Central softball bats overwhelm Grinnell
Central College
GRINNELL — Using a 27-hit assault to overcome a pair of slow starts, the No. 22 Central College softball team scored a pair of decisive victories at Grinnell College Tuesday, 6-0 and 9-1 in six innings.
The Dutch (17-3) were scoreless entering the fifth inning of the opener and trailed 1-0 after two frames of the nightcap. But Central then broke both games open quickly. Center fielder Sara Tallman (freshman, Pella), shortstop Emily Wilson (sophomore, Bondurant, Bondurant-Farrar HS), second baseman Paige Dickel (junior, Norwalk) and pitcher/designated player Karly Olson (senior, Winterset) each had four hits in the two games.
“I don’t think any of them had a bad at-bat all day,” coach George Wares said.
First baseman Abbie Voas (senior, Chanhassen, Minn.) had three hits in the opener while Wilson knocked in three runs as did Tallman. Wilson and Tallman each had four RBI on the day. Left fielder Tabitha Taylor (junior, Grimes, Dallas Center-Grimes HS) had three hits and scored a run in the nightcap while Dickel was 3-for-3 with two runs scored.
“Grinnell’s first pitcher was pretty decent,” Wares said. “She moved the ball around pretty well. And the second pitcher had a good change-up. We hadn’t seen a lot of that yet so that was good for us.
“I thought we adjusted pretty well. We waited on the off-speed and, overall, had quality at-bats.”
Central had five stolen bases in the two games, including a team-high 13th theft for Tallman.
Olson (6-2) blanked Grinnell (2-8) on three hits for 5.2 innings, striking out five and walking two. She got relief help from Annie DeVries (junior, Eldridge, North Scott HS), who yielded two hits and two walks with a strikeout in 1.1 innings.
In the nightcap, Mariah Fritz (sophomore, Tama, East Marshall HS), now 6-1, scattered seven hits, giving up a run and two walks with two strikeouts in five innings. DeVries retired the side in order to end it in the sixth.
The games featured a family match-up as veteran Dutch pitching coach Gary Grimes competed against his daughter, Grinnell’s pitching coach, Casey Price. Casey’s sister, Emily, was a two-time all-American pitcher for the Dutch, graduating in 1994.
The Dutch continue to battle an assortment of injuries. Third baseman Amanda Sigulas (freshman, Morton, Ill.) was limited to designated player duties. Fortunately, third baseman Lauren Bagby (sophomore, Norwalk), who has missed the bulk of the season thus far, was able to play in the field.
Central is home for an important non-conference doubleheader with No. 8-rated Wis.-Eau Claire Saturday. While not as crucial as Iowa Conference contests, Saturday’s games could play a role in Central’s bid for an NCAA Division III tourney berth.
“It’s a great opportunity against a really good team,” Wares said. “We know the coaches really well and we enjoy playing each other. Our games have usually been pretty competitive.”
The Blugolds split with Central in the teams’ most recent meeting, a March 7, 2015 indoor twinbill in Rochester, Minn.
