Schaben seals Central softball sweep
PELLA—Morgan Schaben (sophomore, Harlan) didn’t want to pitch another inning.
With two out and two on in the bottom of the seventh inning of a 3-3 contest, Schaben took matters into her own hands, rocketing a ball past shortstop into left field, far enough for Lauren Birt (junior, Ankeny, Centennial HS) to scoot home as the Central College softball team staved off extra innings with a 4-3 walk-off win over Greenville College (Ill.) after a rollicking 10-2 six-inning runaway in game one Thursday.
After a March that was void of softball for the first time since 1980, the Dutch (2-2) ended an unplanned 33-day layoff with their first victories of 2021.
Schaben, like the majority of her young Central teammates, was making her first collegiate appearance on the A.N. Kuyper Athletics Complex field where the squad has not seen action since May 11, 2019. She cruised through the first four innings, limiting Greenville (4-11) to just one hit as Central took a 2-0 lead. With a critical American Rivers season-opening at Luther College looming Friday, coach George Wares turned to his bullpen. Freshman Emma Neu (Rochelle Park, N.J., Hackensack HS) navigated a scoreless fifth inning but Greenville struck for three runs off Skylar Sadler (sophomore, Lisbon) in the sixth, thanks to a tying 2-run homer. That brought Schaben back to the circle to hold off the Panthers long enough for the Dutch to rally for the victory thanks to her clutch single.
“She’s a gamer,” Wares said.
Schaben (1-0) surrendered two hits in 5.2 innings of shutout ball, walking two and striking out seven.
“Her velocity is underrated and she’s got good command,” Wares said.
Schaben had three hits and four RBIs on the day, but senior shortstop Daria Parchert (Illinois City, Ill., Rockridge HS), one of the nation’s best with her glove, was the offensive star. She had four hits, including a double and a triple, while knocking in four runs and scoring two. The Dutch, who were left searching for production in a frustrating two-loss day at Jacksonville, Illinois in February, banged out 23 hits Thursday, with 14 in game one. Birt was also big, with four hits and four runs scored. Freshman right fielder Franie Burnett (Ankeny, Centennial HS) had three hits and stole two bases as the Dutch swiped five in game two.
“We made a lot of strides offensively,” Wares said. “Our top pitchers have been going against our top hitters in practice and it showed. We had some real quality at-bats.”
Sydney Huisman (sophomore, Treynor) tossed four innings of one-hit shutout ball to notch her first win of the season, walking one and striking out five in her first home collegiate appearance.
“She was nervous,” Wares said. “But I was really happy that we got four innings from her and she finished really well, striking out the side (in the third inning). And she only threw 57 pitches. We were pleased.”
Sadler recorded her first save, allowing one earned run on two hits in throwing the final two innings.
Wares said it looked like a different Central team than the one that stumbled in Illinois and, in some ways, it was. A pair of players from the Dutch women’s basketball team made their softball debuts Thursday as Megan Stuhr (freshman, Sigourney) started the opener at first base and was the designated player in the nightcap, picking up a pair of hits, while Carson Fisk (sophomore, Searsboro, Lynnville-Sully HS) saw her first action at third base.
Central has a twinbill at Decorah Friday starting at 2 p.m., followed by a single game Saturday at 11 a.m. Playing a doubleheader less than 24 hours prior seemingly isn’t ideal—but this year it was.
“It was perfect,” Wares said. “We needed to see some action and the fact that we were able to get a couple of wins was big. With young people, confidence is fickle and when you win a couple, it’s going to go up.”
The Dutch have played fewer games than any team in the league but Wares still likes his squad’s potential.
“We’re excited about what this team can do,” he said. “We’ve told them it’s just going to be a different season. Last year was really different. But this year there’s going to be a lot of games in a short period of time. But we aren’t thinking about winning a game, we’re thinking about each half inning. That’s the only way you can get through a stretch like this.”
