By John RittenhouseLuverne took top honors during the South Third District VFW Baseball Playoffs by posting a pair of 10-run wins at Redbird Field late last week.Luverne disposed of Slayton by the 10-run rule during Thursday’s semifinals before defeating Edgerton by the 10-run rule during Saturday’s championship game.The wins improve Luverne’s season record to 19-8 and send the Cardinals to the Third District Tournament at Legion Field in Marshall Saturday and Sunday (possibly Monday).The Cardinals will play Olivia, the second seed from the Northern Division, in a 1 p.m. game in a first-round game of the four-team, double-elimination event. A win would send the Cards to a 5 p.m. game later that day. A loss would force Luverne to play again at 3 p.m.Luverne 10, Edgerton 0The Cardinals strolled to a 10-run win over Edgerton during Saturday’s championship game at Redbird Field in Luverne.Luverne pitcher Andrew DeBoer threw a one-hit shutout and teammates Marc Boelman and Chris Fitzer drove in three runs each to lead the Cardinals to the tournament title.DeBoer, one of three Cardinals to slap two hits in the game, threw five innings of two-walk, two-strikeout ball to notch a complete-game win.Edgerton, the team that eventually placed second to advance to the district event, never put together a serious scoring threat against Luverne’s pitcher.The Cardinals supported DeBoer by scoring runs in four of the game’s five innings.Luverne loaded the bases in the first with Jake Clark slapping a single, Boelman reaching base on a fielder’s choice and Tyler Reisch being hit by a pitch. Back-to-back singles by Fitzer and Ben Nath plated Clark and Boelman respectively, giving the Cards a 2-0 lead.The Cards increased their lead to 5-0 by scoring three runs in the second.Derek Elbers singled before Clark and Brett Lundgren drew walks to load the sacks. Boelman then doubled over the left fielder’s head to score all three runners on base.DeBoer helped his own cause in the third inning by slapping a single before Elbers drew a walk. Clark then delivered an RBI single before Lundgren chased home a run with a groundout to make it a 7-0 difference.Luverne scored three runs in the fifth to end the game by the 10-run rule.Craig Oeding reached base on an error before scoring the first run on a groundout by Clark.Elbers, who walked before Clark’s groundout, and Clark scored on Fitzer’s two-run single to end the game.Box score AB R H BIClark 3 2 2 2Lundgren 1 2 0 1Boelman 3 1 1 3Reisch 3 1 0 0Fitzer 3 0 2 3Nath 3 0 1 1DeBoer 3 1 2 0Elbers 2 2 1 0Oeding 3 1 0 0Luverne 13, Slayton 3The Cardinals advanced to the tournament’s championship game by disposing of Slayton by 10 runs during a five-inning game played at Redbird Field Thursday.Luverne fell behind 3-0 in the game’s first inning, but the Cardinals bounced back to score 13 unanswered runs and win the game by the 10-run rule.Craig Oeding led the charge by driving in four runs with two hits. Brett Lundgren, who pitched a complete game, and Derek Elbers added three RBIs each to the winning cause.Slayton protected its early lead through two and one-half innings before Luverne exploded for seven runs in the bottom of the third.Lundgren drew a walk and Tyler Reisch reached base on an error before Ben Nath opened the scoring in the third with a two-run double.Andrew DeBoer singled home Nath to tie the game at three. A two-run triple by Oeding, which was followed by a two-run single from Lundgren, capped the seven-run inning.Luverne went on to score three runs in the fourth and fifth innings to put the game away.The Cards loaded the bases in the fourth with Chris Fitzer drawing a walk, Nath being hit by a pitch and DeBoer slapping a single.Elbers chased home the first two runs with a single, and Lundgren added a sacrifice fly to make it a 10-3 game.Reisch reached base on an error, Nath walked and DeBoer was hit by a pitch to load the sacks in the fifth. Elbers delivered a sacrifice fly to plate the first run of the frame, and Oeding’s two-run single ended the contest.Lundgren limited Slayton to four hits without issuing a walk during a five-inning stint on the hill. Lundgren fanned five batters.Box score AB R H BIClark 2 1 0 0Lundgren 1 1 1 3Boelman 4 0 0 0Reisch 3 2 0 0Fitzer 1 1 0 0Nath 2 3 1 2DeBoer 3 3 2 1Elbers 3 1 2 3Oeding 4 1 2 4