Central College swept two games from rival Luther Sunday afternoon, giving the Dutch sole possession of the American Rivers Conference regular season softball championship.  The Dutch won the opener 8-7, then run-ruled the Norse 10-1 in five innings in game two.

Game one was a seesaw affair, with Central holding leads of 1-0, 3-1 and 7-3, only for Luther to rally and tie on each occasion.  After the Norse knotted it at 7-7 in the seventh inning, Central had a chance to walk it off.

Click here for the game one game-winning hit with the Voice of the Dutch, Trevor Castle, who called the action live on 92.1 KRLS.

After Luther hit a solo home run to strike first in game two, Central scored four in the second and six in the fourth to take control, and Mariah Fritz finished her second complete game of the day in the circle for the run-rule win.

Click here for the game two final out.

On the day, Witte was 5-for-6 with four RBI and Daria Parchert was 4-for-5 with three doubles and three RBI.  Fritz threw all 11 innings to improve to 17-7.

Central is 24-8 on the season, and their 12-4 league record is good for an outright first place finish.  The Dutch will play a non-conference doubleheader at Cornell tomorrow, then host the American Rivers Conference tournament on Friday and Saturday.  As league champs and the number one seed, Central will have a bye into Saturday’s semifinals.

You can hear from coach George Wares tonight on the Central College Radio Coaches Corner at 7:00 on 92.1 KRLS, and hear Central’s A.R.C. tournament games Saturday on KRLS as well.