Luverne’s Jared Pick takes a cut at an offering during Monday’s home VFW playoff game against Slayton. Pick had two hits and three RBIs during a 16-6 victory.By John RittenhouseA 10-run fourth inning sent the Luverne VFW baseball team into the winner’s bracket of the South Third District Playoffs Monday.The fourth-seeded Cardinals took on No. 5 Slayton to open the playoffs at Redbird Field.The situation looked bleak when Slayton scored six runs in the top of the second inning to take a 6-2 advantage, but the Cards outscored the visitors 14-0 the rest of the game to win 16-6 in six innings.Luverne, 12-14 after the victory, earns the right to face No. 1 seed Worthington tonight in Worthington. Game time is 6:30 p.m.A win over Worthington would send the Cards into the championship game at noon Saturday in Worthington. A loss would set up a 2 p.m. tilt in the loser’s bracket Saturday in Worthington.Luverne’s 10-run outburst in the bottom of the fourth inning gave the Cards a 12-6 lead they would never relinquish.The inning was highlighted by two-run doubles from Jared Pick and Brian Deutsch, and a two-run single from Kelsey Petersen.John Tofteland added an RBI single and Derek Johnson a bases-loaded walk to the fourth-inning rally. Two more runs scored on Slayton mistakes.The Cards went on to win by the 10-run rule after scoring one run in the fifth inning and three in the sixth.Taylor Graphenteen walked and scored on a single by Wyatt Cote to make it a 13-6 game in the fifth.Petersen capped a three-RBI game with a triple in the sixth. Graphenteen singled home a run and ended the game by scoring on a wild pitch as the inning progressed.Luverne led 2-0 by scoring twice in the bottom of the first before Slayton moved in front 6-2 in the second.Johnson walked, Petersen singled and Graphenteen reached base with a fielder’s choice to load the sacks in the first.Pick produced a sacrifice fly to score Johnson to record his first of three RBIs in the game. Tofteland was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded to force home the second run.Cote pitched five strong innings of relief to pick up the win. He was charged with one unearned run.Graphenteen pitched a scoreless first inning before being lifted for Cote after yielding five runs in the second.Box score AB R H BIJohnson 2 3 0 1Petersen 4 3 2 3Graphenteen 4 2 1 1Pick 4 1 2 3Cote 4 1 2 1Tofteland 2 1 1 2Nath 3 2 1 0Deutsch 1 2 1 2Ward 0 1 0 0Boler 0 0 0 0Richters 0 0 0 0
