The game was stopped after five innings because of the 10-run lead rule.

Vander Plas, who threw just 54 pitches in the game, walked just one and permitted only one MCW player to reach base.

That player was Lucas Larson, who walked in the first and had a leadoff single the fourth.

The Mavericks saw their season end at 3-13. Larson also got the start on the mound and went 2 1/3 innings. He was charged with eight runs on nine hits and fanned one.

Photo by Travis Rosenau Martin County West’s Brenan Ringnell tags out Minnesota Valley Lutheran’s Kyan Kube at second during a Section 2A baseball playoff game Thursday at Mueller Park in New Ulm

Kaden Peterson and Josh Carlovsky each had three hits, with Jensen Gertz and Aiden Eckberg each adding two hits.

Carlovsky drove in three runs.

The Chargers, now 10-9 on the season, will play Madelia in the next round of playoffs Tuesday in Searles.

“I was excited about the bats and the way we hit the ball today,” Chargers head coach Jim Buboltz said. “Our base running was super good, but to me it always comes down to pitching, catching and fielding.”

And the Chargers were dominant in all three of those facets of the game Thursday.

“Josh was dominating on the mound today and we had no errors on defense,” Buboltz said. “That is our recipe for success.”

The Chargers wasted little time in taking control of the game when they plated five runs in the bottom of the first.

Peterson legged out an infield single before Brennan Bendix sliced a slow roller in the infield. Bendix was safe at first on a throwing error that allowed Peterson to race home.

Bendix stole second and scored on a Blake Sexton double down the left-field line for a 2-0 lead.

Vander Plas was hit by a Larson offering. A Rogan Scriver single and a Gertz groundout made it 3-0 before Carlovsky singled in two runs for a comfortable 5-0 lead.

After the Chargers added a run in the second on a passed ball, a two-out double from Gertz sparked a rally in the third.

Gertz’s two-bagger was followed by singles from Carlovsky, Eckberg and Peterson for an 8-0 lead.

After a scoreless fourth, the Chargers ended the game in the fifth with two more runs with the bottom of the order doing most of the damage.

Gertz tripled and came home on a Carlovsky base hit.

A stolen base and an Eckberg double ended the game.