Windom, the No. 4 seed in the South Subsection, previously lost to Fairmont earlier in the season 5-3 and 5-1 on on May 1 and May 2.

A walk and a hit by pitch set the Cardinals up in the first with two outs. Luke Haefner hit a strong single, but the runner was tagged out at home.

Windom got on the board first in the third with one out, as a line-out scored Quintin Tietz to make it 1-0. A flyout ended the inning.

Fairmont got another chance in the bottom half of the third. Joey Crissinger smacked a double to lead off the inning, and a single by Jensen Livesay put runners at the corners with no outs. Three straight pop-ups stranded the runners.

Joseph Hackett bunts in an effort to advance runners and beat the throw.

The fifth provided Windom with the opening they needed. After hitting a single and stealing second, Tietz was sent home on a single by Soren Nielson. Then, with two runners on base, a single turned into a double and two runs due to a wild throw to third. Fairmont rallied back with a lineout, flyout, and strikeout swinging to retire the side.

Fairmont got the bats moving in the fifth and sixth. The fifth saw singles by Joe Long and Josh Soelter with one out, before a flyout and lineout retired the side. The sixth had the bases loaded, thanks to singles by Livesay and Mason Bicknase and a walk by Isaac Stone. With two outs, Long singled to bring home Livesay and keep the bases full. A flyout ended the inning and left it 4-1.

In the final inning, Windom put runners on second and third with no outs. A passed ball scored one, then a wild pitch brought the other home to make it 6-1. The defense put Windom away with a pop out, runner caught stealing, and line-out to end the top of the seventh.

With one last chance, Joseph Hackett opened the bottom of the seventh with a single, and Luke Haefner walked with two outs. A flyout ended the final rally and left the store 6-1.

Coach Don Waletich said his team simply didn’t have it Thursday.

“We didn’t execute, stranded a lot of runners today,” he said. “That’s baseball. They made the plays and we couldn’t get that clutch hit we needed it. Give them credit, they played well today and we couldn’t execute like we would like to.”

There’s a short turnaround between this game and their next playoff game Saturday. Waletich said that’s fine with them, and the important thing is they rebound and get ready.

“Beauty of it is, we’re still in the tournament,” he said. “Gotta keep moving ahead.”

The Cardinals (17-4) are in a must-win situation for their game Saturday at Legion Field in Marshall when they take on St. James, who fell to Luverne 2-1 on Thursday.