DRAMATIC HOMER — Fairmont slugger Tegan Livesay (left) delivers a low-five to Cardinals’ head coach Cory Hainy after Livesay hammered a walk-off three-run home run against Belle Plaine during Section 2AA playoff softball action at Caswell Park in Mankato on Saturday. (Photo by Greg Abel)

MANKATO — Tegan Livesay guided Fairmont’s softball program into unchartered territory during postseason action Saturday at Caswell Park.

Livesay piled up a playoff-game school-record 24 strikeouts and hammered the dramatic walk-off three-run home run in the bottom of the ninth inning to help the No. 2-seeded Cardinals cage the No. 3-seeded Belle Plaine Tigers, 4-1, in a clash of Section 2AA unbeatens.

Minnesota State University softball commit Chloe Brandt then fired a three-hit complete game on the strength of 11 strikeouts and tripled home No. 4-seeded Le Sueur-Henderson’s initial run to squeeze the Giants to a 2-1 win over Fairmont during the final game of sectional unbeatens late Saturday afternoon in Mankato.

Fairmont (19-3) faces the winner between Belle Plaine and No. 1-seeded New Ulm in a 7 p.m. final-three showdown back at Caswell Park on Tuesday night.

New Ulm eliminated No. 6-seeded St. James Area by a 4-2 decision, while Belle Plaine nipped No. 5 Lake Crystal-Wellcome Memorial in a 6-5 nail-biter on Saturday to earn spots in Tuesday’s 5 p.m. elimination game in Mankato.

“The first game took a lot of energy out of us to rally for the win in extra innings,” said Fairmont head coach Cory Hainy, whose lineup became the first in the program’s history to reach the final round of sectional unbeatens. “We thought we had it won when Tegan singled home Ava (Terfehr) to go up 1-0 in the bottom of the fifth, but we couldn’t hold the lead.

“Give Belle Plaine credit for battling to the end and tying it on Rachel Johnson’s clutch RBI single in the top of the seventh to eventually force extra innings.”

Knotted at 1, Cameron Chard produced a one-out single to center for Belle Plaine during the top of the ninth. Livesay got No. 3 batter Ciara Fahey to fly out without advancing Chard, but Johnson attempted to supply more hitting heroics to her game resume by cranking a sinking liner just inside the right-field line.

Terfehr sprinted laterally and made a sliding snow-cone snag of Johnson’s hit to deny the Tigers the go-ahead run.

“What a huge defensive play by Ava in the top of the ninth,” said Hainy.

Terfehr then transitioned from defensive standout to offensive catalyst by lining a single to left field to lead off the Cardinals’ bottom of the ninth.

Belle Plaine ace right-hander Sienna Bemmels got an infield popout before Anna Ehlert produced the biggest hit of her prep career by lining a single to left to bring Livesay to the plate. Livesay stepped into the batter’s box and swatted a towering three-run blast over the fence in left-center for the walk-off game-winning HR.

“I really can’t tell you what pitch she (Bemmels) threw, I just hit it hard and it went out,” Livesay said in reference to her team-leading fifth HR of the spring.

Ironically, Livesay’s 24 Ks eclipsed the program’s postseason strikeout record of 20 that she set during Thursday’s second-round sectional win over Medford. The Southeast Missouri State softball commit has produced a staggering 54 strikeouts during her 23 innings of work in three playoff games.

Livesay issued only one walk and allowed one unearned run on two hits in nine innings pitched to earn the complete-game victory.

Livesay, Nevaeh Rahm and Terfehr each went 2-for-4 to top the Cardinals’ nine-hit performance against Belle Plaine, while Ehlert, Brylee Miller and Emily Muller supplied one hit each.

Bemmels gave up four runs on nine hits, struck out 10 and issued three walks in 8 1/3 innings to absorb the loss for the Tigers.

Ironically, the LSH Giants utilized a “small-ball” bunting strategy to help pace their first-inning lead and eventual 2-1 triumph over Fairmont in Saturday’s final clash at Caswell Park.

Teagan Graham bunted to lead off the game for LSH and reached second when the ensuing throw sailed off-line. Bailey Lehman bunted Graham to third base with one out before the left-handed hitting Brandt went opposite field with a Livesay pitch and drove it over the Fairmont outfielder’s head for an RBI triple and early lead.

Livesay and Brandt then locked up in a prep pitching classic duel through four complete frames before Graham drove in the go-ahead and eventual winning run during the fifth.

Madison Wilbright reached second base when her bunt was thrown away at first base before Livesay recorded two of her 10 strikeouts. The left-handed hitting Graham then legged out a bunt to plate Wilbright — who had stolen third base — for an insurance run and 2-0 lead.

Rahm kept Fairmont’s chances alive by lining a one-out single during the bottom of the seventh inning before pinch runner Haleigh Grotzinger scored on Ava Gillmore’s single and ensuing outfielder error.

Brandt, however, notched her 11th and final strikeout of the game to strand Gillmore at second base with the potential tying run.

“I loved our fight at the end of the second game. How we didn’t let up and tried to either force extra innings or win it,” said Hainy.

Livesay added Fairmont’s third hit on the contest.

Livesay gave up two more unearned runs on four hits, struck out 10 and did not issue a walk in seven innings against LSH to absorb the loss.

Brandt fanned 11, hit one batter, walked one and allowed an unearned run on three hits in seven innings pitched to earn the complete-game win.

BP   000 000 100 — 1 2 2

FA   000 010 003 — 4 9 1

Winning run scored with one out in the bottom of the ninth inning.

Sienna Bemmels (LP) and Cameron Chard. Tegan Livesay (WP) and Chantel Moeller.

LOB–Fairmont 10; Belle Plaine 2. HR–Tegan Livesay (Fairmont).

•

LSH   100 010 0 — 2 4 3

FA     000 000 1 — 1 3 3

Chloe Brandt (WP) and Madison Wilbright. Tegan Livesay (LP) and Chantel Moeller.

LOB–Fairmont 4; Le Sueur-Henderson 3. 3B–Chloe Brandt (LSH). SAC–Bailey Lehman (LSH) 2, Teagan Graham (LSH).