Final two unbeatens
JCC, MACA match up in 3AA softball tourney
Jackson County Central and Morris/Chokio-Alberta meet in a matchup of the final two undefeated teams in the Section 3AA softball tournament at 5 p.m. Tuesday in Marshall.
The Huskies were the number one seed in the South Sub-Section and have a record of 20-3. The Tigers were the top seed in the North Sub-Section and are 19-2.
JCC was a 3-2 winner over Dassel-Cokato on Hadley Wachal’s home run in the bottom of the seventh, while MACA downed Pipestone 6-4.
The Huskies have won 11 in a row since a loss at St. James Area. The Tigers have won four straight since a loss to West Central Area in their next-to-last game of the regular season.
The winner will advance to the championship round on Thursday, while the loser will play again on Tuesday.
Windom (13-10) takes on Dassel-Cokato (16-5) in the elimination bracket, also at 5 p.m.; with the JCC-MACA loser playing the Windom-DC winner at about 7 p.m.
Section 3AA
Thursday, May 22
South Sub-Section
At Jackson
Windom 6, Minneota/Canby 1
Jackson County Central 6, Windom 1
At Pipestone
Redwood Valley 10, Luverne 9
Pipestone 14, Redwood Valley 3
North Sub-Section
At Morris
Minnewaska Area 6, Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg 2
Morris Area/Chokio-Alberta 5, Minnewaska Area 2
At Dassel
Dassel-Cokato 11, Montevideo 1
New London-Spicer 1, Litchfield 0
Dassel-Cokato 3, New London-Spicer 0
Saturday, May 24
At Marshall
Winner’s bracket
Jackson County Central 3, Dassel-Cokato 2
Morris Area/Chokio-Alberta 6, Pipestone 4
Elimination bracket
Windom 1, New London-Spicer 0
Redwood Valley 3, Minnewaska Area 0
Windom 8, Pipestone 5
Tuesday, May 27
At Marshall
Winner’s bracket
Jackson County Central (20-3) vs. Morris Area/Chokio-Alberta (19-2), 5 p.m.
Elimination bracket
Windom (13-10) vs. Dassel-Cokato (16-5), 5 p.m.
JCC-MACA loser vs. Windom-DC winner, 7 p.m.
Thursday, May 29
At Marshall
Championship
JCC-MACA winner vs. Elimination bracket winner, 5 p.m.
Second game to follow if necessary, 7 p.m.
Tournament meetings
The Huskies and Tigers have met four times in Section 3AA tournament play, with JCC winning three of those matchups:
2019: Morris Area/Chokio-Alberta 10, Jackson County Central 3
2023: Jackson County Central 5, Morris Area/Chokio-Alberta 4 (9 innings); Jackson County Central 12, Morris Area/Chokio-Alberta 2
2024: Jackson County Central 4, Morris Area/Chokio-Alberta 1
Not much in common
JCC and MACA have only one common opponent, Pipestone.
The Huskies swept the Arrows in a doubleheader in Jackson on May 1, winning 13-3 and 2-0.
The Tigers were 6-4 winners over Pipestone in a section tournament winner’s bracket game on Saturday.
Teams remaining
There are 33 Class 2A softball teams in the state still playing.
1AA (4)
Unbeaten: Randolph, Chatfield
One loss: Cotter/Hope, Caledonia
2AA (4)
Unbeaten: Jordan
One loss: LeSueur-Henderson, Fairmont, Lake Crystal Wellcome Memorial
3AA (4)
Unbeaten: Jackson County Central, Morris Area/Chokio-Alberta
One loss: Windom, Dassel-Cokato
4AA (3)
Unbeaten: St. Agnes
One loss: Concordia Academy, Mounds Park Academy
5AA (4)
Unbeaten: Rockford, Spectrum
One loss: Southwest Christian, Providence Academy
6AA (4)
Unbeaten: St. Cloud Cathedral, Kimball Area
One loss: Holdingford, Pierz
7AA (4)
Unbeaten: Aitkin, Rush City
One loss: Greenway/Nashwauk-Keewatin, Esko
8AA (6)
Unbeaten: Roseau, East Grand Forks
One loss: Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton, Wadena-Deer Creek, Menahga, Hawley
State stats
According to statistics on minnesota-scores.net, Jackson County Central is fifth among the 33 Class 2A teams that are still playing in runs scored per game with 10.0.
The Huskies dropped out of the top 10 in runs allowed. JCC has given up 2.1 runs per game. Rockford is 10th with 2.0.
Kimball Area leads the state in runs scored with 11.6, with St. Cloud Cathedral next at 11.5. The Cubs and Crusaders are the final two unbeaten teams in Section 6AA and will meet Tuesday in Waite Park.
Spectrum has not allowed a run in 18 games. The Sting are third in runs scored with 10.4. Spectrum will play Rockford in the Section 5AA tournament Tuesday in Annandale.
Here are the top 10 teams in each category:
Runs for
Kimball Area 11.6
St. Cloud Cathedral 11.5
Spectrum 10.4
Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton 10.3
Jackson County Central 10.0
Hawley 9.9
Aitkin 9.8
Mounds Park Academy 9.8
Rockford 9.8
Randolph 9.3
Runs allowed
Spectrum 0.0
Randolph 0.5
Kimball Area 0.7
Morris Area/Chokio-Alberta 1.5
Caledonia 1.5
Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton 1.5
Hawley 1.6
Lake Crystal Wellcome Memorial 1.6
St. Agnes 1.8
Rockford 2.0
Season results
JACKSON COUNTY CENTRAL (20-3)
Friday, April 4: Edgerton/Southwest Minnesota Christian, W 7-5
Tuesday, April 8: Windom, W 9-0
Tuesday, April 8: Windom, W 19-5
Thursday, April 10: Blue Earth Area, W 13-1
Monday, April 2: Fairmont, W 4-1
Friday, April 25: at Luverne, W 12-1
Friday, April 25: at Luverne, W 9-2
Saturday, April 26: at Lake Crystal Wellcome Memorial, L 3-2
Tuesday, April 29: at Blue Earth Area, W 33-0
Thursday, May 1: Pipestone, W 13-3
Thursday, May 1: Pipestone, W 2-0
Monday, May 5: at St. James Area, L 2-1
Tuesday, May 6: St. James Area, W 5-1
Thursday, May 8: at Redwood Valley, W 15-0
Thursday, May 8: at Redwood Valley, W 10-0
Saturday, May 10: Worthington, W 15-3
Saturday, May 10: New York Mills, W 10-3
Saturday, May 10: Zumbrota-Mazeppa, W 12-2
Tuesday, May 13: at Fairmont, W 13-1
Thursday, May 15: Wabasso, W 12-1
Saturday, May 17: New Ulm, L 11-5
Thursday, May 22: Windom, W 6-1
Saturday, May 24: Dassel-Cokato at Marshall, W 3-2
Tuesday, May 27: Morris Area/Chokio-Alberta at Marshall, 5 p.m.
MORRIS AREA/CHOKIO-ALBERTA (19-2)
Friday, April 11: Rocori, W 5-2
Saturday, April 12: Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg: W 13-2
Saturday, April 12: New London-Spicer, W 3-1
Saturday, April 12: at Minneota/Canby, W 4-0
Tuesday, April 15: at Sauk Centre, W 10-0
Thursday, April 17: at Marshall, W 6-0
Tuesday, April 22: BOLD, W 5-0
Thursday, April 24: Benson, W 12-0
Friday, April 25: at Montevideo, W 14-2
Friday, April 25: at Montevideo, W 14-2
Tuesday, April 29: at Benson, W 26-0
Thursday, May 1: Melrose Area, L 5-21
Tuesday, May 6: at Melrose Area, W 7-1
Thursday, May 8: Sauk Centre, W 11-2
Friday, May 9: at Minnewaska Area, W 7-1
Friday, May 9: at Minnewaska Area, W 10-0
Tuesday, May 13: at West Central Area, L 6-5
Tuesday, May 13: at West Central Area, W 14-3
Wednesday, May 14: at BOLD, W 8-0
Thursday, May 22: Minnewaska Area, W 5-2
Saturday, May 24: Pipestone at Marshall, W 6-4
Tuesday, May 27: Jackson County Central at Marshall, 5 p.m.