Thursday sports roundup: MCC baseball wins again, Worthington loses in softball

Apr. 26—Baseball

Murray County Central 9, Mountain Lake Area/Comfrey 2

SLAYTON — Murray County Central's baseball team is now in solo first place in the Red Rock Conference standings following Thursday's win.

The Rebels were victorious 9-2 over Mountain Lake Area/Comfrey to remain undefeated in the conference at 5-0 and they moved their overall record to 6-1.

MCC trailed 1-0 heading into the bottom of the second inning before responding with two runs in that inning to grab the lead for good. The Rebels exploded for six runs in the fourth inning and then added one more run in the fifth to cap the scoring for them. MLA/C did tack on a second run in the seventh.

Teague Meyer pitched a complete game for MCC as he gave up nine hits and collected six strikeouts. He was also 2-for-4 at the plate with two RBIs.

Dylan and Dugan Kluis each had two hits while Cayden Veldhuisen had a 2-RBI hit. Aidan Dierks, Dylan Kluis and Owen Gillette each had an RBI.

The Rebels will battle with second-place Edgerton/Southwest Minnesota Christian in Edgerton on Monday to try and keep its undefeated conference season alive.

Edgerton/SWC 4, Russell-Tyler-Ruthton 0

TYLER — Edgerton/Southwest Minnesota Christian's baseball team continues its nice start to the season with a 4-0 shutout win over Russell-Tyler-Ruthton Thursday.

It is the fourth win in five games for the Flying Dutchmen and second win by shutout this season. Their record is now 7-2 overall and 5-1 in the Red Rock Conference.

The Dutchmen will face off in an anticipated matchup out of the Red Rock Conference with Murray County Central on Monday.

Red Rock Central/Westbrook-Walnut Grove 11, Heron Lake-Okabena/Fulda 1

LAMBERTON — The Heron Lake-Okabena/Fulda baseball team lost by double digits on the road Thursday to RRC/W-WG.

The Coyotes (1-9) are on an eight-game losing streak as they lost 16-4 to Russell-Tyler-Ruthton earlier in the week heading into Thursday's matchup.

HL-O/F will be back home on Monday for a matchup with Mountain Lake Area/Comfrey. The Coyotes got their lone win of the season over MLA/C in a 2-1 victory.

Jackson County Central doubleheader

PIPESTONE — The Jackson County Central baseball team improved its record to 5-6 on the season following a sweep of Pipestone in a road doubleheader.

The Huskies won the first game 6-1 and then the second one that night 9-2. Both games were won under complete-game pitching performances.

In game one, JCC scored its first run in the third inning before surging for five more runs in the top of the seventh inning before pitcher Grant Freking capped off his complete-game pitching in the bottom of the inning.

Game two saw a balanced hitting effort from the Huskies. They scored two times in the first inning, three times in the second, three more in the fourth and then once more in the top of the fifth. Brett Rossow pitched a complete game for JCC and gave up just two earned runs.

The doubleheader was originally scheduled for Friday, but was moved up a day due to incoming weather. What's next for the Huskies now is a game Tuesday at St. James.

Softball

New Ulm 7, Worthington 0

WORTHINGTON — Worthington's softball team faced a tough opponent out of the Big South Conference in New Ulm.

The Eagles entered the matchup an undefeated 6-0 on the season and they remained undefeated after Thursday's game following a 7-0 shutout over the Trojans.

The loss moved Worthington's season record to 3-5.

New Ulm scored three of its seven runs in the top of the first inning before adding a run each in the second and third innings to build a 5-0 lead. After continuing to hold the Trojans scoreless, the Eagles scored two more times in the top of the sixth inning before completing the shutout win.

Bailey Ponto pitched the game for WHS and got a hit at the plate, while Hannah McNab connected for a hit and Maddie Petersen had two.

Due to rain in the forecast, Worthington's next game against conference rival Windom at home originally scheduled for Friday was postponed to Monday.

Russell-Tyler-Ruthton 2, Edgerton/SWC 0

EDGERTON — In a low-scoring battle, Russell-Tyler-Ruthton was able to survive and defeat the reigning state champ Edgerton/Southwest Minnesota Christian softball team on Thursday.

The Flying Dutchmen lost for the first time this season to a Red Rock Conference opponent as their overall record moves to 3-3. The Knights remain undefeated against conference opponents at 4-0.

Up next for E/SWC is a game Tuesday at Murray County Central.

Red Rock Central/Westbrook-Walnut Grove 12, Heron Lake-Okabena/Fulda 5

OKABENA — Heron Lake-Okabena/Fulda's softball team remains winless on the season following a loss to RRC/W-WG.

The Coyotes are 0-5 overall and 0-4 against teams out of the Red Rock Conference while the Falcons are 4-3 overall and 3-2 in conference play.

HL-O/F will look to get its first win Tuesday at Mountain Lake Area/Comfrey.

Jackson County Central doubleheader

PIPESTONE — The JCC softball team was also in Pipestone for a Thursday doubleheader and the Huskies were swept by a good Arrows team.

The Arrows are now 7-2 overall and lead the Big South Conference standings with a 5-1 record following the sweep, while the Huskies drop to 4-4 overall and 2-4 in the conference.

JCC lost the first game 7-1 after initially taking a 1-0 lead in the fourth inning. The Huskies then lost the second game 12-1 thanks to a hot start from the Arrows that saw them lead 4-0 after two innings.

Up next for the Huskies is another road doubleheader Monday against St. James.

Luverne doubleheader

ST. JAMES — Luverne's softball team was dominant in its doubleheader with St. James Area, winning both games by a combined score of 29-0.

The Cardinals won the first game 14-0 and then won the second 15-0 to improve their season record to 7-2. They are now beginning a two-game win streak following a 7-1 loss to Fairmont earlier in the week.

Luverne's softball team will be on the road again for its next game for an anticipated Big South Conference matchup with Pipestone Area.

Boys Tennis

New Ulm 6, Worthington 1

WORTHINGTON — The Worthington Trojans boys tennis team played a home meet against New Ulm Thursday and were defeated in all but one match.

The event was originally scheduled to take place on April 16, but was postponed. It also marked the third straight home meet for the Trojans.

Senior Ian Barber gave WHS its only match win of the meet in No. 1 singles, defeating New Ulm's Maverick Johnson 1-6, 6-2, 10-1.

The Trojans fell in the other three singles matches as Evan Hansberger lost to Charlie Wiedman 7-5, 6-0 in No. 2 singles, Dylan Dykstra fell to Gideon Heins 6-1, 6-0 in No. 3 singles and Bennett Oberloh lost to Ian Schotzko 6-1, 6-0.

In No. 1 doubles, Joey Kotten and Dan Brownfield of New Ulm defeated Lance Gordon and Caleb Barber of Worthington 6-0 , 6-1 and in No. 2 doubles, Ethan Neet and Aaron Black of New Ulm defeated Kaw Blay and Soe Nay Htoo of Worthington 6-0 , 6-0. No. 3 doubles saw Isaac Dittmer and Eli Dorschner of New Ulm beat Diego Ramos Loza and Daelen Sithad of Worthington 6-1 , 6-0.

The Trojans were scheduled to play another home meet on Friday against Mankato West, but the meet was moved to May 1 due to weather. Now the Trojans' next meet will be on Tuesday at Redwood Valley.