Central bounces back from softball setback
Central College
KISSIMMEE, FLA.— A day that began with an admittedly disappointing performance nonetheless left coach George Wares encouraged as his inexperienced No. 20 Central College softball team split a pair of contests at the Rebel Spring Games Monday.
The Dutch (6-2) were 3-2 losers in the opener as a veteran Thomas More (Ky.) club took advantage of some Central miscues—both physical and mental. But Central then erupted for eight runs in two innings before a lineup of mostly reserves finished off an 8-3 victory over Mount St. Joseph (Ohio).
Wares was not happy with the youthful mistakes that caused Central to quickly give up its 1-0 first inning lead and subsequently allowed Thomas More (2-1) to go up 3-1 in the fourth inning. But he liked the resilience the Dutch showed in clawing their way back into the game in the fifth, loading the bases and bringing home a run, only to have the uprising squelched by a double play.
Central actually outhit Thomas More, 5-4, but committed two errors while pitcher Karly Olson (junior, Winterset) also walked four batters and hit three.
“I thought that Karly threw well,” Wares said. “She would never say it but she maybe wore out a little bit. But I thought she really competed.”
However, Olson also delivered again at the plate, bringing home Central’s first run with a two-out single and drawing a bases-loaded walk.
“The game showed where we are as a team right now,” Wares said, pointing to a lineup filled with new faces. “The upside is, we were challenged, which is what we needed. We got ourselves in a hole, but the positive is we battled back from that and put ourselves in a position to win. That’s something we can hopefully learn from.”
While Mount St. Joseph (2-3-1) didn’t present the same kind of test, the Dutch showed no residual effects from the first game following an unusually brief intermission, striking for three runs in the first inning and five more in the second as Central patented running game hit high gear. The Dutch had eight hits in the two frames. All were singles, but four stolen bases and some extra bases on throws bolstered the impact.
“I was really happy with the way we bounced back and put them away early,” Wares said.
Wares then emptied the dugout, with 20 players eventually seeing action. Trisha Smith (senior, New Hampton) threw two more innings of shutout ball, extending her Florida scoreless streak to 10 innings, but didn’t stay in the game long enough to qualify for the win. That went to Annie DeVries (sophomore, Eldridge, North Scott HS), who gave up a pair of unearned runs on three hits with two walks and two strikeouts in four innings in her first decision of the season. Freshman Audria Wagenknecht (Aurora, Ill., Waubonsie Valley HS) made her collegiate pitching debut, allowing one hit in a scoreless seventh inning.
Wagenknecht also had a pair of infield hits. Shortstop Paige Schreiner (senior, Ottumwa) and first baseman Abbie Voas (sophomore, Chanhassen, Minn.) each had two hits as well. Voas and left fielder Tabitha Taylor (sophomore, Grimes, Dallas Center-Grimes HS) both drove in a pair of runs.
“Paige (Schreiner) had a good day overall,” Wares said. “She had a few good at-ats and was very good in the field. And I thought Abbie was solid at the plate.”
Center fielder Jess Wyant (sophomore, Van Meter, ADM HS) was hitless but reached base three times.
“I’m happy with what she’s doing at the No. 2 spot in the order,” Wares said. “She’s swinging it well.”
What the opening loss demonstrated was Central’s need to execute and take advantage of opportunities. Wares cited Olson, who did just that with her two-out RBI hit.
“We have to find a way to get timely hits,” he said. “If we want to be as good as we can be, that’s the key thing we have to do.”
Those are among the lessons that have to be absorbed on the fly when the team is in the midst of the spring break whirlwind, playing 16 games in 10 days in two cities far from home.
“You’re not practicing so you can’t make wholesale changes,” Wares said. “You just try to find a few things you can improve on for the next game.
Meaning Wares must endure the growing pains he’d like to bypass, but knows are inevitable.
“Overall, the loss today was disappointing, yet when you get back and evaluate it, at 6-2, we’re maybe in a little better place than we thought we’d be right now,” he said.
The education continues in a a few hours as the Dutch next take on Widener (Pa.) at 1:30 p.m. (Eastern Standard Time) Tuesday followed by Illinois College at 3:45 p.m.
Widener packed its bats for the trip, outslugging Carroll (Wis.) 8-1 and Hiram (Ohio) 10-9 in its first action Monday. Illinois College debuted in Kissimmee Sunday and is 2-2.
