PELLA—Making the most of her limited swings, pinch-hitter Emma Lenox (freshman, Fremont, Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont HS) delivered yet again Friday for the Central College softball team with a pinch-hit two-run double that fueled a 7-4 come-from-behind win over Simpson College Friday.
           
But Simpson (16-7 overall, 1-1 American Rivers) was a 5-1 winner in the second game as the teams split their league-opening twinbill.
           
Trailing the opener 3-0 in the second inning, Central (13-9 overall, 1-1 conference) got a lead-off double from right fielder Franie Burnett (sophomore, Ankeny, Centennial HS) to start a four-run outburst. Later in the inning, Lenox drilled a two-out double in the left-center field gap to tie the score. She's hitting .500 with eight pinch-hits in her young Central career.
           
"She's good," said coach George Wares. "She's going to be a good hitter. That was really big for us to get the lead right there. A lot of people had pretty good at-bats and we attacked their pitcher very well."
           
Left fielder Megan Doty (junior, Grinnell) roped an RBI hit in the frame and was 3-for-3 in the game while shortstop Cassie Severson (junior, Ankeny, Centennial HS) and second baseman Haley Bach (freshman, Council Bluffs, Lewis Central HS) each had two hits.
           
"Megan Doty and Haley Bach have been two of our most consistent hitters," Wares said.
           
Central outhit Simpson 11-8 and pitcher Morgan Schaben (junior, Portsmouth, Harlan HS) went the distance, allowing three earned runs. She walked three and struck out five.
           
Wares also cited the bottom of the order, third baseman Carson Fisk (junior, Searsboro, Lynnville-Sully HS), Severson and catcher Madison Farrington (junior, Marshalltown, East Marshall HS).
           
"We were at a point earlier this year where we'd take anything we can get from our 7-8-9 hitters and today we got a lot," he said. "Carson got some things going, Cassie hit it hard and Madison got the hit (an RBI double in the sixth inning) that kind of gave us the cushion we needed going into the seventh."
           
Wares started Schaben (9-6) again in game two but after throwing 126 pitches and battling through a jam in the seventh inning of the opener, she was tagged for two runs in the top of the first inning. She was relieved by Emma Neu (junior, Rochelle Park, N.J., Hackensack HS) who threw 5.2 innings of strong relief but surrendered a two-run homer in the seventh inning. She gave up three runs on four hits with two walks and two strikeouts.
           
"That was her best performance," Wares said. "She did everything we could ask for."
           
Chloe Dougherty (freshman , Alleman, North Polk HS) got the final two outs.
           
But Central was limited to just five hits in the game, including two more by Bach, who had four for the day to up her season average to .418.
           
Central is slated to play host to the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire Sunday in a 1 p.m. non-conference doubleheader at the A.N. Kuyper Athletics Complex softball field before Loras College visits for a pair of league games Tuesday. The Blugolds are 12-4 but haven't played since returning from Florida last weekend as spring is slow to arrive in Wisconsin.
           
A video stream and live stats can be accessed through the Central athletics website at athletics.central.edu.
           
"I think it's important for our hitters to see more quality pitching," Wares said. "A couple of extra days off would be good but it's valuable to play a quality team and get some opportunities to swing the bat a little more before we play Loras."