Bethel hurler freezes Central softball squad
PELLA—Facing a red-hot pitcher in frigid weather was not a winning combination for the Central College softball team Saturday.
Bethel University (Minn.), behind ace Kayla Simacek, swept the Dutch 9-1 in five innings and 7-3 as temperatures barely nudged 40 degrees and northwest winds howled up to 25 miles per hour.
Simacek (10-1) went the distance in both games. She yielded just three hits and a walk with seven strikeouts in the opener. Central (10-8) came back with seven hits in the nightcap as Simacek fanned two.
“I think we were adjusting,” coach George Wares said. “She shut us down last year and struck us out 14 times. She might have wore out a little bit but we had some really good at-bats.”
But the pitching and defense, Central’s traditional calling cards, were lacking at times. The Dutch had six errors, including five in the opener, but also some mental miscues as well, including some on the basepaths, Wares said.
“You can’t give extra outs to anybody, especially when you play a quality opponent and you know, with their pitching, you’re not going to have a ton of opportunities to score,” Wares said. “And there were some mental lapses in terms of what to do with the ball. You just can’t give up 16 runs in 12 innings and expect to win softball games against quality opponents.”
Morgan Schaben (junior, Portsmouth, Harlan HS) started both games and absorbed the losses. After giving up two earned runs on nine hits and a walk with three strikeouts in three innings in the opener, Schaben (6-5) went five innings in the second game, yielding six runs on six hits with four walks and four strikeouts.
“Morgan pitched better than it looks,” Wares said. “She actually had things going a couple times but then we gave up the extra outs. We just don’t have that margin for error.”
Chloe Daugherty (freshman, Alleman, North Polk HS) threw the final two innings of the opener, yielding two earned runs on three hits with three walks. Emma Neu (junior, Rochelle Park, N.J., Hackensack HS) tossed two innings in the nightcap, allowing an unearned run on two hits.
“Emma should have had two scoreless innings,” Wares said.
Center fielder Emma Johnson (junior, Davenport, Assumption HS) and designated player Lauren Birt (senior, Ankeny, Centennial HS) each had two hits in the second game. Second baseman Haley Bach (freshman, Council Bluffs, Lewis Central HS) had two hits for the day.
“If we’re able to hold that team to four (runs), we’ve got a shot, we just can’t give up six, seven or eight,” Wares said. “But that gives us a little taste of what the league is going to be like.”
The American Rivers race starts Thursday with a doubleheader at home against Simpson College but first the Dutch play host to Fontbonne University Surday in another non-conference doubleheader at 2 p.m. at the A.N. Kuyper Athletics Complex softball field. The Griffins are 3-9 after dropping a twinbill at Illinois College Friday, 8-0 and 7-3. Central last met Fontbonne in 2015 and holds an 8-3 advantage in the teams’ all-time series.
“We’ve got to play better,” Wares said. “I think it’s important that we come out and play well. If we can go 2-2 on the weekend, we’d probably feel ok when Monday comes and we get ready to start the league.”
