Photo by Jake Olson: Fairmont starting pitcher Joe Long hurls the ball towards the plate during Tuesday night's section contest against New London-Spicer at Legion Field in Marshall.

MARSHALL – Fairmont baseball lives to fight another day.

An offensive clinic in the early innings and a solid showing from starting pitcher Joe Long helped seal the Cardinals 10-5 victory over New London-Spicer during Tuesday night’s Section 3AA Elimination Bracket Championship.

The state qualifying contest is slated for Thursday afternoon back at Legion Field in Marshall. Fairmont will have to beat the Windom Area Eagles in back-to-back contests to secure another section championship crown. The opening game’s first pitch will start at 5:00 p.m.

Nine of the Cardinals’ runs came from the first three innings. Every runner in scoring position was converted to score from timely hitting throughout. Seven batters recorded a hit, while six notched multiple.

Jensen Livesay and Joey Crissinger each plated two runs with their combined five hits. Isaac Stone picked up a single and a double that churned three scores in the second and sixth innings. Fairmont ended the night with 14 hits in total.

Long fought through a challenging Wildcat batting order to give his team five and two thirds innings. While allowing four earned runs on eight hits, the seniors eight strikeouts did enough to limit any major scoring damage. It was the start Fairmont needed.

Preston Geerdes tossed the final inning and change to secure the Cardinals 20th win of the season. Fairmont has won 12 of its past 13 games.