Central rolls up big softball wins in Florida

Central College

KISSIMMEE, FLA.—Making a noisy arrival at the Rebel Spring Games, the No. 20 Central College softball team rolled up a pair of lopsided wins Saturday, roaring past Westminster (Pa.) 8-0 (6 inn.) and Mitchell (Conn.) 22-1 (5 inn.).

Three Dutch pitchers combined to throw 11 innings without yielding an earned run. Junior transfer Karly Olson (Winterset) posted her first Central shutout in the opener, limiting Westminster (1-2) to three hits and a walk with eight strikeouts in six innings. She evened her record at 1-1 after suffering an indoor loss to Bethel (Minn.) Feb. 27.

“We saw some improvement,” said coach George Wares. “She was in pretty good command. We had a couple of long innings (offensively) and so after that she was not in the flow, which is not unusual. But we were happy with how she threw.”

Central (3-1) had eight hits, but all were singles. The Dutch relied on their traditional small-ball attack to produce runs, stealing three bases with four sacrifices while taking advantage of five errors. Right fielder Sarah Bowen (junior, New Sharon, North Mahaska HS) and center fielder Jess Wyant (sophomore, Cedar Rapids, Kennedy HS) each had two hits and shortstop Paige Schreiner (senior, Ottumwa) had three RBIs.

“That’s partly a product of us being good at the running game,” Wares said. “We have ssome people who know what to do in those situations and we’ll probably have to do more of that this year. But it was also partly a product of the other team not defending it very well.”

The suspense ended quickly against Mitchell (1-3), which committed nine errors. The Dutch also pounded out 20 hits, erupting for seven runs in the first inning and again in the second. Central added two runs in the fourth and six more in the fifth as 20 players saw action.

Freshman third baseman Sadie Baugher (Eddyville, Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont) continued to strengthen her hold on a starting job with three hits and three RBIs. First baseman Abbie Voas (sophomore, Chanhassen, Minn.) also had three hits, including a double and a triple, and drove in three. Schreiner had two hits, including a double, and knocked in two runs while Bowen and second baseman Paige Dickel (sophomore, Norwalk) also had two hits. The Dutch had seven extra-base hits.

Central’s offense is improving, but not yet where it needs to be, Wares said.

“We’ve got some people, like Paige Schreiner, Abbie Voas and Sadie Baugher who are having quality at-bats,” he said. “Sadie’s going to be a very good hitter, we just have to figure out where we put her in the lineup.

“I’m probably overlooking some people but the other player we were pleased with was Jess Wyant. Her at-bats were really solid.”

Bowen is the early batting average leader for the Dutch at .538 with Wyant, Dickel and shortstop Lauren Bagby (freshman, Norwalk) at .500 in fewer at-bats and Baugher at .417.

Pitcher Trisha Smith (senior, New Hampton) threw three perfect innings in improving to 2-0, striking out three. Reliever Annie DeVries (sophomore, Eldridge, North Scott HS) surrendered an unearned run on three hits with no walks and a strikeout in two innings.

Wares credited his players with maintaining their focus despite the flurry of substitutions and long offensive innings.

“For the most part, we made some pretty solid plays and remained intense,” he said. “It’s hard to do that sometimes in games like this, even for the coaching staff.”

The 22-run outburst against Mitchell (1-3) was the second-highest run total in school history. The mark of 26 was set against Trinity (Texas) in 1983. But Wares took no joy in racking up the lofty number, as the Dutch weren’t seeking to embarrass their opponent.

“I’m not a fan of scoring 22,” he said. “But you still want the reserves to be able to get quality at-bats when they get a chance to play.”

Wares said the competition level will take a jump Sunday when Central tackles Bluffton (Ohio) at 9 a.m. and Muskingum (Ohio) at 11:15 a.m.

“Bluffton is picked second in its league behind Anderson (Ind.),” he said. “That’s a respectable league. And Muskingum may not be the Muskingum of old (Central lost to the Muskies in the 2001 national championship game), but they’re still very good. Both teams will present a challenge. We’ve got to keep finding ways to get better.”