Central caps Arizona softball tourney with walk-off winner
TUCSON, ARIZ.—For every blow absorbed Sunday, the No. 12-ranked Central College softball team had an answer, including a walk-off winner from shortstop Daria Parchert (junior, Illinois City, Ill., Rockridge HS) to cap a bold showing in the NFCA Division III Leadoff Classic.
Parchert’s bases-loaded single in the bottom of the seventh gave the Dutch (6-1) a 3-2 triumph over Claremont-Mudd-Scripps after the Athenas had tied it with a last-gasp, two-out home run in the top of the inning.
The remainder of the day’s action fell victim to rare Arizona spring showers, cancelling Central’s contest with the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor (Texas). The Dutch fly home with a 4-1 mark in the elite 24-team, three-day tourney. It’s the eighth time the NFCA tourney has been staged since launching in 2001 and just the third time Central emerged with only one loss, going 5-1 in Panama City, Florida in 2007 and in LaGrange, Georgia in 2001.
“It would have been fun to play Mary Hardin-Baylor but we feel pretty good about the three days,” coach George Wares said.
Central struck first Sunday as designated player Kaitlyn Andresen (senior, Davenport, Assumption HS) delivered a two-out single, stole second and raced home on an infield single by right fielder Shaye Witte (senior, West Des Moines, Waukee HS).
Claremont-Mudd-Scripps (9-10) tied it in the sixth inning but Central went back on top in the bottom of the inning as Parchert doubled and scored following a sacrifice and a ground ball fielder’s choice.
After the Athenas tied it again in the seventh, center fielder Sara Tallman (senior, Pella) bunted past the pitcher for a hit, moved to second on a sacrifice and to third when Witte executed a picture-perfect bunt down the third-base line, setting the stage for Parchert, who rocketed a ball into the right-center field gap.
“It was such a back-and-forth game,” Wares said. “But we came right back every time. We got some clutch hits and big-time defensive plays.
“Once we got a runner to third with Daria (Parchert) up, I felt pretty good.”
The Dutch also got another encouraging performance from freshmen in the pitching circle. Syndi Huisman (freshman, Treynor) started, was lifted in the third and returned in the sixth to record the win. Huisman (3-1) allowed only one hit but walked five—one intentionally—and struck out three in 4.1 innings.
In between, Morgan Schaben (freshman, Harlan) made a statement of her own, working out of a bases-loaded, no-out dilemma in the fifth. She was charged with a run on four hits with a walk and three strikeouts in 2.2 innings.
“Morgan was really, really good,” Wares said. “Sydni (Huisman) was also good. She struggled a little early and we wanted to see what Morgan could do in a game like this, so we made the change. She faced a real serious threat and for her to get out of that was impressive.”
The weekend wins are big but so was the experience, Wares said, noting that the Dutch had to struggle in nearly every game.
“We went 4-1 but we could just as easily have gone 1-4,” he said. “We went through so many tough situations and were able to come through. It was good for the freshmen to see that.”
Parchert hit .467 for the weekend (7-15) while Andresen batted .417 (5-15) with two homers, five RBIs and a 1.000 slugging percentage. Tallman hit .412 (7-17) with three stolen bases. Tallman leads the team for the season with a .455 mark.
Huisman was 2-1 with a 1.62 earned run average, striking out 20 and walking nine in 17.1 innings. Schaben was 2-0 with a 0.72 ERA and Skylar Sadler (freshman, Lisbon) was 0-0 with a 1.75 ERA.
Central makes another extended trip to the Sun Belt this weekend, flying to Florida for the Spring Games, playing 10 games in six days. The Dutch open next Monday with a first-ever meeting against Western New England University (Mass.) at 10:15 a.m. (9:15 a.m. Central Daylight Time) at Leesburg, Florida. The Golden Bears’ don’t play their season opener until Saturday and are coming off a 21-17 season. Central then plays Cortland State University (N.Y.) at 12:30 p.m. (11:30 a.m. Central).
It’s unusual for the Dutch to make such major treks in a short span.
“We’ll take Monday and Tuesday off and then have three days of practice before we leave,” Wares said. “It’s not important to have a lot of practice time but to have quality practice time. I think the players will handle it well. It’s a really together group.”
