TUCSON, ARIZONA—The bottom of the Central College softball batting order delivered some top-of-the-order punch in helping propel the Dutch past Webster University (Mo.) 9-3 and Whittier College (Calif.) 5-2 Monday.
           
It was Central's opening day in the Tucson Invitational Games at a familiar spot in the Arizona desert, the team's spring break week destination for several years.
           
The 7-8-9 hitters in the lineup for the No. 23-rated Dutch (5-4) cranked out nine hits in the two games. Hannah Higgins (sophomore, Macomb, Ill.) strengthened her bid for the designated player spot with a 3-for-6 day, driving in a pair of runs and scoring twice. Right fielder Mariah Parton (sophomore, Ankeny), the No. 8 hitter, had two hits and shortstop Carson Fisk (5th-year, Searsboro, Lynnville-Sully HS), who earned her No. 9 spot with dazzling defense but mustered only a .224 batting average last year, continued her encouraging start with four hits and a walk while scoring twice.
           
"Carson's really playing within herself," coach George Wares said. "(Associate head coach Alicia O'Brien) has talked a lot to her about shortening up and the bunt-base hit option and she had a couple of those today. She can run and we want her to get on base. She's having some good at-bats. Regardless of the final results, she just looks better at the plate. Our 7-8-9 hitters were really good today."
           
Higgins saw only limited action last year and hadn't produced much yet in the early going.
           
"We put her in because she's looked like a hitter in practice," Wares said. "She was 2-for-10 on the year but we just kept feeling that she swings it really well, so good for her today. This doesn't mean she's going to do the same thing again tomorrow but now that she's done it, she knows she can. And Parton continues to give us some quality at-bats and made some really nice plays defensively."
           
Those weren't the only hot bats as Central rattled off 21 hits in the two games. Second baseman Haley Bach (junior, Council Bluffs, Lewis Central HS) had three hits and a walk in the opener against Webster, scoring twice and driving in two runs. She added a hit against Whittier. Center fielder Emma Johnson (5th-year, Davenport, Assumption Catholic HS) had two hits and scored twice against Webster while third baseman Franie Burnett (senior, Ankeny, Centennial HS) had a hit and drove in three runs against Webster along with a hit and an RBI against Whittier.
           
"That was the biggest positive today," Wares said. "We had quality at-bats against pretty decent pitching. We were really good on the bases, very aggressive, and caused some problems for both teams."
           
Pitcher Morgan Schaben (5th-year, Portsmouth, Harlan HS) was credited with relief wins in both games. She followed Sydni Huisman (5th-year, Treynor) in the opener. Huisman surrendered three runs on three hits with four walks and three strikeouts in 2.2 innings. Schaben blanked Webster (8-6-1) over the final 4.1 innings, limiting the Gorloks to three hits and two walks while fanning five.
           
Schaben relieved Emma Beck (sophomore, Holland, Grundy Center HS) against Whittier (5-5). Beck yielded two runs on three hits and six walks over 3.2 innings. Schaben (2-0) limited the Poets to a hit and a walk in the final 3.1 innings.
             
"We feel good about our pitching, but we still need to get better," Wares said. "Schaben had a great day. She basically did it for us because she threw way more pitches than we planned on.
           
"But we need to get more consistent. It's as simple as that."
           
Tuesday Central takes on the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse at 11 a.m. (PDT) and Claremont-Mudd-Scripps (Calif.) at 1 p.m. Claremont is 5-5 after defeating Wis.-La Crosse (5-8) 3-1 in Tucson Monday.
           
"La Crosse always swings the bat well," Wares said. "Claremont is very athletic. It'll be another test for us."