The difference between the first game of the Class 3A championship and the second game was night and day for Madison Academy and Luverne.

In the opener at Riverwalk Stadium in Montgomery, the Mustangs blasted Luverne 9-0.

Even though Clayton Palicki struck out for what would have been the third out of the first inning, he reached first base because the pitch was wild.

That left the door open for Madison Academy to capitalize on the mistake, and the Mustangs scored three runs in the inning.

The Mustangs went on to put a run on the board in the top of the second inning, four runs in the top of the fifth and a final score in the seventh to claim the win.

However, Luverne wasted no time in making a statement in the second game.

The Tigers came through with hit after hit to put 13 runs on the board in the first inning.

When the dust cleared, Luverne had batted around, and Zane Sexton was leading the charge with four RBIs on two hits in the inning.

Madison Academy’s lone run came in the bottom of the second, when Mobley scored on a balk.

Luverne added three runs in the top of the fifth to make the final score 16-1.

Sexton had five RBIs in the game, while Ryan Waters, Corey Hale, Evan Richardson had two each, and Monterio May, Blake Hermeling and Adam Sport each had one.

“I’m just excited about how we came out in the second game,” said head coach Andre Parks. “It shows a lot of character to bounce back.”

The deciding game of the state championship series is set for Wednesday at 4 p.m. at Patterson Field in Montgomery.