The Luverne Cardinals baseball team wrapped up the regular season with a 17-3 record and earned the No. 1 seed in the Class 3AA Section Tournament.
The Cardinals began their quest for a state tournament bid on Saturday, May 29, in Luverne against the Pipestone Area Arrows.
The Cardinals defeated the Arrows 7-4 to get one step closer to the state tournament.
Luverne’s starting pitcher, Cade Wenninger, struck out the first batter he faced to open the game.
In the bottom of the first inning, Bailey Cowell was hit by a pitch and Ethan Beyer drew a walk to open the inning for the Cardinals.
With one out in the inning, Casey Sehr hit a two-run double to get the Cardinals on the board.
The Arrows got one run back in the top of the second inning to trim Luverne’s lead to 2-1.
Wenninger recorded one strikeout in the inning.
In the top of the third inning, Wenninger recorded his third strikeout of the game.
Beyer drew his second walk of the game in the bottom of the third inning with one out. Beyer then stole second base and advanced to third on a wild pitch.
Sehr drove in Beyer on an RBI single to put the Cardinals up 3-1.
With runners on third and second base, Connor Connell hit a triple to drive in a pair of runs with two outs. Connell’s two-run triple put the Cardinals up 5-1.
In the bottom of the fourth, Cowell hit a one-out double. Wenninger then hit a single to drive in Cowell to give the Cardinals a 6-1 lead.
The first two Pipestone batters reached home in the top of the fifth to start a rally for the Arrows.
Pipestone scored three runs in the inning to trim Luverne’s lead to 6-4.
In the bottom of the sixth inning, Kaden Anderson led off the inning with a single.
The Cardinals scored one run in the inning to make it a 7-4 ballgame.
In the top of the seventh inning, Connell struck out the first two batters he faced to help the Cardinals secure the 7-4 victory.
Luverne will host Fairmont in the section tournament on Tuesday, June 1, at 5 p.m.
If the Cardinals win on Tuesday, they’ll play in the section semifinals on Saturday, June 5, in Marshall at noon.
PAS 0 1 0 0 3 0 0 4 5 2
LHS 2 0 3 1 0 1 x 7 10 5
Batting: Cowell 1-3; Wenninger 1-4; Beyer 1-2; Sehr 2-3; Overgaard 1-2; Bosch 1-1; Connell 1-2; Sneller 1-3; Anderson 1-3
Doubles: Cowell, Sehr
Triples: Connell
RBIs: Sehr 2; Connell 2; Overgaard; Wenninger