Central grinds out key softball sweep of Simpson
Central College
PELLA — Victory appeared to be floating away on the icy winds Tuesday for the No. 20-ranked Central College softball team in its potentially pivotal Iowa Conference opener with Simpson College.
An out away from a 5-2 win in the seventh inning, Central couldn’t seal the deal as a hit, an error and a dramatic three-run homer jump-started Simpson’s hopes. But the suddenly deflated Dutch got some desperately needed spark from a pair of freshmen in the bottom of the inning, propelling them to an eagerly welcomed 6-5, 3-1 sweep.
The rookies’ efforts combined with a gritty 14 innings from pitcher Karly Olson (junior, Winterset) and a grind-it-out effort from a host of others to push the young Dutch to 16-8 overall and 2-0 in league play. Simpson slipped to 21-6 overall and 0-2 in the conference.
Pinch-hitter Kylie Olson (freshman, Mapleton, Minn., Maple River HS) opened the Central half of the seventh inning by lining a triple down the right-field line. Starter Paige Dickel (sophomore, Norwalk) returned to run at third and scampered home on a short fly ball to right field by freshman designated player Sadie Baugher (Eddyville, Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont HS) for the walk-off win.
“It was tough in the seventh,” Wares said of surrendering the tying runs. “But with what we’ve been going through, it was kind of incredible what we did in the bottom half. For Kylie (Olson) to step up and get a big hit, and then run like she did to get to third. And then Sadie (Baugher) stepping up and just ending it right away, that’s huge.”
Some of what Central has been going through, as Wares said, is enduring one of its most daunting schedules, and managing only splits in its last five twinbills. Tuesday was the squad’s first two-win day since March 9 in Kissimmee, Fla.
Central put up its other five runs in the opener in a third-inning burst after falling behind 1-0 in the top of the inning. The Dutch used a combination of their patented short game while also taking advantage of the stiff winds blowing out to left field to flash a bit of power as well. As only a Wares-coached team seemingly could, Central delivered both a two-run homer by Karly Olson and a two-run bunt by center fielder Jess Wyant (sophomore, Van Meter, ADM HS). Baugher also had a run-scoring single in the inning.
Central outhit Simpson 8-6. Olson was charged with two earned runs in seven innings, walking three and striking out six.
Yet the Dutch appeared destined for another day of mixed results early in game two. Karly Olson, who was used in all four of Central’s games over the weekend, had already thrown 132 pitches Tuesday when she returned to the circle. Simpson countered with a well-rested Riley Fisher, sporting a 10-0 record. It looked like the tank was nearing empty for Olson, who allowed 11 Simpson baserunners in the first four frames, while Fisher held Central hitless through three innings. Wares said he nearly called on reliever Annie DeVries (sophomore, Eldridge, North Scott HS) to take over for his durable transfer hurler, who was competing in her first league games.
“We were close so many times,” he said. “We had Annie ready. But then all of a sudden, Karly got a huge strikeout. That’s what we thought she would bring us: the ability to strike people out with runners on base. She was able to do that.”
Despite the early struggles, the Dutch opened the home half of the fourth inning only trailing by a run.
“When (Simpson) had a chance to break it open and didn’t, you felt pretty good being down 1-0,” Wares said.
After a pair of walks in the fourth, Central’s first two hits of the game produced two runs as shortstop Paige Schreiner (senior, Ottumwa) and Karly Olson delivered RBI singles.
“Once we got the lead, it’s just amazing how everything changes,” Wares said. “It felt like it should be 5-0 Simpson and, all of a sudden, it was 2-1 Central.”
Central got an important insurance tally in the sixth on a single by Abby Voas (junior, Chanhassen, Minn.).
Meanwhile, Olson regained her footing. While Simpson had baserunners in all seven innings, she held the Storm scoreless the rest of the way.
“Simpson’s got some tough outs,” Wares said. “But I thought Karly handled them pretty well. We’ve been dodging some bullets all year and we managed to get out of some big innings.”
Olson (10-8), who threw a staggering 269 pitches on the day, yielded nine hits but just one run in the nightcap, with two walks and four strikeouts. Central was outhit 9-6 but Simpson stranded 11 runners.
The hard-earned wins were well-timed.
“It’s a huge step,” Wares said. “Not just for the conference season; this team needed this. They’ve been battling and battling and to come up with a couple of wins like that is big.”
And contributions came from many.
“We had a lot of people step up defensively,” Wares said. “We keep saying, ‘Make a play beyond the routine,’ and (left fielder) Tabitha Taylor (sophomore, Grimes, Dallas Center-Grimes HS) made some really good plays and Jess Wyant made a heck of a catch (in center field). (Third baseman) Lauren Bagby (freshman, Norwalk) got better and better, and Paige Schreiner played a really good shortstop like she has all year.”
After a 20-day layoff, Central has played six games in four days. They’ll have the next three off before another home league twinbill, taking on Loras College at 1 p.m. Saturday at the A.N. Kuyper Athletics Complex field.
“We told the team that now the next maturity step is how we handle practice the next three days and how we handle Loras,” Wares said. “That’s pretty important because we’ve had some teams that haven’t done that very well.”
A video webcast and live stats of Saturday’s games will be available through the Central athletics website at www.central.edu/athletics.
