Record Photo: Michael Rodgers Luverne’s Monterio May tags Madison Academy’s Colton Smith at home plate during the Class 3A state baseball championship series at Paterson Field. The two teams split the doubleheader to force a third game.

Top-ranked Madison Academy splits with Luverne

Michael RodgersThe Luverne Journal
The difference between the first game of the Class 3A championship and the second game was night and day for Madison Academy and Luverne.In the opener at Riverwalk Stadium in Montgomery, the Mustangs blasted Luverne 9-0.Even though Clayton Palicki struck out for what would have been the third out of the first inning, he reached first base because the pitch was wild.That left the door open for top-ranked Madison Academy to capitalize on the mistake, and the Mustangs scored three runs in the inning.Drew Mobley came through with an RBI double down the left field line, and Ben Seabrook came through with a two-RBI single.The Mustangs went on to put a run on the board in the top of the second inning, four runs in the top of the fifth and a final score in the seventh to claim the win.Jared Brinson ended the game as the top run-producer for Madison with three RBIs.Mobley was also superb on the mound, pitching all seven innings and only giving up three hits in the shutout.Luverne wasted no time in making a statement in the second game.The Tigers came through with hit after hit to put 13 runs on the board in the first inning.Madison Academy’s lone run came in the bottom of the second, when Mobley scored on a balk.Luverne added three runs in the top of the fifth to make the final score 16-1.“Drew was pitching effectively for us in the first game, and that gave us every bit of confidence to put runs on the board,” said Madison Academy head coach Mike Good. “We got some big hits early, and we were we were able to push some runs across late.“You’ve got to give credit to Luverne for keeping their composure,” he added. “There’s a reason why they’re here.”The deciding game of the state championship series was played Wednesday at 4 p.m. at Paterson Field.