While the Albert Lea American Legion Post 56 baseball team may have come up short, it wasn’t for lack of trying.

Despite a rallying grand slam by Parker Mullenbach, Faribault defeated the Legion 9-6 Wednesday at Hayek Field.

Mullenbach hit his second grand slam of the season with two outs in the bottom of the seventh inning.

Mason Hammer also helped the Legion offensively by hitting a double and scoring two runs.

Legion coach Jay Enderson said that, while Mullenbach and Hammer were positives offensively, the Legion didn’t hit the ball enough overall.

After four scoreless innings, the Legion scored one run each in both the fifth and the sixth inning, before Mullenbach brought in his four RBIs in the seventh.

“It was a little too late to get back in it by then,” said Enderson.

Enderson attributed the loss to his team’s learning curve when it comes to playing an unfamiliar team like Faribault.

“We struggled at a few of the bases,” he said. “We gave up some big errors. That’s how we got down so early.”

The team gave up five errors total, according to Enderson, who also said he had multiple players starting at positions they weren’t used to.

“We played flat tonight,” he said.

The errors attributed to Faribault taking an early lead, scoring two runs in the first inning and tacking on another in the second, before adding four more in the third and two in the seventh.

Mullenbach, for example, started on the mound for the Legion in just his second pitching start of the season. He recorded the loss while allowing seven hits, walking two and striking out one in his three-inning appearance.

Next, the Legion will host Waseca in a doubleheader starting at 5 p.m. Friday at Hayek Field.