Members of the Luverne High School baseball team pose with the trophy that goes along with winning the Section 3AA Baseball Tournament championship. The Cardinals defeated Jackson County Central 5-2 to earn the school’s seventh berth in the state tournament. The Cardinals open the state tournament at 12:30 p.m. today in St. Cloud.By John RittenhouseThe Luverne baseball team earned the school’s seventh berth in the state tournament by winning the Section 3AA championship Thursday in Windom.Luverne completed the section event with a perfect 5-0 record by defeating Jackson County Central 5-2 in Thursday’s finale.As the double-elimination event’s lone undefeated team, Luverne needed one win against JCC to complete its quest for a section championship.The Cardinals erased a 1-0 deficit to the Huskies by scoring five runs in the fourth and fifth innings and went on to prevail by three runs.The victory upped Luverne’s season record to 16-9, and the Cardinals will take a seven-game winning streak into today’s opener of Minnesota State Class AA Tournament in St. Cloud.Luverne will play Section 6AA champion St. Cloud Cathedral (19-6) at 12:30 p.m. in a quarterfinal-round tilt on Joe Faber Field.SCC is the team that beat Luverne in the 2001 Class AA championship game, the last time LHS advanced to the state tournament.If the Cardinals continue to play good baseball like they did against JCC Thursday, anything can happen at state.LHS used solid pitching and timely hitting to beat JCC, the defending Section 3AA champion, for the second time in the tournament and the fourth time this season.The Cardinals did show some jitters when they yielded an unearned run in the top of the first inning, but they settled down to play a strong game the rest of the way behind the pitching of Jared Pick and Adam Kurtz.Pick tossed four and one-third innings of one-run ball to pick up the win. He fanned four batters, walked two and was touched for four hits and one unearned run.When two of the first JCC batters reached base against Pick in the top of the fifth, Kurtz took the mound and escaped the jam when a line drive was turned into an unassisted double play by shortstop Zach Wysong to preserve a 5-1 lead.Kurtz did get into trouble in the sixth by allowing one earned run, but two strikeouts allowed him to get out of a bases-loaded situation.Kurtz pitched two and two-thirds innings of three-hit, two-walk, four-strikeout ball to earn a save.Luverne did all of its damage offensively in the fourth and fifth innings.Senior Jake Studer led the fourth frame off with a single. With Kurtz at the plate, Luverne coach Mike Wenninger called for a hit-and-run play that worked better than could be expected.Kurtz sent a grounder to the JCC shortstop, who charged the ball to field it. The fielder didn’t have time to force a running Studer out at second base, so he uncorked a wild throw to first that sailed over the first baseman’s head. The JCC first baseman retrieved the ball and tried to throw out Studer at home plate, but the attempt was too late. Kurtz, who rounded second as the throw was being made to home plate, headed for third and drew a throw from the JCC catcher. With no player covering third base, the ball bounced down the left-field line, allowing Kurtz to score a run that gave the Cards a 2-1 lead.JCC’s troubles continued as Mark Remme, the batter after Kurtz, was hit by a pitch. Remme advanced to second when Adam Reisch grounded out and scored when Jesse Kuhlman delivered a single for a 3-1 lead.Luverne added two more runs in the fifth to make it a 5-1 game.Studer walked and stole second before Kurtz came up with a run-scoring double. Remme capped the rally with a run-scoring single.Box score AB R H BIPick 4 0 0 0Uilk 3 0 0 0Studer 2 2 2 0Kurtz 3 2 1 1Remme 2 1 1 1Schmidt 3 0 0 0Reisch 3 0 0 0Kuhlman 3 0 1 1Wysong 3 0 2 0
