24 hours of softball leaves Central 2-2
Central College
ROCHESTER, MINN.—Central College cranked out nine hits, including a two-run homer by designated player Karlee Rock (senior, Wheatland, Calamus-Wheatland HS), in a 7-1 softball victory over Wis.-Eau Claire Saturday but the bats fell silent in falling to the Blugolds 6-1 in the nightcap.
That left 12th-ranked Central with a 2-2 record after four indoor games in less than 24 hours at the Rochester Dome Tournament. Nonetheless, coach George Wares was upbeat afterwards, calling his team’s effort against a quality opponent Saturday encouraging considering the Dutch took the field that morning less than 12 hours after leaving it late Friday evening.
“We were just worn out,” he said. “But the encouraging thing to remember is nothing we do the rest of the year will require us to make such a quick turnaround. It was hard. But we showed a lot of energy. Our performances from our pitchers and catchers really set the tone.”
Wis.-Eau Claire (1-3) broke on top with a run in the fourth inning of the opener, only to have Central erupt for five runs on four hits and an error in the fifth. Pinch-hitter Kallie Schive (senior, Marshalltown), second baseman Abbey Strajack (senior, Davenport, Assumption HS) and shortstop Paige Schreiner (junior, Ottumwa) each had RBI hits. Rock, who brought home a run with a walk in the fifth, drove in two more with her first homer of 2015 in the seventh. First baseman Kaitlyn Matzen (senior, Manly, Central Springs HS) was 2-for-2 in the game.
“I thought we had some quality at-bats, not just with the hits but in drawing some key walks,” Wares said. “I think we’re going to be more than OK offensively.”
Mallory Schulenberg (senior, Kansas City, Mo., St. Piux X HS) scattered nine hits in six innings to even her record at 1-1. She allowed one run while walking one and striking out two. Trisha Smith (junior, New Hampton) retired the final three hitters in the seventh.
“Mallory was really sharp,” Wares said. “And it’s nice to know we can go with Trish in a situation like that.”
But Central was limited to just two hits the rest of the day. After Matzen was hit by a pitch in the third inning, pinch-runner Shannon Coulson (senior, Bondurant, Bondurant-Farrar HS) was sacrificed to second base, stole third and scored on an error for a 1-0 lead.
“Their pitcher threw well, give her credit,” Wares said. “But we got a little undisciplined.”
Smith limited Wis.-Eau Claire to three hits in the first four frames, but the Blugolds tied it 1-1 with two hits in the fifth, added another tally in the sixth and an error opened the gates in the seventh. Jaelyn Monhollon (sophomore, Topeka, Kan., Shawnee Heights HS) replaced Smith with two runners on and a hit batter loaded the bases with two outs, followed by a grand slam by Kenzie Winning. That gave the Blugolds four runs on just one hit.
“Jaelyn almost pitched out of it,” Wares said. “She made a couple of nice pitches but then she threw a bad rise and the kid hit it out. That pretty much ended it.”
Smith (1-1) gave up three earned runs on seven hits in 6.1 innings, walking two and striking out two. Wares said Smith threw well enough to win.
“For the first time all weekend, our infield let us down,” he said. “Trish pitched exceptionally well. She threw some great pitches, we just didn’t make the plays.”
Central rotated catchers Katie Canney (senior, Adel, ADM HS), Dana Van Renterghem (freshman, Oskaloosa) and Emily Walton (freshman, Cedar Rapids, Jefferson HS) along with four pitchers.
“What we saw from our pitchers and all three catchers makes you pretty optimistic,” Wares said.
Central’s next action will be in the sunshine at the Tucson (Ariz.) Invitational Games. The Dutch, who leave campus Wednesday, open the trip with a first-ever meeting with Staten Island (N.Y.) at 12:30 p.m. (2:30 p.m. Central Time) before taking on Marian (Wis.) at 2:30 p.m. Central will play 16 games in nine days in Tucson.
Regardless of the weekend record, the Minnesota excursion accomplished what the Dutch needed to.
“I don’t like being 2-2, but now we know what things we need to work on in the next few days before we go to Arizona,” Wares said. “Having four games like this under our belt as we head down there is really going to help.”
Veteran sportscaster Trevor Castle will provide a live audio webstream for one game in each of the first four days of the Arizona trip, starting with the Staten Island game Friday. The webcast can be accessed through www.kniakrls.com or directly via rdo.to/knia2.
