A roundup of Worthington High School sports results, including baseball, softball, boys tennis and golf (Thursday track and field is in a separate story):
Baseball
Luverne 13, Worthington 11
Worthington 22, HL-O/F 3
With five runs in the top of the eighth inning, the Luverne Cardinals scored enough times to hold off the Trojans for a 13-11 victory on Thursday in Worthington. Worthington scored three in the bottom of the eighth, but it wasn’t enough.
A Casey Sehr RBI double put Luverne (6-4) ahead to stay in the eighth. Worthington countered with singles by Blake Ahrenstorff and Isaiah Noble, followed by a Jake Brandner triple. Coy Turner singled in a run to make it 13-11, but LHS catcher Braden Ripka threw out Turner trying to steal third and, on the same play, Triston Sauerbrei was caught off first for a double play.
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Kaden Anderson was the winning pitcher in relief. Cardinal teammate Connor Connell slugged a 3-run home run in the first inning and belted a 2-run blast in the third. He also pitched the first five innings for the visitors.
On Friday, the Trojans beat Heron Lake-Okabena/Fulda 22-3 in Worthington after scoring 15 runs in the first inning. WHS scored five runs before the first out was made in the five-inning game. Turner, Cade Grimmius, Noble and Blake Ahrenstorff each had two hits in the first inning, and Ahrenstorff stroked a 3-run inside-the-park home run.
Softball
Worthington 1, St. James 0
New Ulm 4, Worthington 0
Haley Grimmius hit a lead-off home run in the first inning Thursday and it held up for a 1-0 Worthington win at Centennial Field in Worthington.
The game was a pitcher’s duel. Grimmius went a full seven innings, allowing five hits, walking two and striking out 14. St. James pitcher Addie Bowers allowed four hits with no walks and 11 strikeouts.
Grimmius made excellent pitches when she needed to. The Saints put a runner on second base in each of the first four innings but failed to advance her each time. St. James also put a runner at third base in the sixth.
The Trojans, too, had other chances to score, with runners on second and third base in both the fourth and sixth innings.
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Worthington’s Hannah McNab was 2-for-3 with two stolen bases and teammate Lauren Nelson was 1-for-2 and was hit by a pitch.
On Friday, WHS lost its first game of the season 4-0 at New Ulm. The Trojans left 10 runners on base and played inconsistently on defense. Grimmius let only two balls out of the infield and struck out 11.
Boys tennis
Luverne 4, Worthington 3
A strong Luverne team edged Worthington 4-3 on Thursday, winning all four singles matches while losing all three doubles events.
In singles, the Cardinals’ Pierce Cunningham defeated Worthington’s Alec Langerud 6-0, 6-0 at No. 1 while at No. 2 Griffen Jarchow topped Ian Barber 6-0, 6-1. At No. 3 singles, Luverne’s Blake Frahm was a 6-4, 6-3 winner over the Trojans’ Ezra Bonnett. At four, Ethan Nath topped David Sternke 6-4, 6-2.
The doubles belonged to the Trojans.
Tyson Henkels and Quentin Burns beat Luverne’s Chance Tunnissen and Logan Ommen in a three-setter, 6-3, 3-6, 7-5 at No. 1. At No. 2, Levi Kuhl and Jacob Ahrenstorff won 6-2, 6-2 over the Cards’ Kyle Ferguson and Jase Arp. At No. 3, Matthew Becker and Steven Adams prevailed 6-1, 6-4 over Luke Bosch and Levi Thielbar.
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Golf
Big South West meet
The boys of the Big South Conference West division met in Redwood Valley Thursday and the girls convened in Luverne.
Luke Ehlers of Marshall and Henry Hartquist of Luverne shared medalist honors with a score of 35. Andrew Mulder shot a 46 for Worthington, tying for 20th place. Other WHS scores: Spenser Braaksma 47, Tyler Jaycox 48, Spenser Nickel 48, Andrew Dorcey 53 and Waylon Crooks 59.
Marshall and Luverne both had 152 total strokes. Windom Area had 164, Redwood Valley 174, Pipestone Area 182 and Worthington 189.
On the girls’ side, Mia Jennings of Redwood Valley was the overall winner with a 40. Worthington’s Tarren Spartz and Ellie Weg both had 49, and teammates Madison Beckmann had 51 and Kendall Nixon 52.
Redwood Valley shot a 183 as a team. Marshall had 195, Worthington 201 and Luverne 212.
Friday in Marshall, Trojan boys Jaycox and Braaksma both had 43s while Mulder had a 48. Worthington lost in the team score, 151-186.
