Central stays perfect in league softball race
Central College
DUBUQUE—A pinch-hit, two-run, fourth-inning single by Trysh Shimak (senior, Cedar Rapids, Kennedy HS) put the No. 3-rated Central College softball team on top and let the Dutch stay perfect in Iowa Conference play Sunday, sweeping Loras College on the road, 5-0 and 4-1.
Central is 27-3 overall and 8-0 in the league heading into a pivotal week in league action. No. 9-rated Coe College (27-5 overall, 9-1 conference) visits Pella Tuesday for a conference twinbill and defending champion Luther College (24-4 overall, 6-2 conference), ranked No. 11, comes to town Saturday.
Loras took a 1-0 first-inning lead in the nightcap Sunday. Central tied it in the second on a squeeze bunt by shortstop Annie Sarcone (freshman, Des Moines, Dowling Catholic HS). But a scoring opportunity was slipping away when Shimak was called on with two outs and the bases loaded in the fourth. She ripped a 1-2 pitch into right-center field, putting the Dutch ahead to stay.
“That was a big hit,” coach George Wares said. “Trysh had been struggling a little as a pinch-hitter but she got a solid single. That was arguably the difference-maker in the game.”
Second baseman Angela Davis (junior, West Des Moines, Valley HS) had three hits and scored three runs on the day. The Dutch had 16 hits overall.
“I didn’t think we were exceptional at the plate, but give Loras credit,” Wares said. “I thought their pitchers did a nice job of mixing it up.”
Davis scored in the first inning of the opener after being hit by a pitch, then singled and scored the go-ahead run in the fourth inning of the nightcap. She took over the team batting lead, hitting .409 with 19 RBIs and a team-high 31 runs scored.
Pitcher Kiley Lythberg (senior, Mount Prospect, Ill., Prospect HS) tossed her third shutout of the season in the opener, a five-hitter. She had seven strikeouts and no walks while improving to (12-2)
Rhianna Fleetwood (sophomore, Sycamore, Ill.) stayed unbeaten for the year at 8-0 by getting the nightcap win in relief of Brie Haycraft (freshman, Eldridge, North Scott HS). Fleetwood entered with two on and no outs in the fourth but worked out of the jam and threw 3.2 innings of scoreless ball. She gave up two hits with a strikeout and no walks. Haycraft surrendered one run on seven hits with a walk and a strikeout in 3.1 innings.
“I thought Kiley (Lythberg) threw well,” Wares said. “Brie (Haycraft) was maybe not as sharp as she was at Simpson (Wednesday) but she still battled through and let the defense help her. And Rhianna (Fleetwood) was arguably as sharp as she’s been all year, so we were happy with that.”
Tuesday’s doubleheader with Coe begins at 3 p.m. at the A.N. Kuyper Athletics Complex field. A live video webstream of the games can be accessed at www.central.edu/athletics.
Coe and Luther both boast dominant pitchers as well as several of the league’s top hitters. Both are again NCAA Division III tournament contenders. Central took two of three games from Coe last year but dropped two of three to Luther.
“Everybody knows how good Coe and Luther are,” Wares said. “We’ll just have to try to play well and hope that the results take care of themselves.”
Record territory—It’s far from his mind at the moment but Wares is just three victories away from becoming just the second coach in NCAA Division III history to win 900 games. He’s the leader among active coaches with an 897-297-3 (.750) record in 27 seasons, with four NCAA championships and 22 NCAA tournament appearances. The late Donna Newberry of Muskingum (Ohio) compiled a 906-419-1 record over 36 years.
