Titles on the line
Big South to crown softball, baseball champs
Overall Big South Conference champions will be determined in one-game playoffs in both softball and baseball Saturday.
Softball
The softball title will be decided at noon in New Ulm as the Eagles host Luverne.
New Ulm won the Large School Division title for the sixth time in the nine seasons of the conference (the 2020 season was canceled) with a perfect 10-0 record. The Eagles are 16-3 overall.
Luverne won its first Small School Division title Thursday with a 7-6 win over Pipestone. The Cardinals (16-4) were 10-2 in conference play.
New Ulm and Pipestone each have won three overall BSC crowns. Fairmont and St. James Area each have one.
BIG SOUTH CONFERENCE
Final softball standings
Small School Division
Luverne 10-2
Pipestone 9-3
Windom 9-3
Jackson County Central 7-5
Blue Earth Area 3-9
Redwood Valley 2-10
St. James Area 2-10
Conference games only
Large School Division
New Ulm 10-0
St. Peter 7-3
Marshall 6-4
Fairmont 5-5
Worthington 2-8
Waseca 0-10
Conference games only
Big South Conference softball champions
Small School Division
2015: Jackson County Central
2016: Pipestone
2017: Pipestone
2018: Pipestone
2019: Pipestone
2020: Season canceled
2021: Pipestone
2022: St. James Area
2023: Pipestone
2024: Luverne
Large School Division
2015: New Ulm
2016: St. Peter
2017: New Ulm
2018: New Ulm
2019: New Ulm
2020: Season canceled
2021: St. Peter
2022: New Ulm
2023: Fairmont
2024: New Ulm
Championship games
2015: New Ulm 10, Jackson County Central 1
2016: Pipestone 5, St. Peter 2
2017: New Ulm 3, Pipestone 0
2018: Pipestone 3, New Ulm 1
2019: New Ulm 3, Pipestone 0
2020: Season canceled
2021: Pipestone 3, St. Peter 2
2022: St. James Area 3, New Ulm 0
2023: Fairmont 4, Pipestone 1
Baseball
Luverne’s Redbird Field will be the site of the baseball championship game at 2:30 p.m. Saturday.
The Cardinals and Windom were both 10-2 in conference play with Luverne making it to the title game via a tiebreaker. It’s the fifth time the Cardinals have represented the Small School Division in the championship game.
Marshall won its third Large School Division title with a 10-2 record.
The Cardinals have an overall record of 15-4, while Marshall is 15-3 with a game at Owatonna Friday night.
Fairmont has the most overall conference championships with three, Marshall and New Ulm each have two and Windom one.
BIG SOUTH CONFERENCE
Baseball standings
Small School Division
Luverne 10-2
Windom 10-2
Redwood Valley 8-4
Jackson County Central 5-7
Pipestone 4-8
Blue Earth Area 3-0
St. James Area 2-10
Conference games only
Large School Division
Marshall 9-1
St. Peter 8-2
Fairmont 6-4
New Ulm 4-5
Worthington 2-8
Waseca 0-9
Conference games only
Big South Conference baseball champions
Small School Division
2015: Windom
2016: Jackson County Central
2017: Jackson County Central
2018: Luverne
2019: Luverne
2020: Season canceled
2021: Luverne
2022: Windom
2023: Luverne
2024: Luverne
Large School Division
2015: Fairmont
2016: Fairmont
2017: Marshall
2018: New Ulm
2019: Marshall
2020: Season canceled
2021: New Ulm
2022: Fairmont
2023: Fairmont
2024: Marshall
Championship games
2015: Fairmont 7, Windom 0
2016: Fairmont 8, Jackson County Central 5
2017: Marshall 4, Jackson County Central 3
2018: New Ulm 8, Luverne 4
2019: Marshall 4, Luverne 2
2020: Season canceled
2021: New Ulm 8, Luverne 3
2022: Windom 2, Fairmont 1
2023: Fairmont 5, Luverne 1