WORTHINGTON - From the start, there was no doubt which team was in control Tuesday when Worthington and Luverne met up.
That team was Worthington.
Post 5 belted 13 hits and didn’t commit an error while pitcher Nathan Ray allowed just two hits in a 15-1 run-rule romp over Post 123.
“We must’ve been (seeing the ball well),” Ray said of his team’s offensive outburst. “This weekend we were in a bit of a slump but tonight we showed we’re a good-hitting team and we can hit the ball against another team that’s really good.”
The Worthington offense went to work right after Ray’s scoreless top of the first. A one-out single up the middle by Ryan Lee scored Tristan Sorenson and Roque Soto to get the scoring started. Tyler Hatterman got a two-run knock of his own with a two-out single that gave Post 5 a 4-0 lead at the end of one.
ADVERTISEMENT
Alex Purdy got another rally started in the home half of the second. After he singled, Blake Rogers blasted a two-run homer over the fence in left-center. Jordan Bertrand singled home Lee, who had doubled, before Ray kept the inning alive with an infield hit. Post 123 booted the next two balls hit their way, allowing three more to cross and Worthington’s lead grew to 10-0.
Meanwhile, Ray continued to cruise. He retired the first seven batters he faced before giving up a one-out walk in the third. That inning ended harmlessly, however, when Logan Thuringer made a fine running catch in deep left-center to rob Skyler Wenninger of an extra-base hit.
“I just pitched strikes,” Ray said. “They hit the ball well but I had good defense backing me up. I threw mostly fastballs with a couple curves, but that was about it. I don’t have too much junk.”
Purdy and Soto both scored in the bottom of the third to push the lead to 12-0 before Luverne finally got something going in the top of the fourth.
Kendall Meyer went opposite field for a leadoff single, his team’s first hit of the night. Gunnar Olson was hit by a pitch before Logan Norman slapped another single to load the bases. Meyer came home to score his team’s only run on a wild pitch.
It didn’t make much of a difference. A basehit by Rogers scored Sorenson and Purdy to bring the game to its final.
Ray finished the night with five innings pitched during which he allowed one run on two hits, struck out six and walked two. Olson went two innings in the start for Post 123. He gave up seven earned runs on seven hits and struck out three in the loss.
Rogers had a big night at the plate, going 3-for-3 with four RBIs and two runs scored. Purdy finished 3-for-4 with three runs scored while Lee was 2-for-4 with three driven in and two runs. Meyer and Norman were both 1-for-2 to lead Luverne.
ADVERTISEMENT
Tuesday’s win over a strong Post 123 squad is a sign of what is possible for Worthington, according to Ray.
“We’re a team that’s got good heart and spirit,” he said. “If we think we can win, we can win and do well.”
R H E
Luverne 000 10 - 1 2 3
Worthington 462 3x - 15 13 0
