Pitching failed Central softball for the second straight day on Saturday, which led to an uncharacteristically early exit in the Iowa Conference tournament. Dubuque topped the Dutch, 5 – 4 in a game that was eerily familiar to their loss in Friday’s tournament opener. Central had a 4 – 1 lead in the late going, before the Spartans scored four unanswered runs on a pair of home runs in the fifth. Seven different players had a hit in Central’s loss, and they now sit with a 30 – 10 record. The Dutch must now sit and wait to see if they get a bid into the 62-team NCAA Division III tournament, whose selection show occurs this Monday at 9:00 a.m. on www.ncaa.com.