One more win before Central closes milestone softball season
Central College
PELLA—Battling its way into the regional championship game, the Central College softball team saw a record-breaking season end Monday.
No. 1-ranked Linfield (Ore.) staged an overpowering offensive display throughout the weekend and rolled up a 12-0, five-inning victory over the Dutch for the regional title in the NCAA Division III tourney. The Wildcats (45-2), who won four regional games by a combined 49-0 and never played a full seven innings, advance to the eight-team NCAA finals in Salem, Va. starting Friday.
No. 5 Central, which staged a two-out, seventh-inning rally in an eight-inning 5-2 comeback victory over No. 16 Wis.-Whitewater late Sunday evening, was back on the field at 10 a.m. Monday to eliminate No. 7 Coe, 7-3, before playing Linfield in its fourth game in 24 hours. It was the season’s fifth meeting with Coe and the Dutch took the series 3-2.
“That showed a lot of what this team is made of, starting with the leadership of our seniors, who we will obviously miss a lot,” coach George Wares said. “That was a very intense game for us. Kind of our mission after we lost Friday was to get back to this game and have a chance to play for the championship.”
Central (39-9) broke on top against Coe with a four-run fourth inning. Catcher Caitlyn Meyer (sophomore, Newton) had an RBI single to highlight the frame against the Kohawks, who were without injured pitching ace Ashlee Simon. Coe climbed to within 4-3 in the fifth inning but the Dutch put the game away in the sixth. Left fielder Bethany Koskamp (senior, Cedar Rapids, Kennedy HS) had an RBI hit and first baseman Katie Tenboer (senior, Morrison, Ill.) ripped a two-run single to right field.
Central outhit the Kohawks 9-6. Designated player Rachael Everingham (junior, Georgetown, Ill., Georgetown-Ridge Farm HS), who delivered the clutch seventh-inning double Sunday night, came back with three hits and two runs scored.
Pitcher Kiley Lythberg (senior, Mount Prospect, Ill., Prospect HS) pitched six innings sandwiched around an inning by Brie Haycraft (freshman, Eldridge, North Scott HS). She gave up a run on four hits with four walks and two strikeouts.
The Dutch had little left in the tank against Linfield but the Wildcats are performing at an elite level that makes them the national title favorites, according to coach George Wares. Lythberg, Haycraft and Rhianna Fleetwood (sophomore, Sycamore, Ill.) all saw action but couldn’t silence Linfield’s booming bats. Central was outhit, 13-2.
“We had nothing left after last night and coming through the Coe game,” Wares said. But against Linfield, it probably didn’t matter.
“Linfield played as well as any team I’ve seen in Division III,” Wares said. “I want to give them a lot of credit.”
Tenboer was the team’s leading hitter in the tournament, batting .375 with five RBI and five walks for a .524 on-base percentage. Right fielder Emily Te Brink (sophomore, Le Mars) hit .364 with a .500 on-base percentage and Lythberg hit .353.
Shortstop Annie Sarcone (freshman, Des Moines, Dowling Catholic HS), center fielder Holly Von Fumetti (junior, Johnston) and Lythberg were named to the all-tournament team.
The season’s most notable record was the all-time Division III wins record established by Wares, who now has a 909-302-3 (.750) career mark over 27 seasons, 23 of which have ended in the NCAA tournament.
But Tenboer also set school career records for home runs (21), RBI (140) and intentional walks (12), as well as the season RBI record (48). Lythberg ranks fourth in career strikeouts per game (5.23) and in victories (65), third in appearances (115) and second in starts (98).
Lythberg is also fourth in career batting average (.369), second in slugging percentage (.555) with Tenboer fourth (.536) and third in on-base percentage (.447). Tenboer is eighth in hits (159). Junior second baseman is second in career triples (12), tied for fifth in career doubles (29) and seventh in career runs (95). Davis was one shy of the season doubles record this year with 16 and four short of the season runs record with 40.
Six players will be lost to graduation: Lythberg, Tenboer, Koskamp, third baseman Rachel Whiteside (Sheffield, Ill., Bureau Valley HS), pinch-hitter Trysh Shimak (Cedar Rapids, Kennedy HS) and pinch-runner Beth Grove (Omaha, Neb., Marian HS).
“It’s impossible to express in words how much they mean,” Wares said. “They are all going to be very, very successful.”
