The Worthington Trojans softball team earned its fourth win of the season Thursday afternoon, scoring 13 runs in the bottom of fourth inning to finish off a 20-4 triumph over St. James at Centennial Park.
The Trojans had a huge boost from a multitude of St. James walks and hit by pitches, as WHS got its 20 runs on just six total hits. Meanwhile, the Saints –- who were defeated by 16 runs -- had seven hits in all.
WHS grabbed a 7-0 advantage in the first as Bailey Ponto and Marin Pederson began the inning with singles, and a bases-loaded walk to Madi Polz brought home the first run. The inning’s only other Trojan hit was a two-run single by Pederson, which made the score 7-0.
St. James got a run in the second and three more in the fourth to make it 7-4, but a long bottom of the fourth saw Worthington pick up 13 runs on a mere three hits. Hannah McNab started the long rally with a single and Maddie Petersen doubled her in. Then came four consecutive walks, a hit by pitch, three more walks and two more hit by pitches before a fielder’s choice grounder netted an out. Ponto’s two-run double put the Trojans up by 16 and ended the game via the 15-run rule.
Worthington improved to 4-15 with the win; St. James is 2-16.
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The Windom Eagles built an 8-0 lead in their baseball game against visiting Worthington Thursday and went on to defeat the Trojans 9-4 at Island Park.
The Trojans got runners on in almost every inning, but a couple of good scoring opportunities wound up going for naught. Mathias Noble cracked a two-out triple in the first for WHS but wound up being stranded on base. Then, in the second, Austin Gruis led off with a double and Max Ostrem walked; a Dom Pavelko bunt sacrificed the runners to second and third. However, Worthington would once again come away empty.
Windom, meanwhile, scored three in the first, one in the second and one in the third to make it 5-0. The Trojans also got the leadoff runners on in the third and fourth but didn’t score, and Quintin Tietz’s RBI double in the bottom of the fourth made it 6-0. RBI hits from Hunter Palm and Matthew Voehl later put the Eagles ahead 8-0 in the fifth.
Back-to-back hits by Tucker Brandner and Noble in the sixth and a wild pitch got the Trojans their first run. WHS added three in seventh but came up short to drop to 6-13 on the season.
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The Worthington Trojans boys golf team placed second of three teams Thursday afternoon at a meet hosted by Murray County Central in Slayton.
Southwest Minnesota Christian-Edgerton compiled a team score of 175, finishing nine strokes ahead of Worthington and 13 strokes ahead of MCC. Jared Fischer of Southwest Minnesota Christian-Edgerton had the day’s low round with a 39.
Andrew Mulder of the Trojans shot a 40, which tied him for second place with Lucas Kuball of the Rebels among individuals. Also shooting scoring rounds for WHS were Wesley Widboom (46), Ryan Dorcey (48) and Spenser Nickel (50).
In girls golf, Murray County Central put together a team score of 191 and defeated Worthington, which had a total of 212, and Southwest Minnesota Christian-Edgerton, which didn’t have a complete team. The Rebels’ Ava Johnson had the afternoon’s lowest round with a 43, with the Trojans’ Madison Beckmann two strokes back at 45. Among the others playing for WHS were Claire Mahlberg, who carded a 49 for fifth place among individuals; and Claire Meyer, who had a 54 for sixth place.
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The Iowa State Track Meet got underway Thursday in Des Moines, and the Sibley-Ocheyedan boys 4x800 relay team set a new state meet record and new school record in taking first place in Class A action with a time of 7:58.47.
Okoboji also set a state record by winning the Class 2A Boys 4x800 Meter relay final in a time of 7:49.87.
Other noteworthy accomplishments included: Anthea Leupold of Spirit Lake and Krishauna Allen of Okoboji qualifying for the finals in the Class 2A Girls 200 meters; Miley Wells of Okoboji qualifying for the finals in the Class 2A girls 100 meters; and Spirit Lake and Okoboji qualifying in the Class 2A Boys Shuttle Hurdle Relay. Lauren Travis of Spirit Lake placed second in the Class 2A girls shot put.
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