FORT MYERS, FLA.—Pitchers Morgan Schaben (junior, Portsmouth, Harlan HS) and Chloe Dougherty (freshman, Alleman, North Polk HS) combined on a no-hitter as the Central College softball team made quick work of SUNY Canton 19-3 and Kenyon College (Ohio) 9-0 in a pair of five-inning games Tuesday.
           
Schaben (2-3) threw 4.1 hitless innings against Kenyon (13-3), walking three and striking out two. Dougherty retired the final two batters as Central finally reached the .500 mark at 5-5 after a bumpy start in the NFCA Division III Leadoff Classic in Columbus, Georgia March 4-6.
           
"When you're a team like Kenyon, I'm sure they were a little tired because they've played 16 games now (in Florida) and then with what we did offensively, it gave us some stressless innings so then Morgan could just relax and she pitched really, really well," coach George Wares said. "We could have kept her in to finish the game but we wanted to see what Chloe could do."
           
The no-hitter was preserved by a dazzling grab by center fielder Emma Johnson (junior, Davenport, Assumption HS), diving to snare a sinking liner in left-center.
           
"Two or three of her teammates said, 'It's about time,' and they meant it in a complimentary way, because we've seen glimpses of that from Emma," coach George Wares said. "She just got a really good jump, laid out for the ball and made an ESPN-type catch. That's what we need defensively: Take hits away."
           
Johnson also had two hits, stole two bases and scored twice against Kenyon. She had six hits on the day and leads Central with a .500 average through 10 games.
           
Right fielder Franie Burnett (sophomore, Ankeny, Centennial HS) had two hits against Kenyon, stole two bases and scored three runs.
           
Central put up four runs in the third inning and again in the fifth.
           
Wares emptied the bench against SUNY Canton (0-5) after the Dutch erupted for 10 first-inning runs. Eight more came home in the fourth as Central pounded out 18 hits and swiped eight bases.
           
Johnson was 4-for-4 while second baseman Haley Bach (freshman, Council Bluffs, Lewis Central HS) also had four hits, stole two bases, scored four runs and knocked in four. Burnett had three hits, scored twice and had two steals.
           
Central stole eight bases against SUNY Canton and six against Kenyon. For the season the Dutch have a 43-11 advantage over opponents in steals.
           
Emma Neu (sophomore, Rochelle Park, N.J., Hackensack HS) evened her record at 1-1, allowing one earned run on three hits with no walks and four strikeouts over 4.0 innings. Sabrina Tallman (senior, Pella) allowed one run in throwing the final inning.
           
Wares also singled out one of the few players who didn't see action Tuesday. Pitcher Sydni Huisman (junior, Treynor) was lost to injury moments before the season opener but made the trip and still playing a valuable role.
           
"She's been really good in the dugout," Wares said. "She's encouraging her teammates, she's talking to the pitchers and she's been pretty special even though she can't play."
                       
The Dutch return to action Thursday at 9 a.m. (Eastern Time) against Wilmington College (Ohio) before meeting Brockport State (N.Y.) at 11 a.m. Central plays twice again Friday and Saturday before returning to Iowa. Audio webcasts of both Thursday contests can be accessed through www.kniakrls.com or directly at rdo.to/KRLS3.
           
"These games are just what we needed," Wares said. "And hopefully with a day off, we can build off of that and get a lot more wins here in our last six games."