Walk-off! Meyer blast topples No. 15 Claremont
Central College
TUCSON, ARIZ.— Defense was dominant as the No. 13 Central College softball team and No. 15 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps (Calif.) were engaged in a scoreless duel in the desert Monday evening—until Caitlyn Meyer (junior, Newton) stepped to the plate in the bottom of the seventh.
Given the choice by coach George Wares of bunting the potential winning run over to second base or swinging away, Meyer answered with a mammoth blast just inside the left-field foul pole to give the Dutch a 2-0 walk-off win.
“Obviously it was the right choice,” Wares said. “The only question was whether it was going to be fair or foul, because it was clearly going to be over the fence.”
Central followed with a less dramatic 9-2 victory over Nazareth College (N.Y.) to improve to 7-1.
While Meyer delivered the crowning blow, it was the masterful pitching performance of sophomore Brie Haycraft (Eldridge, North Scott HS), along with some sparkling defense, that fueled the win. Haycraft (3-0) fired a two-hit shutout. She walked two—one intentionally—and struck out six.
“Brie has continued to get better, even this week,” said Wares, who called it the best performance of her young career. “Given the magnitude of the game, and the reality that there were not going to be many runs scored because of how well their pitcher was throwing, I thought she handled herself exceptionally well. That and defense was the difference.”
Central’s defensive effort was highlighted by a spectacular grab by center fielder Holly Von Fumetti (senior, Johnston) in the sixth inning. Von Fumetti, battling an illness that kept her in the dugout during Monday’s second game, sprinted after a shot over her head that she hauled in just as she crashed through a portable fence.
“That catch was phenomenal,” Wares said. “If she doesn’t make that catch, we might have lost 1-0. You never know how it could have changed things.”
Meyer’s homer, her second of the season, was only Central’s fourth hit of the night against Claremont (10-5). Two came from shortstop Annie Sarcone (sophomore, Dowling Catholic HS), who is hitting a team-high .545 through eight games.
Wares intended to give additional players experience against Nazareth and stuck to his plan even as Central struggled to break on top. The Dutch finally staged a five-run rally in the fifth inning on four hits and two Nazareth errors. Left fielder Rachel Everingham (senior, Georgetown, Ill., Georgetown-Ridge Farm HS) delivered a two-run hit, her second hit of the game.
Nazareth (1-3) came back with two runs in the top of the sixth inning and starting pitcher Rhianna Fleetwood (junior, Sycamore, Ill.) had to leave the game after being struck by a line drive. Her injury was not believed to be serious, Wares said. But Central added four more runs in the bottom of the sixth as right fielder Emily Te Brink (junior, Le Mars) drove in two with a single.
Central outhit Nazareth 12-8. Fleetwood (3-1) allowed two runs on seven hits in five innings, with no walks and four strikeouts. Freshman Mallory Schulenberg (Kansas City, Mo., St. Pius X HS) recorded her first collegiate save, giving up one hit and striking out four in two innings.
After eight games in four days, the Dutch get to spend a free day in the Arizona desert.
“I think everybody—coaches and players—are ready for a break,” Wares said. “But if anybody had said we’d be 7-1 at this point, and more importantly, playing the way we are, with improved pitching, some pretty impressive defense and a good hitting lineup, we’d have taken it.”
Central returns to action Wednesday and finally gets to play in the sunshine with a first-ever meeting with Sul Ross State University (Texas) at 9 a.m. Pacific Time. The Lobos took a 1-7 record into the start of their play in Tucson Monday.
Central then takes on Wis.-La Crosse at 1:30 p.m. (3:30 p.m. Central Time). The Eagles finished Monday with an 8-2 mark. An audio webcast of Wednesday’s game will be available through www.kniakrls.com.
