PELLA — It took pitcher Karly Olson (senior, Winterset) 153 pitches to get through the Central College softball team's doubleheader with Nebraska Wesleyan Thursday. Freshman pinch-hitter Amanda Sigulas (Morton, Ill.) needed just one swing to end it.

Sigulas rocketed a bases-loaded single for a walkoff, nine-inning 2-1 Dutch win after a 6-2 Central triumph in the opener for a sweep that locked up at least a tie for second place in the Iowa Conference. No. 14 Central, 29-7 overall, is 11-3 in league play with two games remaining. No. 15-rated
Coe is third at 11-5 with No. 4 Luther leading at 13-1.

Olson, 14-4, was the winner in both contests. She went the distance in the opener, allowing two unearned runs on six hits with three walks and three strikeouts. Mariah Fritz (sophomore, Tama, East Marshall HS) scattered nine hits over 7.0 innings in the nightcap, but didn't yield a run until Nebraska Wesleyan delivered a dramatic two-out double and single to tie it 1-1.

After Fritz yielded a leadoff double in the eighth, coach George Wares brought Olson back and she held the persistent Prairie Wolves (18-18 overall, 3-11 conference) scoreless the final two innings, allowing only a pair of walks while striking out one.

"Fortunately, we haven't had to (pitch Olson in relief) much this year," Wares said. "That's been really beneficial for her and us. The two kids she walked, we were pitching around, so she pitched well."

Sigulas had also delivered a walkoff winner in a 3-2 victory over Wis.-Eau Claire April 1, a two-out, two-run seventh-inning hit. The versatile rookie had a sizzling start in Arizona in March before cooling off, but is closing the year with a burst.

"She's been better," Wares said. "She hit well in a couple of JV games. I was pretty confident she was going to hit it hard somewhere and fortunately she did."

Both teams had six hits in the opener and Nebraska Wesleyan outhit the Dutch 9-6 in the nightcap, as Claire Poppe limited Central to three hits in the first seven frames.

Central needed a four-run fifth inning in the opener, trailing 2-1 after the fourth. Center fielder Sara Tallman (freshman, Pella) tied it with a run-scoring double down the right field line and third baseman Lauren Bagby (sophomore, Norwalk) and shortstop Emily Wilson (sophomore, Bondurant, Bondurant-Farrar HS) followed with RBI hits.

Tallman, who also had an RBI single in the sixth, and Olson each had two hits in the game while third baseman Paige Dickel (junior, Norwalk) had three hits in the second game, including an RBI double in the second inning. Tallman leads the Dutch with a .430 average with 32 runs in her rookie season.

The sweep was a struggle, Wares said.

"I'm not surprised," he said. "Give Nebraska Wesleyan credit. They're better than their record."

Wares has great respect for veteran coach Mary Yori, a prominent name as an Iowa high school player who has enjoyed coaching success at multiple stops.

"She's been at a lot of different schools that know how to win," Wares said. "Once they get accustomed to the Iowa Conference, they're going to get better."

The Prairie Wolves have lost two catchers to injury, creating an opportunity for the reckless Central running game. The Dutch swiped 13 bases in the two games, including three by Tallman, who has a team-high 22. Central holds a lopsided 88-20 stolen base advantage over opponents. The Dutch have topped the 100-steal mark 18 times since 1990.

Central closes the regular season with a doubleheader against the University of Dubuque Saturday at 1 p.m. at the A.N. Kuyper Athletics Complex field. The Spartans are 11-26 overall and 2-12 in league play. A webcast and live stats of the games can be accessed through the Central athletics website at athletics.central.edu. It will be Senior Day for the Dutch. A non-conference doubleheader with Bethel University (Minn.), which had been rescheduled for Sunday, was cancelled earlier in the week because Bethel has a league make-up doubleheader Sunday.