Wide-open field
JCC among contenders for 3AA softball title
What figures to be a wide-open Section 3AA softball tournament is scheduled to get underway Tuesday with games at four sites.
In the South Sub-Section, Luverne was seeded first, Windom second and Jackson County Central third.
The Huskies split doubleheaders with the two teams seeded ahead of them. In each case JCC lost a close first game (one in eight innings) and then won the second game handily by shutout, beating Luverne 15-0 and Windom 14-0.
Conversely, JCC lost twice to the team seeded directly behind them, fourth-seeded Pipestone, by scores of 7-1 and 12-1.
As far as the other teams in that mix, Luverne beat Pipestone twice in games played more than two weeks apart. Also, Luverne and Windom split a doubleheader, as did Windom and Pipestone.
Most sections in the state use the QRF system established by Minnesota-scores.net to seed teams for tournament play. Section 3AA does not.
According to the QRF rankings, Jackson County Central is first with a 95.1 value, followed by Luverne (94.3), Pipestone (88.8) and Windom (88.2).
Of course, that’s just the South Sub-Section.
Two North Sub-Section teams have a higher QRF number than any team from the South. Dassel-Cokato has a 99.4 QRF and Morris Area/Chokio-Alberta’s is 99.1.
It appears that there have only been three games this spring where a South Sub-Section has played someone from the North Sub-Section and only one of those involved two of the top teams. Morris Area/Chokio-Alberta edged Luverne 5-4.
In the only other matchups, MACA defeated Minneota/Canby 13-1 and Montevideo beat Redwood Valley 13-3.
Jackson County Central swept Redwood in a doubleheader on May 9 in Jackson, winning 12-2 in five innings and 13-6.
The Huskies have the longest current winning streak of any team in the section, having won six straight games. Also, JCC has won 11 of its last 12.
The first round is single elimination.
The JCC-Redwood winner advances to the double elimination portion of the tournament and will play Windom (14-6) in a game scheduled for 5:30 p.m. Tuesday. The Eagles have a first-round bye.
Also in the South Sub-Section Tuesday, two games will be played in Luverne with Pipestone taking on Minneota/Canby at 4 p.m. with the winner facing Luverne at 5:30.
Games in the North Sub-Section Tuesday will be played in Dassel and Morris.
The tournament then cross-bracket on Saturday with all the games being played in Marshall.
JACKSON COUNTY CENTRAL SOFTBALL SCHEDULE/RESULTS
Thurs., April 4: at Fairmont, W 13-0 (5 innings)
Tues., April 9: at St. James Area, L 2-1 (9 innings)
Tues., April 9: at St. James Area, W 16-1 (4 innings)
Fri., April 12: Edgerton/Southwest Minnesota Christian, W 10-0 (6 innings)
Tues., April 18: Luverne, L 7-4
Tues., April 18: Luverne, W 15-0 (5 innings)
Thurs., April 25: at Pipestone, L 7-1
Thurs., April 25: at Pipestone, L 12-1
Mon., April 29: at Blue Earth Area, W 10-0 (6 innings)
Mon., April 29: at Blue Earth Area, W 16-0 (4 innings)
Fri., May 3: at Fairmont, W 6-2
Thurs., May 9: Redwood Valley, W 12-2 (5 innings)
Thurs., May 9: Redwood Valley, W 13-6
Fri., May 10: at Windom, L 4-3 (8 innings)
Fri., May 10: at Windom, W 14-0 (5 innings)
Sat., May 11: Albert Lea, W 7-6
Sat., May 11: New York Mills, W 13-3 (5 innings)
Sat., May 11: Worthington, W 13-5
Mon., May 13: Lake Crystal Wellcome Memorial, W 4-3
Thurs., May 16: at Wabasso, W 5-1
Tues., May 21: Redwood Valley at Windom, 4 p.m.
Section 3AA softball
Tuesday, May 21
South Sub-Section
At Windom
Jackson County Central (15-5) vs. Redwood Valley (4-14), 4 p.m.
Windom (14-6) vs. JCC-Redwood winner, 5:30 p.m.
At Luverne
Pipestone (11-7) vs. Minneota/Canby (14-6), 4 p.m.
Luverne (16-4) vs. Pipestone-MC winner, 5:30 p.m.
North Sub-Section
At Dassel
Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg (10-10) vs. Litchfield (2-17), 4 p.m.
Dassel-Cokato (15-3) vs. KMS-Litchfield winner, 5:30 p.m.
At Morris
Morris Area/Chokio-Alberta (18-2) vs. Montevideo (1-17), 3 p.m.
New London-Spicer (7-10) vs. Minnewaska Area (6-13), 4:30 p.m.
Winners of first two games, 6 p.m.
State tournament appearances
Appearances in the state tournament for teams currently in Section 3AA.
Pipestone Area (14): 2003 AA runner-up, 2006, 2007 AA champion, 2008 AA runner-up, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2021, 2022, 2023.
Jackson County Central (4): 2000, 2002, 2004 AA champion, 2005 AA champion.
Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg (5): 2004, 2007, 2011, 2012, 2013.
Litchfield (3): 1987, 1989, 1990, A runner-up.
Dassel-Cokato (2): 1996, 1999.
Minnewaska Area (1): 1994.
Before consolidation
There have been other state tournament trips for these schools:
Morris Area (7): 1982, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1995, 1996.
Jackson (3): 1983, 1984, 1993.
Pipestone-Jasper (1): 2001.