordie 2, Rasmussen, Vollbrecht, Walerak, Haugen. 3B--Bonser. HR--Huewe, Huber. SB--Ingle, Meyer, Dixon, Peterson.

IPHRERBBSO

Rochester

Huber, W7663510

Riverland

Haugen, L 5111052

Dixon243201

Haugen faced 5 batters in the 6th.

WP--Huber 6, Dixon. HBP--Hauan (by Dixon), Huewe (by Dixon).

Game Two

RochesterRiverland

abrhbiabrhbi

Willis cf4330Vollbrecht ss4222

Ingle ss5220Walerak rf3121

Rugg c3020Morrison lf3010

Wright cr0000Haugen c4000

Huewe 3b4225Geisler cf3131

Kohn 1b4011Highum dh4000

Meyer pr0000

Ripley p0000

Huber 2b3011Bonser 1b3110

Cordie rf3010Dixon 3b1200

Schmchr dh3000Peterson 2b3010

Hauan p0000

Rasmussen lf4120

Totals338147Totals287104

Rochester0040031--8145

Riverland1211020--7100

Team LOB--Roch 11, Riv 6. DP--Roch 2, Riv 1. 2B--Huewe, Vollbrecht. HR--Huewe. SB--Dixon. S--Rugg, Walerak, Dixon.

IPHRERBBSO

Rochester

Hauan, W7107634

Riverland

Ripley, L 2-17148859

WP--Hauan 2. PB--Rugg, Haugen. HBP--Rugg (by Ripley), Dixon (by Hauan).