INDIANOLA — When coach George Wares predicted that freshman center fielder Sara Tallman (Pella) could be a catalyst for the Central College softball offense, Saturday's performance might be what he had in mind.

A speedy leadoff hitter, Tallman was on base seven times and scored five of No. 14 Central's six runs in a 2-1, 4-0 Iowa Conference doubleheader sweep at Simpson College. Tallman had four hits—including two doubles--drew a pair of walks and reached on an error. She also stole a base. Tallman scored both of Central's opening game runs, leading off the sixth inning with a double and scoring the game-winning run for the Dutch (22-4 overall, 4-0 conference).

"She's hitting it well," coach George Wares said. "She's running the bases better and she's so good at turning any kind of mistake or hesitation on a single into a double."

Tallman upped her average to a team-high .460.

Offense was otherwise in short supply but Central got a pair of pivotal pitching performances from Karly Olson (senior, Winterset) and Mariah Fritz (sophomore, Tama, East Marshall HS). Olson (9-2) fired a two-hitter, yielding only an unearned fifth-inning tally. She walked three and fanned four in seven innings. Fritz (7-2) followed with a three-hit shutout, walking one and striking out three. It was her second shutout of the season as she lowered her earned run average to 0.95.

"They both threw well," Wares said.

The Dutch were limited to just four hits in the opener. Olson belted a run-scoring double in the first inning. Central didn't have much cushion until the final inning of the nightcap. Nursing a 2-0 lead, the Dutch struck for two more runs in the seventh. Olson, who knocked in Central's first run with a first-inning infield hit, roped a two-run single in the seventh.

"Their pitchers threw well, especially Maggie Long," Wares said. "Give them credit. But the wind was blowing hard in, otherwise we hit about four of them might have been out (of the park). And we had some hard-hit ground balls that were about 5-6 inches away from being hits and giving us a more comfortable lead."

As a team, the Dutch are hitting .364 while limiting opponents to a .242 mark. Central's hurlers have a combined 2.12 ERA with six shutouts.
Central makes its first league home appearance Wednesday, taking on Buena Vista in a 3 p.m. doubleheader at the A.N. Kuyper Athletics Complex field. The Dutch were swept at Storm Lake last year, 9-0, 5-4. The Beavers dropped a pair of non-conference games at an Illinois Wesleyan tournament, stumbling against Anderson (Ind.) 6-3 and DePauw (Ind.) 7-2, but are 13-9 overall with a 2-2 league record, including an upset road victory at No. 7 Coe College last Tuesday.

"That was a big win for them," Wares said. "We know right now we've got to keep playing well."

Wares said the league season's toughest games lie ahead but he's glad the Dutch opened with four road wins. Central is already the only unbeaten league team in the highly competitive  race.

"We still have a lot of games to play but it was nice to be able to maintain our focus and not give these games a chance of getting ugly," he said. "That's something we've struggled with some years."

A video webcast and live stats of Wednesday's games will be available through the Central athletics website at https://portal.stretchinternet.com/central/