The Luverne High School Tigers are currently ranked seventh in the state in 3A baseball, and head baseball coach Andre Parks couldn’t be more pleased.

“We’ve beaten some really good teams,” Parks said. “I’m very proud of the way we’re playing right now.

Seven must be a lucky number for the Tigers as Parks is also in his seventh season as Luverne’s head baseball coach.

The Tigers now stand at 16-4 for the season. They racked up their last three wins with a 14-5 whipping of Elba, a winning double-header against Central High School (13-3, 17-4), and another winning double-header against Greenville (3-2, 3-2.)

Luverne also won the LHS-BHS Invitational Tournament, which they co-sponsored with Brantley High School.

On Friday, March 20, Kinston, SweetWater and Brantley played in Brantley, while Houston County, Greenville and Luverne played at LHS. On Saturday, all six teams came to LHS.

Brantley was the number one seed, and Luverne was the number two seed from Friday’s games as LHS lost to Greenville 20-13, with Micah Wallace picking up a single, a double, and a home run for Luverne. Monterio May was 4-4 with three singles and a double in the loss.

“I felt like we came out flat and weren’t prepared to play,” Parks said. “We learned from that game and played a lot better in the second and third games.”

This proved to be true as Luverne defeated Houston County 16-4, with Adam Foster as the winning pitcher on the mound.

Micah Wallace was 3-3 and scored four runs, and Ryan Waters was 4-5 with a homerun, two RBI’s, and three runs scored. Trent Parham hit his first homerun of the season also during the win.

On Saturday, the Tigers defeated Brantley 7-4.

“That was probably one of our best games of the year,” Parks said. “We played against a well-coached Brantley team—Coach Ashley Kilcrease always does an excellent job with his Bulldogs.”

Monterio May pitched a complete game, striking out 12 batters.

Luverne defeated Greenville High in the championship game 11-5.

“Without a doubt, that was Corey Hale’s best pitching performance,” Parks said. “He pitched a complete game, struck out 13 batters, and only gave up 4 hits.”

Micah Wallace had 11 hits, with 16 at-bats for the entire tournament.

On Monday, April 6, beginning at 4:30 p.m., the Luverne Parks and Rec players will get the chance to “run the bases with the Tigers.”

“If they wear their park league uniforms, they get in free and can join the Tigers on the field during the ‘National Anthem’ and run the bases with them,” Parks said.