Luverne senior Karen Jarchow trots home fo a run during Thursday's Southwest Conference softball doubleheader against Worthington in Luverne. Luverne split the set with the Trojans.By John RittenhouseThe Luverne girls’ softball team put together its most successful stretch of the season by winning four games in a six-day span.The Cardinals split a Southwest Conference doubleheader with Worthington during their home debut Thursday before going 3-0 and winning the Fairmont Tournament Saturday. Luverne lost a three-run home game to Murray County Central Tuesday.Luverne, 5-7 overall, hosts Marshall and Redwood Valley for SWC twin bills today and Tuesday respectively. The Cards play at the Southwest United Tournament Saturday.MCC 3, Luverne 0The Cardinals were unable to generate much offense, and it proved costly during Tuesday’s home loss to the Rebels.MCC blanked the Cards in the seven-inning tilt, limiting the host to a pair of hits to Jessy Behr and safety to Kim Shelton.Karen Jarchow pitched well during a losing effort. She recorded 13 strikeouts and surrendered five hits in the game.Fairmont tourneyThe Cardinals posted consecutive victories to win the team championship at the Fairmont Tournament Saturday.Coming off a win in the second game of a home doubleheader against Worthington on Thursday, Luverne ran its season-long winning streak to four straight games by posting a 17-3 win over Windom, a 5-3 victory over Fairmont and a 23-8 win over the Trojans Saturday.The Cardinals scored the six runs in the first two innings and coasted to a 14-run victory over Windom in Game 1.The Eagles scored three runs in the bottom of the second to trim Luverne’s lead in half (6-3), but the Cards scored 11 runs in the final three frames to win handily.Jarchow pitched all five innings to get the win. She allowed six hits and three unearned runs. Jarchow recorded four strikeouts.Behr was three-for-three at the plate with three RBIs against the Eagles. Natalie Domagala added a three-run triple.A late homer gave the Cards a two-run win during a second-round game against Fairmont.The hosts tied the game at three in the top of the fifth, but Domagala’s two-run homer in the bottom of the sixth gave LHS the margin of victory.Domagala led the Cards with two hits in the game.Stacy Lorenzen tossed the first six innings to pick up the win.Jarchow received a save when she replaced Lorenzen in the seventh with runners on first and third. Jarchow got out of the jam when her first pitch turned into a triple play. The pitcher snagged a ball hit back at her for the first out, threw to the first baseman to get the second out, and the first baseman threw to third to pick off a straying runner for the third out.The Cards scored 14 runs in the top of the first and coasted to a 15-run, four-inning win over Worthington in the finale.Jarchow pitched two scoreless innings to record her second win of the day. Sara Wynia pitched the final two innings and was touched for eight runs.Taylor Nelson belted two homers and drove in five runs to lead the Cards at the plate against the Trojans. Behr added two hits.Worthington twin billThe Cardinals picked up their first Southwest Conference win of the season during their home debut against the Trojans Thursday.A rough start for LHS led to an 11-8 defeat in Game 1. The Cards never trailed while coasting to a 15-3 victory in the nightcap.Luverne took a 1-0 lead with an RBI single by Behr in the bottom of the first inning in Game 1, but the hosts were outscored 11-7 the rest of the way in what ended as a three-run loss.The Cardinals did rally to knot the score at seven with a four-run fifth inning, and they matched runs with Worthington in the sixth to tie the game at eight.The Trojans, however, scored three times in the top of the seventh before blanking the Cards in the bottom of the frame to clinch the victory.Luverne’s Lorenzen pitched six and one-third innings and was saddled with the loss. She fanned nine batters and walked six. Jarchow recorded the final two outs.Behr drove in three runs with a three-for-four effort at the plate. Jarchow had two hits with a triple. Domagala had a double for the Cards.Jarchow pitched a strong game to lead the Cards to a 12-run win in Game 2.Jarchow didn’t walk a batter while fanning 12 and yielding five hits. She was touched for single runs in the second, third and fifth innings.Luverne scored six runs in the first two innings and added nine more in the fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh frames to win handily.Jarchow had three hits (one double and one triple) and drove in three runs to lead the charge. Behr slapped a pair of doubles and one single while driving in three runs. Lorenzen had a triple and a single during a two-RBI performance. Nelson had two hits and one RBI.
