First place! Parchert blast vaults Central into tie for softball lead
Central Dutch Athletics
DUBUQUE—It was the wildest of days in the American Rivers Conference Wednesday but a Daria Parchert (sophomore, Illinois City, Ill., Rockridge HS) two-run, sixth-inning home run vaulted the Central College softball team to a doubleheader sweep at Loras College and, suddenly, a share of the league lead.
After rolling up a 13-1 five-inning victory, the Dutch scrambled for a 4-3 triumph in the second game to improve to 22-8 overall and 10-4 in the league. Meanwhile, the University of Dubuque scored a stunning road sweep of No. 13-ranked Luther College while No. 19 Coe College split a pair of games at Simpson College.
That leaves Luther and Central tied at 10-4 with Coe at 11-5 and Wartburg College at 9-5. It also sets up a pivotal conference finale Saturday, when the Dutch play host to Luther (28-7 overall) in a 1 p.m. Alumni Day doubleheader at the A.N. Kuyper Athletics Complex field. Central clinched a berth in the six-team league tournament May 3-4, but could finish anywhere from first place to fourth in the standings depending on Saturday’s outcome.
Coach George Wares is happy to even have a chance after a doubleheader setback at Coe College Friday.
“We just told the players we have to go on a winning streak and get a little help and we did,” he said.
Like so many of Central’s wins, Wednesday’s second one was taxing. The Dutch took a 2-0 second-inning lead fueled by a single by third baseman Lauren Bagby (senior, Norwalk) and a Parchert triple. But Loras (10-25-1 overall, 1-13 conference) quickly tied it with single tallies in the second and third innings. It was tense the rest of the way with Central regaining the advantage in the sixth inning as Parchert followed a Shaye Witte (junior, West Des Moines, Waukee HS) single by lining her second homer of the year over the center field fence.
“Daria got into one,” Wares said. “I wasn’t sure it was going to get out. It was just a line drive shot.”
Anxious moments remained. Loras put two runners on with one out in the sixth when Bagby snagged a grounder to third base, stepped on the bag and fired to first for a rally-killing double play. The Duhawks then opened the seventh inning with a pinch-hit home run and put the potential tying run on with a single before pitcher Mariah Fritz (senior, Tama, East Marshall HS) induced a pop-up for the final out.
The second-game drama almost overshadowed a career-best offensive performance in the opener for first baseman Amanda Sigulas (junior, Morton, Ill.). Entering the day hitting just .174, Sigulas was 4-for-4 with a two-run homer, a double and four RBIs.
“Coach (Alicia) O’Brien has been working with her a lot,” Wares said. “(Sigulas) just did a good job of going with the pitch on the home run, and it was a no-doubt (homer). Every at-bat that game for her was good. Hopefully that helps her moving forward.”
Her first homer of the season sparked a six-run second inning as the Dutch added two in the third inning, another in the fourth and four more runs in the fifth. That allowed Wares to lift Fritz after three scoreless innings and just 36 pitches, saving her for the second game. Riley threw the final two innings, allowing a run on two hits with no walks or strikeouts.
“We got two really good innings out of Danielle,” Wares said.
Fritz (15-7) gave up two hits and a walk with two strikeouts in three innings in the opener. She needed 101 pitches to finish the second game, allowing 10 hits and three runs over seven innings with three walks and four strikeouts. Central was outhit 10-9 after outhitting Loras 17-4 in the opener.
“It was another gutsy performance,” Wares said. “She really buys into the next-pitch (mindset). You really don’t see a lot of change in emotion from her. She’s on a mission to give us the best chance to go as far as we can.”
Center fielder Sara Tallman (junior, Pella) had four hits on the day and became the 17th player in Central history to surpass the 150-career hit mark. She now has 152 and is hitting a team-high .414. She also stole two bases, giving her 23 for the season and 94 for her career. Tallman needs one more theft to tie Molly Parrott (1999-2002) for second place on the career list.
Parchert, Bagby, Witte, second baseman Kaitlyn Andresen (junior, Davenport, Assumption HS) and designated player Lauren Birt (freshman, Ankeny, Centennial HS) each had three hits on the day.
The Dutch committed just one error in the two games.
“That was a huge double play (by Lauren Bagby),” Wares said. “And Daria (Parchert), once again, went into the 5-6 hole (between shortstop and third base) with a couple of backhand plays and threw runners out. She’s playing a really good shortstop. And Kaitlyn Andresen had a big day defensively. She made some nice plays. She knows her limitations. She’s smart and positions herself really well.”
Wednesday’s league chaos has several teams staring longingly at missed opportunities, but all that matters is what lies ahead, Wares said.
“Bottom line is that the only way to look at it is this is where we are,” he said. “We did everything we could this week.”
And two of Division III’s traditional contenders will help decide it all when Luther comes to Pella Saturday.
“It makes an exciting match-up even more exciting, not just from a conference standpoint but from a regional one as well,” Wares said.
