Hills-Beaver Creek High School sophomore Zach Wysong tags out a Jackson County Central runner in front of Luverne teammate Jared Pick (21) during Thursday’s Section 3AA Baseball Tournament championship game in Windom. Wysong had two hits to help the Cards beat JCC 5-2. Luverne plays in the state tournament today in St. Cloud.By John RittenhouseSophomore Zach Wysong will go down in history as the first Hills-Beaver Creek High School baseball player to participate in a state tournament.That will become a fact today in St. Cloud, where the Luverne High School team will make an appearance in the Minnesota State Class AA Baseball Tournament.Wysong, a sophomore shortstop, helped the Cardinals win the Section 3AA Tournament Championship in Windom Thursday.Luverne defeated Jackson County Central 5-2 in the section championship game, giving the Cardinals their seventh berth in the state tournament.Luverne, 16-9 overall and the winner of seven straight games, plays 19-6 St. Cloud Cathedral at 12:30 p.m. on Joe Faber Field. Win or lose, the Cards will play their second game of the event at 5:30.As the lone undefeated team of the Section 3AA event, Luverne needed one win against JCC to clinch the title.After falling behind 1-0 after yielding an unearned run in the top of the first, Luverne bounced back to score five runs in the fourth and fifth innings to set the stage for a 5-2 win.Wysong, who had two hits (one single and one double) in two trips to the plate, didn’t contribute to Luverne’s three-run rally in the fourth inning and two-run uprising in the fifth.He did, however, make a play in the field that proved to be one of the turning points in the game.Luverne moved in front 3-1 in the bottom of the fourth, but JCC made a bid to regain the lead in the top of the fifth as the first two Huskies to bat in the inning reached base.With runners on first and second and one out, a line drive headed toward left field found Wysong’s glove for the second out of the frame. The JCC runner on second base strayed too far off the bag, allowing Wysong to beat him in a race to the base and complete an inning-ending, unassisted double play.Luverne went on to outscore the Huskies 2-1 the rest of the way to win by three runs.
