Central softball team endures early tests
Central College
TUCSON, ARIZ.— As if there were a doubt, Central College coach George Wares emphasized the point. He doesn’t like to lose.
But, said the winningest softball coach in NCAA Division III history, there was much to like about Central’s 4-3 nine-inning defeat against Division II McKendree (Ill.) late Saturday night.
“We probably had more things that we could see we do well and things that we learned we have to work on than the other games we’ve played so far,” he said. “I don’t like to lose but this loss was more valuable.”
Earlier Saturday, Central (3-1) downed Alfred (N.Y.) for the second time in two nights, 4-1.
The McKendree contest showcased some mid-season intensity. After going hitless through three innings, Central broke on top with two runs in the fourth. Kyrie Hale (senior, Lee’s Summit, Mo., West HS), an early-season success story in her transition from backup catcher to starting first baseman, delivered a key two-out double on a 0-2 count, and freshman Karlee Rock (Wheatland, Calamus-Wheatland HS) brought her home with a pinch-hit single. Hale was 3-for-4 in the contest.
McKendree (4-6) answered with single tallies in the fifth and sixth innings, then both squads saw run-scoring opportunities slip away with double plays. Central had the bases loaded and no outs in the bottom of the sixth and came up empty while McKendree put runners on first and third with one out in the seventh with similar results.
Tournament rules in the Tucson Invitational Games call for the international tiebreaker in the eighth inning, with each frame starting with a runner on second. McKendree scored in the top of the eighth and Central responded with Hale’s game-tying single. But after McKendree scored again in the ninth, Central had a runner thrown out at the plate following a single by freshman third baseman Whitney Sowers (Marshalltown).
Wares cited Hale, Sowers and Rock for producing offensively in new roles, but is also encouraged by the defense, where Central made just one error in two games.
“You’ve got to like our infield,” he said. “They’re making solid plays.”
Wares said it was a valuable night for other Central players as well, particularly the freshmen.
“They needed this,” he said. “They got to see what quality pitching is like and what the intensity level in the Iowa Conference is going to be like. It was close to that tonight.”
Sowers and second baseman Angela Davis (senior, West Des Moines, Valley HS) each had two hits.
Rhianna Fleetwood (junior, Sycamore, Ill.) had the busiest day of her Central career. Fleetwood (2-1) threw a seven-inning five-hitter against Alfred, then came back in relief and threw the final two innings against McKendree. She yielded two hits and had one strikeout against McKendree, but took the loss, snapping her 12-game winning streak. Fleetwood was 10-0 last season.
Against Alfred (4-8), Fleetwood allowed one run with one intentional walk and five strikeouts.
“Rhianna obviously wasn’t quite as sharp when she came back a second time, but she hasn’t done very much of that in college,” Wares said. “And I thought in the first game, she actually got stronger. She seemed to have a lot more command. The last three or four innings of that game were as well as she’s pitched in a Central uniform.”
Brie Haycraft (sophomore, Eldridge, North Scott HS) threw five innings against McKendree, gave way to freshman Mallory Schulenberg (Kansas City, Mo., St. Pius X HS) for two batters, then returned and pitched another 1.2 innings. She yielded two runs on eight hits with two walks and eight strikeouts.
“I was really happy with the way Brie came back,” Wares said. “Rhianna and Brie are going to throw a lot of innings this year. We hope they can stay as strong as they are now and still continue to improve. Obviously that’s something we’ll have to watch and make sure their pitch counts don’t get too high.”
Central struck for four runs in the first two innings against Alfred and made them stand up. Sowers tripled, walked and scored two runs.
Central comes back Sunday with a first-ever meeting with Nazareth College (N.Y.) at 6 p.m. (8 p.m. Central Time) and takes on Edgewood College (Wis.) at 8 p.m. It’s the season opener for Nazareth, which was 5-29 last year. Edgewood is 3-1 and will be on the first day of its Arizona trip. Edgewood was 14-24 last season.
An audio webcast of Sunday’s game with Nazareth will be available via www.kniakrls.com.
