Central piles up runs in softball wins
FORT MYERS, FLA.—If there were scoreboards at the Lee County Sports Complex, they would have had trouble keeping up with the Central College softball team Thursday.
Rolling up 31 hits and 25 runs in just nine innings at the plate, the Dutch (8-6) thumped Skidmore College (N.Y.) 11-1 and the University of Maine-Presque Isle 14-0 in a pair of five-inning contests.
Right fielder Franie Burnett (sophomore, Ankeny, Centennial HS) had five hits in the two games and remained a menace on the base paths, stealing two bases. The Dutch swiped 12 on the day and have 72 for the young season. Second baseman Haley Bach (freshman, Council Bluffs, Lewis Central HS), first baseman Megan Stuhr (junior, Sigourney) and left fielder Megan Doty (junior, Grinnell) each had four hits.
Central erupted for six runs in the third inning and five in the fourth against Skidmore (6-3). Pitcher Morgan Schaben (junior, Portsmouth, Harlan HS) improved to 3-3, allowing only an unearned run on two hits in four innings with no walks and a strikeout. Chloe Dougherty (freshman, Alleman, North Polk HS) threw a scoreless fifth inning.
“I was happy with how Morgan threw today,” coach George Wares said. “I was happy with how we responded, in general. I thought we came out with a lot of energy. If we can get our pitchers to go from where they are to one or two notches better, we’ve got a shot to win a lot of games.”
Wares is seeing steady improvement from his young club.
“We’re getting really good performances from several individuals so you’ve got to be happy with where we are,” he said. “Even though the competition isn’t like it was in the (NFCA Leadoff Classic, March 4-6), we’re playing much better, just because of the leadership from some of the players and the improvements players are trying to make.”
The Dutch made quick work of Maine-Presque Isle (1-9) with 12 runs in the first three frames as Wares emptied the bench. Nineteen Central players saw action in the game. Pitcher Sabrina Tallman (senior, Pella) made her first collegiate pinch-hitting appearance, reaching base on a fielder’s choice and even notching a stolen base on the back end of a double-steal with first baseman Jocy Timmerman (junior, Fort Dodge, St. Edmond HS), her career first. That leaves her just 114 shy of matching her sister Sara Tallman’s school career stolen base mark of 115 (2017-21). Wares liked his reserve players’ showings.
“Jocy is coming off three injuries but in practice, she always wants to do all the baserunning, so we decided to let her try to steal a base,” Wares said.
He also sees promise.
“We think Makenna Hall (junior, Keokuk, Central Lee HS), down the road has a chance to be a pretty good player,” Wares said. “So we said, let’s just lay a bunt down. She can run. But, yeah, we got everybody in and that’s always a good thing.”
Wares said the Dutch are seeing benefits from their first spring-break trip since 2019.
“We see continued growth for the team’s connectedness, that’s always an important part of who we are and is always crucial,” he said. “We’re not kidding anybody, we’re an average softball team in many ways because of the things we’ve gone through, but our players are not playing that way.”
