Schaben, Central close Florida softball trip with wins
NAPLES, FLA.—After sharing a no-hitter earlier in the week, pitcher Morgan Schaben (junior, Portsmouth, Harlan HS) almost tossed one of her own as the Central College softball team wrapped up a week of Florida action with a doubleheader sweep of the University of Wisconsin-Superior, 11-5 and 6-1 Saturday.
The Dutch posted a 9-1 record for the week, improving to 10-6 overall after a 1-5 start in the NFCA Division III Leadoff Classic March 4-6.
Schaben (6-3) was credited with both wins Saturday. She gave up two runs on five hits with a walk and three strikeouts over four innings in the opener, then threw six hitless innings of the nightcap before surrendering a hit to lead off the seventh inning. She walked three and fanned three. She was lifted after the no-hitter was spoiled and Emma Neu (junior, Rochelle Park, N.J., Hackensack HS) closed it out.
“We’re probably going to have to get more than one (game) out of her (in doubleheaders),” coach George Wares. “We decided we were going to go with her until she gave up a hit (in the second game) and then we took her out. Her control and command of her pitches was really good. We went up a little bit more because they were sitting on some stuff in the first game and we were really pleased with the way she came back.”
Meanwhile, the Dutch offense unleased a new weapon with a pair of home runs, the team’s first of the season. Third baseman Carson Fisk (junior, Searsboro, Lynnville-Sully HS) and catcher Madison Farrington (junior, Marshalltown, East Marshall HS) each delivered two-run blasts to center field in the nightcap. Central was playing in Naples after games in Fort Myers the rest of the week and the field dimensions played in the hitters’ favor.
“We’ve been playing with fences that are 215 (feet) and these were a little shorter,” he said. “But Madison’s would have been out on our field, too. It was a shot. That’s good for her because she’s doing so well on the other side, defensively.”
Meanwhile Fisk is continuing to grow as a third baseman after initially focusing on basketball at Central.
“She’s understanding things more,” Wares said. “She’s a scrapper at the plate and doing a good job of just trying to get it into play. She’s really fit into what we’re all about and starting to play an excellent third base for us.”
But with Central’s traditional small-ball attack, there are few playing as well as sophomore right fielder Franie Burnett (Ankeny, Centennial HS), who had a five-hit day, elevating her average to a team-high .489 after a slow start. She stole two more bases, giving her 15 for the season.
“You run out of words,” Wares said. “We backed her off a little, we probably could have run her even more. She’s an excellent player, there’s not much more you can say.”
Left fielder Megan Doty (junior, Grinnell) also showed some spark with four hits and four RBIs while Fisk had three hits.
Central stole nine more bases, giving the Dutch 81 in 90 attempts. Farrington threw out another opposing runner. Opponents have swiped 11 on 19 tries.
Wares said he saw the progress he was hoping for during the week in Florida with the 9-1 showing
“That’s about as good as we could have expected,” Wares said. “We had some growth from a lot of individuals. We wore out a little, you could tell, but we came a long way this week.”
Central launches the northern portion of its schedule with a pair of home non-conference doubleheaders next weekend. Bethel University (Minn.) visits Saturday with Fontbonne University (Mo.) slated for Sunday. Bethel is off to a 9-2 start while Fontbonne is 2-6 after facing some top-tier competition in Texas. Both twinbills start at 2 p.m. at the A.N. Kuyper Athletics Complex softball field. A video webcast and live stats can be accessed through athletics.central.edu.
The daunting American Conference whirlwind follows.
“It’s going to be fun,” Wares said. “We know we have our work cut out for us but I think we’ve developed a real positive mindset in handling everything.”
