By John RittenhouseThe 2004 softball season came to an end for the Luverne Cardinals during the first round of the Section 3AA Tournament Monday in Pipestone.Luverne played a competitive game against Tracy-Milroy-Balaton during the tournament opener for both teams, but it was the Panthers who advanced by posting a 1-0 victory in eight innings.The Cardinals end the campaign with a 7-13 record.The teams battled to a scoreless draw through seven and one-half innings before T-M-B plated the game’s lone run in the bottom of the eighth.Luverne pitcher Stacy Lorenzen, who pitched seven no-hit innings to start the contest, yielded a single to the lead-off hitter in the bottom of the eighth.The runner moved to second with one out, and scored on an error to end the game.Luverne had some scoring chances throughout the game, but the Cardinals couldn’t take advantage of them."We hit the ball harder than they did, and we had a lot more chances to score," said LHS coach Steve Semmens. "We just couldn’t get the crucial hit."One of Luverne’s best opportunities to score came in the top of the seventh, when it had a runner on third base with two outs. Alison Brands hit a sharp ground ball up the middle, but the ball struck the pitchers foot, caromed directly to a T-M-B fielder, who promptly threw to first base to record the final out.Natalie Domagala and Jessy Behr doubled for Luverne in the game. Kim Shelton and Kerri Fransman singled for the Cards.
