Wares tops 900-win mark with Central softball sweep
Central College
MOUNT VERNON—No. 900 came like so many before for coach George Wares and the Central College softball team, with daring baserunning and airtight defense fueling a 10-2 (5 innings) and 4-3 sweep at Cornell College Wednesday.
The wins made Wares only the second NCAA Division III coach ever to rack up 900 career victories as he pushed his record to 901-299-3 in his 27 seasons. He needs just six more wins to become the winningest coach in Division III history, surpassing the late Donna Newberry of Muskingum (Ohio), who compiled a 906-419-1 mark over 36 seasons.
More significant to Wares at the moment is that the No. 5-rated Dutch are now 31-5 in 2011 and 12-2 in Iowa Conference play, tied for first place with two games remaining.
The Dutch stole seven bases and played errorless ball in Wednesday’s sweep over a Cornell squad that had just cracked the Division III regional rankings for the first time in school history, debuting at No. 8. Central is rated second in the region.
Pitcher Kiley Lythberg (senior, Mount Prospect, Ill., Prospect HS) got both wins, improving to 16-4. She gave up two runs on four hits in three innings of the opener, with no walks or strikeouts. Lythberg went 6.1 innings in the nightcap, allowing three runs on nine hits with two walks and eight strikeouts. She shut the Rams out for four innings but was tagged for a two-run homer in the seventh. Freshman Brie Haycraft (Eldridge, North Scott HS) picked up her fourth save by getting the final two outs, including center fielder Holly Von Fumetti’s (junior, Johnston) diving stab of a line drive.
“I thought we played really well,” Wares said. “We took advantage of our running game and got some big hits in the opener, but to Cornell’s credit, they came back and played great in the second game. It came down to a phenomenal catch by Holly to end the game.”
Haycraft also threw two scoreless innings in the opener, allowing two hits with no walks or strikeouts.
While Central rolled up 10 runs on nine hits in the opener, it was the Dutch defense that caught Wares’ attention, particularly some gems by freshman shortstop Annie Sarcone (Des Moines, Dowling Catholic HS), who took away at least three Cornell hits.
“She had a tremendous day,” Wares said. “We’ve said all along that she’s going to be a very good shortstop. She had a bit of a slow start but today I thought she was exceptional, especially in the first game.”
Designated player Rachael Everingham (junior, Georgetown, Ill., Georgetown-Ridge Farm HS) and first baseman Katie Tenboer (senior, Morrison, Ill.) each had three hits on the day, including two each in the opener. Left fielder Bethany Koskamp (senior, Cedar Rapids, Kennedy HS) also had a pair of first-game hits while second baseman Angela Davis (junior, West Des Moines, Valley HS), rebounding from injury, had two hits in the nightcap. Catcher Caitlyn Meyer (sophomore, Newton) belted her third home run of the season, a two-run shot in the fourth inning of the opener.
Left fielder Emily Te Brink (sophomore, Le Mars) had two stolen bases in the opener, giving her 15 on the year. Koskamp also swiped her 15th to share the team lead.
Wares said he gave little thought of his coaching milestone until after the game was in the books and Central fans noisily flashed “900” signs from behind the backstop.
“I was so into trying to get two wins to help our chances for a conference championship and a bye in the league tournament,” he said.
Wares said there are many who share credit for the achievement.
“It was special,” he said. “It’s a bit of a relief to get it out of the way. The players were excited about it and it’s nice for the coaching staff as well.”
Wares has piloted the Dutch to four national titles and 22 NCAA tournament berths, but he said he sees faces more than trophies as he thinks back over his memorable career.
“We’ve had a lot of great players and some phenomenal assistant coaches, including an outstanding coaching staff on this year’s team,” he said. “It would have been nice to get it at home Saturday when we had a lot of alumni back, but I’m sure they were keeping close track tonight.”
Central, which shares the league lead with Luther, goes for a share of the conference title Saturday with a 2 p.m. doubleheader at the Univ. of Dubuque. The Dutch have won or shared 10 league crowns, most recently in 2009. Dubuque is 16-19 overall and 4-10 in conference play.
