PIPESTONE - Two numbers came to the forefront as Worthington entered the district tournament; 3 and 30.
Three represented how many games it needed to win in order to clinch its first trip to state since 2010. Thirty would be its win total thus far if it won those three games. Although it was a day later than originally planned, both of those numbers were reached on Monday in Pipestone. Post 3958 took a 5-1 win over Marshall Black in a winner-take-all game to take the district title.
“It’s really a lot different than you’d think it would be,” said Worthington pitcher Shawn Hurley, who allowed only one run on three hits in a complete game victory. “Right now, it’s really exciting just to be going (to state.)”
It wasn’t a perfect performance by Post 3958, but aside from a couple blunders on the bases it was solid. Head coach TD Hostikka said his team - which could have wrapped up the title on Sunday but lost to Marshall Black, 4-3 - fixed some of the issues it had the day before. That included a better approach at the plate.
“We went in and worked on a little bit of a different hitting style this afternoon,” Hostikka said. “We talked about hitting the ball in front of the plate rather than sitting back and hitting it back here.”
That improved approach was on display early in the ballgame. After a threat was snuffed out in the bottom of the second, Worthington did some damage in the third.
Logan Huisman legged out an infield single to open the inning before Hurley reached on an error. Tucker Sorenson - who finished the game with three hits - was plunked to load the bases with nobody out. That’s when Post 3958 used a little razzle-dazzle on the basepaths to get on the board.
Sorenson took off early from first, drawing the attention of Marshall pitcher Chris Allen. Huisman- who was now on third - waited until his teammate was in a rundown before breaking for home. The throw to the plate was too late and Worthington went up 1-0. Hurley and Sorenson eventually scored as well to put their team up by three.
“We capitalized on the fact that we had a lot of baserunners,” Hurley said. “We took advantage of their errors and had quite a few hits to knock guys in.”
Singles by Jed Jewett and Sorenson along with an Eli Gaul walk loaded the bases again in the bottom of the fourth. This time, Marshall catcher Brock Boerboom made a stellar throw to first for a pick-off that ended the inning prematurely.
Worthington added to its lead with a two-out rally in the fifth. Tyler Linder got it started with a single to center. Manny Dominguez joined him by reaching on another Marshall miscue before Jewett singled to left. This time, Huisman roped a liner to left that scored Linder and extended Post 3958’s lead to 4-0.
“Those were the guys that were in working this afternoon,” Hostikka said.
Marshall got just its fourth baserunner of the evening in the top of the sixth when Boerboom drew a one-out walk. Any thoughts of putting a threat together were dismissed, however, when on the next pitch Easton Sauerbrei, Huisman and Linder turned a 6-4-3 double play to end the inning.
That was part of a strong defensive showing during which Worthington committed only one error that turned out to be harmless. Hurley was particularly appreciative of that effort.
“We were so sound defensively,” he said. “I couldn’t ask for anything more.”
Post 3958 added a little more insurance in the bottom of the sixth. Sorenson scalded a double down the right field line and circled home to score on a two-out basehit by King Blanchette.
Marshall put its biggest threat together in the top of the seventh. It loaded the bases with nobody out, but only one run scored before Hurley got a strikeout and a flyball to center to end it. Hurley struck out two, walked three and allowed one run on three hits in a clutch, complete game performance.
“Shawn pitched a whale of a game,” Hostikka said. “He set the tone for us early and we were able to keep it going. He took care of the whole defense and our middle infielders played extremely well.”
At the plate, Worthington was led by Sorenson’s 3-for-3 showing that included a double and two runs scored. Huisman went 2-for-3 with a run and an RBI while Sauerbrei and Jewett both finished 2-for-3.
Post 3958 (30-8 overall) will play an exhibition game against the Minnesota All-Stars in Marshall in preparation for the state tournament. Their first game on the big stage is scheduled for 10 a.m. on Thursday, August 6, against tournament host New Ulm.
“I’m sure we can win a couple games if we take care of business like we did tonight,” Hurley said. “If things work out like they did tonight, we’ll give them a run for their money.”
R H E
Marshall 000 000 1 - 1 3 2
Worthington 003 011 x - 5 11 1
