Central clinches softball conference title
LINCOLN, NEB.- With a 2-0 victory in game two Sunday afternoon at Nebraska Wesleyan University, the Central College softball team claimed its 14th American Rivers Conference title and the right to host the conference softball tournament this weekend.
The Dutch (27-7, 12-2 conference) were handed an 8-0 loss in the opener against the Prairie Wolves (26-10, 9-5 conference) but rallied with the shutout victory in game two. Central returns to the top of the conference for the first time since 2019.
“It’s special,” coach George Wares said. “The players have been wanting it and it’s one of the first tiers of goals for the fifth-year seniors as far as what they wanted.”
Both teams were limited to three hits in the second game but Central was the only one team able to scratch across a run. Hannah Higgins (sophomore, right fielder, Macomb, Ill.) got the fifth inning started with a single and then advanced to second on a ground out. Left fielder Megan Doty’s (fifth year, Grinnell) single gave the Dutch their first run of the day, scoring Higgins. Two batters later, second baseman Haley Bach (junior, Council Bluffs, Lewis Central HS) reached first on an error by the second baseman, allowing Doty to score.
“We finally just had to push the envelope a little bit and did a little slap-and-run and hit-and-run,” Wares said. “I just felt like we had to aggressively create something. To get the first win was big but to get the second run gives you a little more comfort going into the latter part of the game.”
Emma Beck (sophomore, Holland, Grundy Center HS) had another complete game shutout in the circle during the nightcap. She struck out seven while allowing just three hits and one walk.
“All of her pitches had good command today,” Wares said. “She threw 115 pitches, which is a little more than she has, but she stayed ahead in the count and mixed speeds well. She gave us what we needed at the moment.”
Sydni Huisman (fifth year, Treynor) suffered the pitching loss for Central in the opener. She went 4.0 innings, yielding eight earned runs on nine hits with one walk and one strikeout.
The Dutch had just two hits in the opener and only had two runners reach scoring positions and not until the fourth inning.
“Nebraska Wesleyan is a really good team with an excellent pitcher,” “They outcoached us and outplayed us in the first game. They beat us and beat us thoroughly.”
Central hosts Loras College Monday at 2 p.m. in the final home doubleheader of the regular season.
“We’d like to win two more tomorrow and win the conference outright,” Wares said.
