Worthington Legion baseball season comes to a close

Worthington’s American Legion baseball team had its season come to end Thursday as it lost 17-7 in six innings to New Ulm in a loser-out game in the substrate tournament in New Ulm.

Post 5, the tourney’s eighth seed, started quickly with two runs in the top of the first, but New Ulm’s bats quickly responded and hit Worthington starting pitcher Tucker Brandner hard. The game was pretty much all New Ulm from there until the top of the fifth, when Worthington scored five times to prolong the matchup and — as Post 5 coach Austin Nunez noted — force New Ulm to use another pitcher it had likely hoped to rest in the game.

Worthington’s offense against fifth-seeded New Ulm was paced by Mathias Noble, who connected for a double and triple while driving in three runs and scoring twice. Austin Gruis had another big hit, contributing a two-run double.

Nunez commented Thursday night that while the team, which finished 5-10 — is losing four seniors — Brandner, Noble, Cade Grimmius and Brandon Bosma — they’ll be plenty of returning talent next year. Among those slated to back are key contributors such as Gruis, Chase Byrne, Max Ostrem, Manny Saravia, Dawson Svalland and Logan Kerkaert. Those players, Nunez said, got valuable experience this week playing in a substate tournament loaded with talent.

In other tourney action Thursday, Marshall won a pair of loser-out games by edging Northfield 9-8 and beating New Prague 8-4. The top-seeded Mankato Americans edged New Prague 6-5, the Mankato Nationals rolled past Waseca 11-2 and New Ulm shut out Waseca 3-0.