KISSIMMEE, FLA.—Down to a final strike, left fielder Tabitha Taylor (sophomore, Grimes, Dallas Center-Grimes HS) helped turn around a day that was rapidly headed towards dismal and let the Central College softball team pull out a split of Tuesday contests in the Rebel Spring Games.
Widener University (Pa.) scratched out three eighth-inning runs in blanking the Dutch 3-0 in the opener before Central (7-3) scored twice in the seventh inning to squeeze out a 5-4 victory over Illinois College.
In the opener, hurler Alexis Schengrund (2-0) let Widener (3-1) become the first team to shut out Central since North Central (Ill.) did it in the 2014 NCAA Division III tournament. She allowed just three hits and walked none while striking out seven.
"She may be the best pitcher we've seen the last couple of years," coach George Wares said. "Today's game showed she's really good, but it also showed that, offensively, we still have some growing to do."
Dutch starter Karly Olson (junior, Winterset) more than held her own in the duel, allowing just three hits in the first seven innings. She also gave the Dutch an opportunity to win it in the seventh, roping a leadoff double to left-center field. She was sacrificed to third base but a squeeze bunt try rolled inches foul and the Dutch couldn't get the RBI hit. The international tiebreaker was employed in the eighth, with a runner starting the inning on second base and Widener ratcheted up the pressure with a bunt single. A couple of infield bloopers were misplayed after being lost in the sun and Widener capitalized.
"We had a breakdown in the tiebreaker," Wares said. "Giving up three put us in a pretty awkward spot."
Trisha Smith (senior, New Hampton) entered to close the inning. Olson allowed five hits and three unearned runs over 7.2 innings, walking four and striking out three.
Central struck for a first-inning run against Illinois College as center fielder Jess Wyant (sophomore, Van Meter, ADM HS) singled and scored, but the Dutch yielded a second-inning home run. Right fielder Sarah Bowen (junior, New Sharon, North Mahaska HS) singled and scored in the third but Central was surprised with three fourth-inning runs and suddenly trailed 4-2 heading into the fifth.
Smith relieved starter Annie DeVries (sophomore, Eldridge, North Scott HS) but gave up a pair of runs—one earned—in 0.2 innings. DeVries returned before Olson entered in the fifth. Olson shut out the Lady Blues (4-2) the rest of the way, but some baserunning blunders stymied a couple of Central comeback attempts.
"We had some good opportunities and didn't take advantage of them," Wares said. "It became kind of a grind. I think everyone's frustration level was going up and that didn't make it any easier.
"You can't really fault our baserunners. We want them to be aggressive and they were trying to get extra bases. But unfortunately, with the situation we were in, their timing wasn't very good."
The Dutch did get a run in the sixth as first baseman Abbie Voas (sophomore, Chanhassen, Minn.) singled and scored.
Yet there were two outs and no runners aboard in the seventh when Wares inserted freshman Kylie Olson (Mapleton, Minn., Maple River HS) as a pinch-hitter, and she drew a full-count walk to extend the game. Pinch-runner Caitlyn Saxton (sophomore, Leon, Central Decatur HS) stole second base and raced home when Taylor lined a 0-2 pitch into center field. Taylor advanced on the throw and subsequently scored on a single to left by Voas.
Taylor, Voas, third baseman Sadie Baugher (freshman, Norwalk) and shortstop Paige Schreiner (senior, Ottumwa) each had two hits in the game.
There were still some anxious moments in the bottom of the seventh as the first two Illinois College batters singled and were sacrificed into scoring position. But Olson got back-to-back strikeouts to win it.
"We put Karly in a tough spot," Wares said. "We were trying to limit her innings but we also didn't want to lose that game. She threw really well. Obviously she seems comfortable throwing a lot of pitches and in the seventh inning, when we needed those strikeouts, that ability worked for us."
The day wasn't necessarily satisfying, but Wares was grateful to come away with a win.
"It's a situation where we're not that far off, but there are a lot of individual things we need to do better," he said.
With seven new starters, it's a young Central lineup, but Wares doesn't want the players relying on inexperience as an excuse when the Dutch come up short.
"We've kind of quit talking about that," he said. "What we are is what we are. And whether you're a freshman or a senior, you're out there and you're expected to do the job. We've had freshmen out there before who have performed well."
Central wraps up the Florida portion of its 16-game, 10-day trip with a couple of the Rebel Spring Games' better clubs. The Dutch take on 2015 NCAA Division III finalist Kean (N.J.) at 9 a.m. (Eastern Standard Time), then come back at 1:30 p.m. against Rhodes (Tenn.) before making a long trek to Columbus, Ga. Wednesday night. Central will compete in the NFCA Leadoff Classic in Columbus this weekend, opening pool play Friday afternoon.
"Both teams (Wednesday) are solid," Wares said. "They'll probably have a little more offense than the teams we've played so far and be a little more athletic. It's a great opportunity to get a couple of really good wins."
