PELLA — After four innings of scoreless softball, it appeared that one big hit could settle things for Central College and Buena Vista University Wednesday.
It did.
Dutch first baseman
Abbie Voas (senior, Chanhassen, Minn.) led off the bottom of the fifth with a deep fly that hugged the left-field line but landed fair just beyond the fence, propelling Central to a 2-0 victory, followed by a 10-5 triumph for an Iowa Conference sweep.
Central, which climbed again to No. 12 in the NFCA Division III coaches' poll earlier in the day, improved to 24-4 overall and 6-0 in the league.
The homer was the season's first for Voas.
"It wasn't a shot but it got out," a relieved coach
George Wares said. "That was big. It just felt like whoever scored first in that game was going to be in great shape."
Central picked up a crucial extra tally in the sixth when second baseman
Paige Dickel (junior, Norwalk) delivered a two-out hit through the left side and pinch-runner
Felicia Schulty (senior, Wellman, Mid-Prairie HS) executed a perfect slide after racing in from second base.
That made a winner of
Karly Olson (senior, Winterset), who fired a two-hit shutout, with no walks and one strikeout. Olson (8-2) needed just 73 pitches for the complete-game effort.
Olson came up big in a much different situation in game two. After twice falling behind, Central rallied for a 7-3 lead, but that dwindled to 7-5 in the sixth inning and there were still no outs when Buena Vista then loaded the bases. Olson, who was frequently needed for relief duty a year ago, was called on to put out a fire for the first time in 2017. She answered by inducing an infield pop followed by a pair of key strikeouts to wriggle free without further damage.
"The big thing is, she's fresh," Wares said. "And that's also why she's hitting so well. But that's a tough spot. I was thinking even if they tie it and then she gets out of it, we're not in bad shape. But that's pretty impressive to come up with two strikeouts right there."
A three-run Central sixth inning, highlighted by shortstop
Emily Wilson's (sophomore, Bondurant, Bondurant-Farrar HS) RBI double down the left-field line, provided some breathing room as Olson notched her first save. She limited Buena Vista to one hit over two innings with no walks and three strikeouts.
Starter
Mariah Fritz (sophomore, Tama, East Marshall HS) got the win. Fritz (8-2) lasted five innings, allowing three earned runs on eight hits with two walks and no strikeouts.
Annie DeVries (junior, Eldridge, North Scott HS) faced two hitters in the sixth but ran into hard luck due to an error and a seeing-eye bloop single.
"Annie really threw well," Wares said. "She made two great pitches."
Wares said Fritz was sharper than her stat line indicated.
"I actually thought she threw pretty well," he said.
Wilson, Olson and center fielder
Sara Tallman (freshman, Pella) each had two hits for the Dutch, who were outhit by Buena Vista, 10-8, but took advantage of six Beaver errors. Central was limited to four hits in the opener. The Dutch were charged with three errors on the day, but delivered some key defensive plays, including a line shot that Tallman ran down with a sliding grab in the opener.
"That catch by Sara was as good as I've seen recently," Wares said. "That was big. I think it was 1-0 at the time and if that gets through, you're talking a double, at least.
"It's kind of refreshing to know you can do that because you know the offense isn't always going to be there. There will be times when you break through and score 10 runs and you win easily. But you want to be able to win when you only score two or three, as well."
Dutch climb again, up to No. 12—Earlier Wednesday, Central moved up two more spots to No. 12 in the NFCA Division III rankings. Virginia Wesleyan is No. 1 for the second straight week while Iowa Conference rival Luther College is up to No. 4 and Coe College slid to No. 11. Coe and Luther split a league twinbill last week.
Central takes on Coe Saturday, traveling to Cedar Rapids for a 2 p.m. doubleheader. The Kohawks took a 22-5 mark and a 4-2 league record into a conference doubleheader at Nebraska Wesleyan Wednesday.
It's a pivotal point in the season for Central, which then plays host to Luther next Tuesday. But Wares said Central's other league games are equally important.
"That's where, in the past, we haven't always taken care of business," he said. "But if we split these next four games, we're in great shape. If we get all four of them, we're in really great shape and if it goes the other way, we'll figure it out afterwards. We're not going to treat these games any differently."
RANKINGS
| Rank |
Team |
Record |
Points |
Previous |
| 1 |
Va. Wesleyan (8) |
35-1 |
200 |
1 |
| 2 |
Texas-Tyler |
31-2 |
192 |
2 |
| 3 |
Berry (Ga.) |
32-2 |
184 |
3 |
| 4 |
Luther |
25-3 |
176 |
5 |
| 5 |
Rowan |
25-3 |
168 |
6 |
| 6 |
Trine |
24-2 |
160 |
4 |
| 7 |
Messiah |
25-4 |
147 |
10 |
| 8 |
Moravian |
22-2 |
140 |
11 |
| 9 |
St. John Fisher |
19-5 |
129 |
8 |
| 10 |
Texas Lutheran |
30-4 |
120 |
12 |
| 11 |
Coe |
22-5 |
113 |
7 |
| 12 |
Central |
24-4 |
106 |
14 |
| 13 |
East Texas Baptist |
27-6 |
105 |
13 |
| 14 |
Kean |
21-3 |
99 |
15 |
| 15 |
Wisconsin-Whitewater |
18-6 |
98 |
|
| 16 |
Linfield |
30-6 |
69 |
18 |
| 17 |
Wisconsin-Eau Claire |
17-7 |
58 |
9 |
| 18 |
Texas-Dallas |
26-8 |
54 |
21 |
| 19 |
Springfield |
21-3 |
46 |
20 |
| 20 |
Randolph-Macon |
25-7 |
42 |
16 |
| 21 |
Wisconsin-Oshkosh |
20-4 |
38 |
|
| 22 |
Cortland |
17-7 |
35 |
|
| 23 |
Wittenberg |
18-4 |
28 |
24 |
| 24 |
St. Benedict |
21-5 |
14 |
|
| 25 |
MIT |
15-3 |
12 |
19 |
OTHERS RECEIVING VOTES:
Alma 11, Whitworth 11, Otterbein 9, St. Thomas (Minn.) 9, Stevens Institute of Technology 9, Rensselaer 8, Aurora 4, Christopher Newport 3, William Paterson 2 and Lynchburg 1.
DROPPED OUT:
Illinois Wesleyan, La Verne, Lebanon Valley, Louisiana College, Transylvania and UMass-Boston.
