By John RittenhouseA week’s worth of work in the loser’s Section 3AA Baseball Tournament wasn’t rewarded Thursday in Granite Falls.The Luverne Cardinals, who had won five straight elimination games to earn a berth in the final round of the tournament, had their season come to an end with a loss to Pipestone in the championship series.Pipestone scored five runs in the home half of the first inning and never lost control of the game on the way to an 8-2 victory.The Arrows will make their first state tournament appearance since 1977 at 10 a.m. today in St. Cloud. Luverne’s 15-10 campaign comes to an end.Luverne simply couldn’t overcome Pipestone’s first-inning ambush Thursday.After Arrow pitcher Dan Morrison blanked LHS in the top of the first, Pipestone put together a five-run rally featuring a two-run homer by David Steenstra and a two-run double from Tim Stotz in the bottom of the frame.Luverne did plate single runs against the Arrows in the fourth and fifth innings to trim the difference to three runs (5-2).Pipestone, however, scored once in the bottom of the fifth before adding two more counters in the sixth to win by six.J.T. Bruynes reached base on an error and Zach Wysong came up with an infield single to set the table for LHS in the fourth. Bruynes was forced out at third base when Ben Nath reached base on a fielder’s choice, which sent Wysong to second. Derek Johson’s two-out single plated Wysong with Luverne’s first run.John Tofteland reached base on an error and Dustin Richters and Jared Pick drew walks to give the Cards a bases-loaded threat in the fifth. Wysong picked up an RBI when he was hit by a pitch to force home Richters, making it a 5-2 game before the final out of the inning was recorded.Pipestone blanked the Cards over the final two innings while scoring three runs of its own.Nath started the game on the mound and took the loss. Nath was charted with all five runs in the first without registering an out. Nate Boler pitched three and two-thirds innings of scoreless relief. Wysong and Pick also pitched in relief, allowing a combined three runs.Box score AB R H BIJ.Pick 3 0 1 0Bruynes 3 0 0 0B.Pick 1 0 0 0Wysong 2 1 1 1Boelman 3 0 0 0Nath 2 0 0 0Herman 0 0 0 0Johnson 2 0 1 1Lundgren 3 0 0 0Richters 2 1 0 0Tofteland 2 0 0 0Cote 1 0 0 0
