PELLA — Trailing No. 10-rated Wis.-Eau Claire by a run, the No. 17 Central College softball team was down to its last strike.

Three times.

But the Dutch (18-4) strung together three straight two-out hits, with designated player Amanda Sigulas (freshman, Morton, Ill.) lining a 1-2 pitch off the third baseman's glove into left field for the decisive blow. That sent two runners scampering home and gave Central a dramatic 3-2 victory before a noisy Alumni Day crowd at the A.N. Kuyper Athletics Complex field Saturday. Wis.-Eau Claire countered with a 4-2 win in the nightcapt.

"This team doesn't quit," coach George Wares said. "They just kept coming at them and kept coming at them."

It was a game that Wis.-Eau Claire (15-3) arguably should have had locked up. The Blugolds struck for a quick run in the top of the first inning and had runners at second and third with no outs before pitcher Karly Olson (senior, Winterset) and the Dutch somehow wriggled free. Wis.-Eau Claire left nine runners on base in the game.

Central tied it in the second inning when second baseman Paige Dickel  (junior, Norwalk)  rocketed her second home run of the season onto the adjacent baseball outfield. A fifth-inning tally put Wis.-Eau Claire in position for the win. But the Dutch were able to overcome three errors and a shaky start by Olson for the comeback victory.

"Karly just got way too hyped up at the start," Wares said. "She was overthrowing it and couldn't command anything. We were very fortunate to get out of that first inning with just one run. But then I thought she settled in after that.."

Olson (7-2) allowed seven hits, walking two—both in the first inning--and striking out four, keeping Central close enough for a comeback bid and the squad's most significant non-conference win thus far.

Wares continues to be impressed with the tenacity Sigulas displays.

"She just kept plugging away," he said. "It seems like she'd left the whole world on base prior to that, and then she was in that spot again. She went down 0-2 but found a way."

Whether the ball was fair or foul when it glanced off Brooke Varian's glove was unclear, but the result when the final two runs scored wasn't, as the large crowd registered its approval.

"That was as loud as I've heard this place in a while," Wares said.

But whatever momentum Central carried into game two quickly evaporated as Wis.-Eau Claire didn't miss on another first-inning opportunity, getting a two-out, three-run double for an early 3-0 advantage.

Like Olson, however, pitcher Mariah Fritz (sophomore, Tama, East Marshall HS) regained her footing, not allowing another run until surrendering a critical two-out scoren in the seventh inning. Olson (6-2) scattered eight hits but walked five while striking out three in 6.2 innings.

"Mariah pitched very well but she made just one really bad pitch," Wares said. "She knows that."

Freshman center fielder Sara Tallman (Pella) doubled, stole third and scored on an errant throw for Central in the third inning. Shortstop Emily Wilson (sophomore, Bondurant, Bondurant-Farrar HS) singled home a run in the fifth but the Dutch couldn't capitalize on multiple chances to tie the game.

Tallman and Wilson each had three hits and a walk in the two games.

"From top to bottom, this lineup can be really good offensively," Wares said. "The end result today wasn't very good at times. We left a lot of people on base and (Wis.-Eau Claire) did, too. But when you keep having good at-bats, good things are going to happen."

The split certainly won't hinder Central's post-season hopes but as the Dutch prepare to take on their grueling Iowa Conference slate, Saturday's efforts provided something even better, Wares said.

"I just wanted two games where we had to compete and I think we got that," he said. "I'm sure (Wis.-Eau Claire) is thinking they could have swept and we're saying we could have swept. But we had good games. They're going to be good in their league and I think we'll be good in ours."

The Dutch begin to find out for sure Tuesday as they journey to Waverly for a conference twinbill at Wartburg College. The Knights (13-7) rocked the University of Dubuque on the road Saturday, opening their league season with a 9-2, 11-0 (six innings) sweep.