Seventh-inning drama produces Central softball split
DUBUQUE—Six hours was barely enough time to squeeze all the theatrics that left the No. 17-ranked Central College softball team with a split of a roller-coaster of a doubleheader at Loras College Saturday.
Twice, the Dutch (30-8 overall, 11-5 American Rivers) were just an out away from defeat and conjured up some seventh-inning magic but after escaping with a 7-5 nine-inning win in the opener, Loras (21-14 overall, 9-7 conference) delivered some two-out drama of its own with an 8-7 walk-off victory in the second game.
With Central down 5-3 in the seventh inning of the opener, left fielder Megan Doty (senior, Grinnell) roped a two-out, two-run single to helped send the game to extra innings. Catcher Madison Farrington (senior, Marshalltown, East Marshall HS) knocked home the eventual game-winning runs with a two-out double in the ninth.
“Doty’s swinging it well,” coach George Wares said. “She had a good day.”
In game two, there the Dutch were again, trailing 6-5 with two outs in the seventh inning and this time it was first baseman Megan Stuhr (junior, Sigourney) who appeared to author the Hollywood ending with a two-run homer for a 7-6 lead. But in the bottom of the seventh, the script flipped to a disaster epic for Central as Loras got a two-out, two-run double to left center by Alyssa Hughes for the win.
That leaves the 17th-rated Dutch (30-8 overall, 11-5 American Rivers) in third place in the conference standings, landing them in a first-round game Friday in the single-elimination conference tournament, against sixth-seeded Nebraska Wesleyan University (21-17) at 4:30 p.m. The teams split a doubleheader at Pella April 19, with the Dutch stumbling 4-3 before a 10-2, six-inning win. Friday’s winner advances to meet second-seeded Luther College in a semifinal game Saturday at 1:30 p.m. The tourney champ receives an automatic berth in the NCAA Division III tournament. The 62-team field will be announced Monday, May 15 with regional play set for May 18-20.
Central quickly ramped up the degree of difficulty in both games, twice falling behind by 3-0 scores before rallying.
The Dutch used three hurlers in game one, with starter Sydni Huisman (senior, Treynor) returning in the eighth inning to get the win, improving to 15-4 while freshman Emma Beck (Holland, Grundy Center HS) got the final two outs to notch her first collegiate save. Huisman was charged for three runs on five hits with two walks and two strikeouts in 5.1 innings. Morgan Schaben (senior, Portsmouth, Harlan HS) gave up two runs on six hits with three strikeouts and no walks in 3.0 innings.
Doty had three hits and three RBIs in the game while third baseman Franie Burnett (junior, Ankeny, Centennial HS) and shortstop Carson Fisk (senior, Searsboro, Lynnville-Sully HS) each had two hits. Central outhit Loras 12-11.
“The first game was what softball is all about, we just battled and battled,” Wares said. “We were happy with that performance. We were happy with how Sydni (Huisman) threw, we were happy with how Morgan Schaben came in and we were happy when Emma Beck came in and closed it. We just can’t get the players to grasp the importance of that 20 minutes in between games. We just weren’t very good at that.”
After quickly falling behind again in the second game, Central tied it at 3-3 with three runs in the third inning, getting a two-run single from Burnett, then broke on top with two more runs in the fourth. But Loras answered with three runs in the fourth for a 6-5 lead, setting the stage for the frantic finish.
Loras peppered Central with a 15-hit attack in the nightcap. The Dutch had 10 hits. Fisk had two more hits.
Wares was disappointed that the Loras comeback put a damper on Stuhr’s memorable moment in the top of the seventh inning.
“It was great,” he said. “I thought she got some really good swings against Luther (Wednesday) and then in the first game when we tied it she gets another two-out hit in the gap. (The home run) was good for her. It is one of the really fun things about coaching when you see her run from second to third and see the smile on her face.”
Central, still without injured center fielder Emma Johnson (senior, Davenport, Assumption Catholic HS), the team’s second-leading hitter, got a big lift from senior Makenna Hall (Keokuk, Central Lee HS), normally used as a pinch-runner but inserted into the lineup for defensive purposes. In her first collegiate start, she brought her bat as well, going 2-for-2 with a run scored. Hall had just one at-bat for the season prior to Saturday.
“Makenna played well,” Wares said. “She was fine defensively. She’s got a really good arm and had a couple of key base hits, so that was encouraging.”
Second baseman Haley Bach (sophomore, Council Bluffs, Lewis Central HS) scored three runs on the day, tying Abbey Strajack’s 2015 season record with 52.
Beck absorbed the loss. Beck (10-2) started the game, was relieved for an inning by Schaben, then returned to finish the game. She allowed seven runs on 11 hits with five walks and seven strikeouts. Schaben gave up a run on four hits with one strikeout.
“We need mental and physical rest,” Wares said. “Obviously, Nebraska Wesleyan is a challenge. We want to win the conference tournament and we definitely want to get to Saturday. And we have to beat a good team to do that.”
