PELLA—Softball offense may have risen in prominence over coach George Wares' 33-year Central College career, but give the hall of fame mentor a team that excels in pitching and defense and he'll take his chances.

That formula was crucial in Central's 2-0 victory over the University of Dubuque Tuesday. The No. 14-rated Dutch followed with a less stressful 8-2 win in the nightcap to complete Iowa Conference play alone in second place with a 13-3 mark and a 31-7 overall record for the program's 27th 30-win season since 1990.

Central receives the No. 2 seed and a first-round bye in this weekend's six-team league tournament at Decorah. The Dutch play at 1:30 p.m. Saturday against the winner of a Friday contest between No. 3-seeded Coe College (29-8 overall, 11-5 conference) and No. 6 Loras College (22-12 overall, 6-8 conference). League champ Luther College (37-3 overall, 15-1 conference) plays at 11 a.m. Saturday against the winner of No. 4 Wartburg College (21-15 overall, 9-7 conference) and No. 5 Buena Vista University (20-16 overall, 8-8 conference). Saturday's two winners advance to a 4 p.m. final for the tournament title, which has no effect on the conference race but determines the league's automatic qualifier in the NCAA Division III tournament.

Tuesday, pitcher Karly Olson (senior, Winterset) posted her seventh shutout of 2017 with a four-hitter in the opener, improving to 15-4. She walked one—intentionally—and fanned nine. Central had seven hits but just one left the infield as the Dutch had to grind for their only two runs.

Wares' team is capable of posting flashy offensive numbers, pounding out 15 hits in the second game. Yet he remains distrustful of the bats. Pitching prevails, even as the Dutch endure a stretch of games with uncomfortably high numbers of runners left on base.

"Say what you want about offense, but it's fickle," Wares said. "If we get on a roll, I feel really good. But if we don't, we're still in games. If we keep pitching and defending, we'll eventually get one of those timely hits. That's definitely something we're going to emphasize in the next couple days."

Offensive production is seemingly a bit more predictable with freshman center fielder Sara Tallman (Pella) at the plate. She was 3-for-3 in the opener as her third-inning double led to Central's first run. Talllman is hitting a team-high .433. She also stole her 22nd base, another team best.

Central scratched out its second run with three consecutive two-out infield hits in the fourth inning as second baseman Paige Dickel (junior, Norwalk) delivered an RBI single to shortstop, with left fielder Tabitha Taylor (junior, Grimes, Dallas Center-Grimes HS) scampering home from second base.
Dubuque loaded the bases with one out in the fourth inning but Olson squelched the Spartans' best opportunity with back-to-back strikeouts.

Central jumped on top early in the second game with a run in the first inning and three more in the third, before nearly ending it in the sixth inning. The Dutch strung together eight hits for four runs in the frame and left the bases loaded when one more tally would have settled the issue. Third baseman Lauren Bagby (sophomore, Norwalk) was 3-for-3 with a double, a run scored and two RBI while first baseman Abbie Voas (senior, Chanhassen, Minn.) was also 3-for-3 with two runs and an RBI. Voas had four hits on the day as her averaged climbed to .324. Dickel and right fielder Sadie Baugher (sophomore, Eddyville, Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont HS) each had two hits. Voas and Dickel both hit their 10th double of the season, matching the team high.

Mariah Fritz (sophomore, Tama, East Marshall HS) threw four shutout innings to improve to 10-3. She allowed just one hit with no walks and a strikeout. Annie DeVries (junior, Eldridge, North Scott HS) pitched the final three frames for her third save, giving up one earned run on five hits.

The game was the final regular-season collegiate home appearance for seven Central seniors and Olson, Voas, pinch-runners Taylor Sohn (Cedar Rapids, Kennedy HS) and Mikayla Heath (Iowa City), right fielder Sarah Bowen (New Sharon, North Mahaska HS) and pinch-hitters Felicia Schulty (Wellman, Mid-Prairie HS) and Tanner Rathjens (Cedar Rapids, Kennedy HS) each saw action in the second game.

"I'm glad we were able to do that," Wares said. "I'm very happy for them. They've earned that."

While Wares is confident that Central's name will be called when the 62-team NCAA tourney field is announced Monday morning on www.NCAA.com, the goal for the weekend remains the league tourney crown.

"Once it starts, we're not going to talk about whether we're in (the NCAA tournament)," he said. "We definitely want to win it, if for no other reason than to get to play two games."

And if the offense slumbers, maintaining the right mindset remains a Central focus.

"A lot of what we're going to continue to work on is to not get down on ourselves offensively and to play without fear," Wares said. "Teams that really do well in the postseason play with no fear of making mistakes. They just go for it."

The fact that Central played at all after several days of rain impressed Wares, who has seen the college's A.N.Kuyper Athletics Complex field develop into one of the region's finest. He said the key is not only the elite physical facility but the care it receives from many, including retired associate athletics director John Edwards, who also helps as a team hitting coach.

"We've had a lot of volunteers," Wares said. "(Coach Eric) Van Kley brought his wrestlers out to help and the other day we had a combination of football, wrestling and men's soccer players helping. After the Nebraska Wesleyan games last week, we even had (softball team) parents help put the tarp on.

"But the field is pretty impressive. We were practicing indoors yesterday when they took the tarp off and Coach Edwards said within 30 minutes they could have had the field ready to go. It's really amazing.

"There's not many better facilities out there and I'm really thankful. It makes a huge difference for our program."